In memory of Thor, the rescue puppy who gave our family love and loyalty

This is not an easy post to write. By the time you read this, our much-loved dog Thor will have crossed the rainbow bridge. He’s earned his rest and will be sorely missed. What makes this extra hard to write is that right now, as I type this, it’s Friday afternoon, October 18, 2024, and Thor is resting at my feet—something he’s always loved to do since he was a puppy. In fact, he’s snoring!

I’m not sure whether an unexpected or a planned goodbye is harder. For my fellow dog (and pet) lovers, you probably understand what we’re going through. No, a dog is not a human—but in many ways, dogs reflect some of the best qualities we humans often lack. I’d like to share with you the story of Thor, the bestest boy who made our lives better for the past twelve years.

Thor’s “gotcha day” was December 22, 2012. We adopted him as a seven-week-old Christmas rescue puppy. He was the runt of his litter, with a rust coloring that stood out from his darker-colored siblings. While the other puppies were yapping, as puppies do, Thor calmly trotted over to the fence and approached us through the grating. I can truly say that he picked us, not the other way around.

At the time, my (now grown) kids were much younger and excited to welcome a new puppy into the family. My daughter Tori slept with him on the floor during his first night in our house. But what should we name him? After tossing around ideas for a few days, we settled on Thor—Marvel’s Thor movie had just come out and was popular at the time. We even named his crate “Asgard,” after Thor’s home in Norse mythology.

We were told that Thor was a mix of Rhodesian Ridgeback and Boxer. He definitely had the look of both breeds, with the strong, muscular build of a Boxer and the distinctive Ridgeback coloring. Thor was more than just a pet—he was a full-fledged member of our family. For the past twelve years, he’s participated in most of our family adventures.

Thor grew up alongside our children, joining us on family trips, hikes, and vacations. Whether it was lounging on the porch, chasing after balls in the yard, or just napping at our feet, Thor was always nearby, providing us with his steady, loving presence. In fact, lying near my feet is something he’s always loved doing ever since he was a puppy.

Because I work from home a lot, Thor naturally bonded to me first as the “Alpha Male,” and most of my family will tell you that he was a daddy’s boy. Here are some of our favorite memories of Thor:

• Learning the basics: Taking him to doggie obedience school, where he graduated by learning sit, stay, come, heel, and “high five.” Thor especially enjoyed “high five” over the years.
• Hiking: Thor accompanied us on many hiking trips, including treks up Mt. Pisgah in western North Carolina and weekly hikes out at The Ridge Nature Area. In fact, Thor was there on opening day when The Ridge first opened.
• Camping: One time in Brevard, we were camping in 25-degree weather, and Thor kept us warm in the tent. There’s nothing like a dog in your sleeping bag for a space heater.
• Runs & walks: Numerous runs and walks along the Beltline trail over the years as it was being built—first as an abandoned rail, then a dirt path, and now a paved superhighway of bikes and scooters. Thor was with us to see it all.
• Home protection: Serving as our virtual alarm system. We have a long gravel driveway, and Thor was always the first to let us know when a car approached.
• Mom’s helper: Some years ago when Mary Catherine drove a school bus, she parked it at home. Every morning Thor would go out to the bus with her during the pre-trip inspection.
• Chasing soccer balls: When the kids were little and played soccer, Thor had a hard time sitting still on the sidelines as the soccer ball was kicked around. At home, he loved to chase soccer balls in our yard, even deflated ones. He did this until his health declined a few months ago.
• Peanut butter: Most dogs love peanut butter, and Thor was no exception. We used to love giving him empty peanut butter jars to lick and play with. If you’ve never seen a dog try to lick a peanut butter jar clean, you’re in for a treat.
• Holding hands: Ever since he was a puppy, Thor loved to reach out a paw and put it on our legs or, even better, hold his paw with our hands. He continued to do this right up until the end of his life.

Over the years, Thor became friends with other animals in our family. He more or less split the house with Angel, our house cat, and each had their own “territory.” Our daughter Alex’s dog, Beesly, was a friend of Thor’s and stayed with us from time to time. Thor and Beesly loved playing tug together and getting into trouble. Two years ago, “Max the girl cat” was a stray who took over our carport. Max and Thor became fast friends and were inseparable when we took Thor outside. Sadly, Max passed away just one week ago. I like to think that Thor and Max are together again, wherever pets go after they die.

Last spring, we adopted another rescue dog—Loki. Yes, we named him to honor the half-brother relationship between the fictional Loki and Thor. We’re so glad that Thor got to spend the last six months of his life becoming friends with Loki. They were great together. We’re not sure how Loki is going to react without Thor.

As with all dogs, there came a time when we noticed Thor slowing down. Three years ago, he suffered a stroke. It was during COVID, and we didn’t know what to make of it. At the time, the vet told me that dogs tend to be more resilient in recovering from a stroke. We were cautiously optimistic, even though I had to pick him up to take him outside, and we had to feed him by hand. That lasted almost three months, but being the strong dog he was, Thor pulled through and made a remarkable recovery. He was even chasing soccer balls again soon after.

But in hindsight, he never fully regained his total strength. When Thor was younger, he used to run with us. Over the past year, we noticed that Thor had trouble going more than a few miles, so our walks were largely confined to our one-mile-long street. Some of my best memories of Thor were taking walks up and down that street. This summer, it became clear that his quality of life was worsening, and we took our last one-mile walk together back in July. We still walked up and down our driveway, but Thor’s back legs just didn’t want to cooperate. Some days were better than others.

A week ago, we took him to the vet. We got the bad news we didn’t want to hear and decided that it was time to let him go. As I’m writing this, I can tell you that we’ve had a great final week with Thor. We’ve done all the things we wanted to do—lots of car rides, limited walks, and he even got to hang out with us during one of our ruck club workouts. It’s strange knowing this was his final week.

For those who have never had the bond that comes with sharing your life with a dog, it can be hard to explain. Thor was there for us through all the ups and downs—whether it was dealing with bad days, enjoying the good ones, or getting through the tough times. He gave us his unwavering loyalty. He was more than a dog; he was our friend, our protector, and our comforter.

Now comes the hard part. Everything up until this point was written on Friday, with Thor by my side.

Thor is no longer by my side. I’m writing to you now over the weekend, after he was put to sleep. Saying goodbye to Thor is one of the hardest things we’ve had to do as a family. On Friday afternoon, I loaded Thor into our car and picked up my wife, Mary Catherine, from work. It was a very strange feeling knowing this was his last car ride with us. We got to the vet’s office a little early so that we could spend some final moments with Thor outside. I’ll always cherish this last final picture together as a family. He was so happy, and he made us happy.

Once inside, the staff was very professional and understanding. I won’t go into details, but it was very quick and peaceful. “Being put to sleep” is an accurate description—it takes less than a minute. We’d like to thank Dr. Tim Jackson and the staff at Fayette Veterinary Medical Center for making Thor’s final moments special.

As a final treat, they brought out the forbidden treats—chocolate! Yes, Thor died eating chocolate Hershey’s Kisses, and what an awesome way to go. Mary Catherine and I held him through the end. My lasting memory will always be Thor’s eyes. When he was a puppy, he looked at us with absolute trust and affection. Over the years, we came to regard Thor in the same way—with trust and affection. In his final moments with us, Thor continued to look at us with those same puppy eyes. Those eyes communicated love and complete trust in us that this was for the best. He reached out a paw, and we held it as he closed his eyes for the last time. When it was over, he was asleep for good.

I don’t know what happens to dogs when they die—none of us do. I like to think he’s in a better place now, free from pain and running through a big yard like he did when he was younger. I took the following picture about this time last year. This is what I hope heaven looks like.

Thor, you’ve given us over twelve years of love and loyalty. You’ve earned your rest, sweet boy, and we’ll miss you more than words can say. Thank you for being the bestest boy we could ever have asked for.

[Joe Domaleski, a Fayette County resident for 25+ years, is the owner of Country Fried Creative – an award-winning digital marketing agency located in Peachtree City. His company was the Fayette Chamber’s 2021 Small Business of the Year.  Joe is a husband, father of three grown children, and proud Army veteran.  He has an MBA from Georgia State University and enjoys sharing his perspectives drawing from thirty years of business leadership experience. Joe is a recipient of the Peachtree City Rotary Club Business Leader of the Year Award for 2024. Sign up for the Country Fried Creative newsletter to get marketing and business articles directly in your inbox. You can connect with Joe directly on LinkedIn or follow his new blog Marketing Data Science for more insights and updates.]