Death in the Family

Well, my dog died this morning at 7:00 in our family room.  After his recent relapse, he was doing so much better, and we all thought he was going to be able to hold out until I was home for summer break.  This morning, however, my parents said he was really sluggish, and his breathing became labored.  After about an hour of heavy breathing, he just passed away, at the age of fourteen.  I really want to go home tonight to deal with getting his body cremated and such, but I still have eleven service hours I need to get in before the end of the weekend.

Natalie’s didn’t close until 7:00 tonight, so after my 4:30-5:45 class, I headed there and see if I could work Friday and Saturday.  I get out of class tomorrow at 2:20, so after I return my rented Mirco-Fridge to University Residences, as the only time they will take it back is tomorrow between 2:00 and 4:00, I will head to the shelter, hopefully arriving around 3:00 and working until she closes at 5:00.  She said that sounded fine, and I explained that I wanted apologize in person for my absence the previous weekend.  She said that it was fine, that I was a volunteer, so I didn’t have to come every weekend.  I told her that I still wanted to apologize, because I knew they were never sure how many volunteers they would get on any particular day, and considering I had been a regular most Saturdays for the past month or so now, I felt bad about my unannounced absence.  I explained my situation and the context in which I had to go home, and offered that as an explanation for why I couldn’t be there.  She said it was fine, and expressed her condolences.  I plan to work tomorrow, then work from 8:00 in the morning until close at 5:00 on Saturday, then quickly head back to my dorm to shower and pack before beginning the four hour drive back home.