Obituary of Mason Macknis

“Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” 

~ Mark Twain

In Memory of Mason
1/11/09—6/13/19

My name is Mason, I was born in South Carolina and somehow ended up in a high kill shelter there, it was scary, my time was short, until someone came and rescued me out of there. I ended up on a thing called Pet Finder. All of a sudden people were looking at my picture and wanted me. I was so happy and full of excitement for a new life, they named me Arlen in the foster home, I was a little shy because I really didn’t know what was to become of me.
I stayed there for two weeks and was loved and taken care of until I would go to my Forever home. One day I heard the humans talking apparently someone adopted me, as the story goes, a person had lost his dog a year and a half prior to me and decided he would like another one, he had a girl dog at home named Bailey who was 7 yrs old. Was I going to have a big sister? The man sent a picture to his wife of me one Friday a week from Easter, his wife saw the picture and said, if this is a subtle hint, I’m fine with just Bailey, he was saddened because he really wanted me. The next day he put the papers in and tried to adopt me. That night his wife’s phone rang, she said it was a private call and he said ok, let’s go to dinner, and off they went.
The day after that on a Sunday morning at 5:30 am he was looking at me again on Pet Finder and it said adoption pending, he was so excited, he was sure it was him that was going to adopt me. That night he received an email that said, Hi Robert, we’re sorry but another family is interested in Arlen, we aren’t sure they are a proper match, would you like to meet him if they aren’t ? Please say yes, please say yes, well he did but didn’t want to wish the other family sadness if they didn’t get me.
A whole week went by and on Easter Sunday I was put in a van and driven to Delaware puppy rescue, I knew I was on my way to my new home, and remember the man who didn’t think he was getting me? Boy was he in for a big Surprise, I was coming to see him. I couldn’t wait and he had no clue. That afternoon his wife had taken him for a ride somewhere, he thought since his Birthday was coming up on Wednesday that you don’t ask questions. I was outside and the grass was really high and I was hiding, it was April 12th 2009 at 1 pm when they pulled up, I couldn’t wait any longer, I jumped up and ran for the car where he was sitting, he looked and said is that Arlen? I jumped on him and said it’s me, I’m Arlen, the lady who had me was named Dianne, she came up and said Hi Bob, Happy Birthday and I’m sorry I lied last week in the email, I said what about the other family? She said Lisa adopted him on Wednesday before you ever saw him.
I made it to my forever home! I knew these were gonna be my people! When I saw my new home I was really excited! They changed my name to Mason, daddy would say, Mr. Mason, if that is your real name and we would all smile, my goal was to make sure I made my Mom and Dad so happy! I would never leave they’re side, and I didn’t. I had a huge yard with a big pond and a pool and I got to go to work with them every day! Every morning before Daddy left for work, (we came in later, hehehe, we had a dogs life), he would say, see ya soon bud bud, take care of Mommy keep her safe, and boy did I! I never kept my eyes off of her and where ever she went, I was there to make sure she was safe. I had a big sister and we all played and took walks, life was wonderful, and every night my Daddy would kiss and hug me and my sister and say “thanks for coming to our house , see you in the morning, luv you”. I was so happy that when I wagged my tail, my whole butt would wag and my tail would smack me in my face and they used to hug me so I didn’t hurt myself. When Daddy would take me for walks, we met Bunnies, I loved the bunnies, I would sniff them and one day I smooched one, I never hurt anything, I just wanted to say hi to them, and show them love. When we were at work, I greeted every person that came in the door and (like it or not) they would pet me, and I would give them my love!
About 6 weeks ago I lost my sissy, we went to see the doctor and she didn’t come home with us, I was sad and it was just me. I really didn’t know what to do, but Mommy and Daddy made me happy again and I them.
One day I felt tired and didn’t want to get up at my usual 5:30 am and Daddy said “what’s wrong buddy”? I just didn’t feel right, but over the next few days we went to see Dr. Harry and he said we will keep an eye on him for a couple weeks and retest him, I started to feel better again and we played all day Saturday , Sunday and Monday, then came Monday night when Daddy walked in the house I started to sway and droop, we went to a strange place and they tested me, apparently I was bleeding inside from a tumor on my spleen, I thought oh my that can’t be good, they decided to operate on me at 1 am that morning. Finally on Thursday the 13th, I started to show signs of improvement and every one was so excited, Mommy came and shared a banana with me and brought me my favorite toy, I was so happy because I was probably going home later that day and I would be home again! I could not wait! At 11;30 that night it all changed, something went wrong and I was sent back into the universe, I passed away exactly 72 hours after they brought me in there. I was still there in spirit when Mommy and Daddy came to get me, they were so sad and I couldn’t do anything to make them happy, they leaned over and said, you were such a good boy, you were a bud bud, we love you so much, mission complete, I made them happy my entire life, but now I had to go, my big sister is pulling on me and said, come on Mason, the adventure isn’t over yet. Wait until you see the Rainbow Bridge! 
They say when a cardinal comes to visit you, it’s the spirit of a loved one letting you know all is good, This morning Lisa hollered out an “oh wow” from the kitchen and said they’re ok!! “Look” and a male and female cardinal flew from across the street in the bushes to the window and stopped then flew away! Of course we cried and then smiled they made us smile one last time before they left us for good!
Thanks for coming to our house bud bud, you were the best and sweetest present I ever got, luv you!