Olive

• Hataya Kereopa, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2018

I never thought this would happen. She was 13 years old and showing a few telling grey sparkles in her thick, fur coat, displaying the typical signs of aging, like not always seeming to know where she was.
Olive was like every dog, she ate like it was her last meal, she played ball with endless energy, so when she started to slow dramatically, we all knew something wasn’t right. We called the vet to organise an appointment for our beloved four-legged friend, hoping for a simple solution to give her some relief.
When we arrived, we were all in a melancholy mood, trying to be supportive to one another, but uncertain of what we were going to be leaving with. When the vet called us in, I am sure he could see our distress. After a thorough examination, it was with reservation in his eyes that he began to tell us the news we had most feared.
''I'm sorry to have to inform you but… Olive will only be with us for perhaps just another two months.''
Shock washed over us all like a rolling wave. Sadness could be seen in our faces as tears welled in our eyes. We planned with the vet for Olive’s care in her last days, the reality of a world without Olive became vivid in the forefront of my thoughts, and the tears just kept falling.
The car ride home was very quiet, everyone attempted to absorb the bad news that had just been delivered.
The weeks that followed, we all took that extra time to love her just that little bit more and to gather some extra quality in our moments with her. With this experience came a profound understanding of how precious our time spent with loved ones is.
When the time came, it was almost like Olive was asking us to let her go. This time the vet gave a home visit so that Olive’s final moments would be in a safe place, surrounded by loved ones. Though very tragic, it was also a relief to know that she was out of pain as she peacefully slipped away.
After some mourning time, we laid her to rest among the garden she watched grow around her throughout her life. More than a year has passed since our beautiful Olive left this world, a place in our hearts remains reserved just for her and a thousand happy memories of our time together.