Paul Jacobson

Last week my mom took Shaq to the vet and took his pain away.  Just after my dad died in July 2003, Shaq began to behave differently.  At first we thought it was because of all the activity at the house coupled with my dad's absence but I think we all knew he pined for my dad, his best friend.  A while ago Shaq started to have difficulty getting up and moving around and his shoulders had to be operated on in the hope the procedure would remedy whatever it was that was causing him pain.  Unfortunately the improvement was short lived and he began to decline rapidly until he could barely walk without being in tremendous pain.  Eventually, we had to do something.  He wasn't eating or moving around.  He couldn't, it hurt too much.  So last week my mom made him his favourite meal and when he was done, she took him on his last journey.  Good journey Shaq.  Say hi to my dad when you see him.