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Originally Posted by HawaiiTrvlr
(Post 16057997)
Today, Skippy took that quiet journey over the rainbow bridge. While I am heartbroken and I can't stop crying, I know it was for the best. Today is the first time that he is painfree in a very long time. I can look back and remember all the great times we shared, the road trips we took, the walks that we went on. All bring a smile to my face through the many tears of today (and the last week). Take some time today and give an extra hug to your pet today. Thank you to those that have posted so many kind words.
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Originally Posted by HawaiiTrvlr
(Post 16057997)
Today, Skippy took that quiet journey over the rainbow bridge. While I am heartbroken and I can't stop crying, I know it was for the best. Today is the first time that he is painfree in a very long time. I can look back and remember all the great times we shared, the road trips we took, the walks that we went on. All bring a smile to my face through the many tears of today (and the last week). Take some time today and give an extra hug to your pet today. Thank you to those that have posted so many kind words.
Continue to go on the walks that you two did together - it'll help keep Skippy's memory alive for years to come. |
I adopted a new dog yesterday (he is a rescue). Harley can never be a substitute for the dog I lost last month but he is fast filling that void. He is a 2 1/2 year old Blue Heeler and loves to travel. I cant wait to take him hiking and camping this year and do a road trip or two back home.
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I am so happy for you! And you are right - one dog never "replaces" another, but the newbie will end up with a different place in your heart! (a learning gained after many years and several dogs....)
And props to you for not only adopting, but picking a "hard to place" breed. Enjoy your new friend! |
Originally Posted by HawaiiTrvlr
(Post 16057997)
Today, Skippy took that quiet journey over the rainbow bridge. While I am heartbroken and I can't stop crying, I know it was for the best. Today is the first time that he is painfree in a very long time. I can look back and remember all the great times we shared, the road trips we took, the walks that we went on. All bring a smile to my face through the many tears of today (and the last week). Take some time today and give an extra hug to your pet today. Thank you to those that have posted so many kind words.
One of myYorkies is 16 years old and I know I will be facing this decision pretty soon. I will always be grateful for the time I have been having with her even though I will cry buckets of tears when that awful moment comes. |
Originally Posted by RSSrsvp
(Post 10864347)
In memory of Indy:
=========================================== Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like: When loved ones come home, always run to greet them. Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride. Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy. Take naps. Stretch before rising. Run, romp, and play daily. Thrive on attention and let people touch you. Avoid biting when a simple growl will do. On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass. On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree. When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body. Delight in the simple joy of a long walk. Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not. If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it. When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently. ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY BECAUSE THAT IS HOW MAN'S BEST FRIEND WOULD WANT YOU TO DO IT! |
I'm so sorry to hear about the death of your pet, Noodles, slippahs. Those decisions are always so terribly difficult to make. I'm sure Noodles is in a better place now. R.I.P. Noodles.
Bobette |
slippahs, you had a tough decision to make and you acted in Noodles' best interest. Knowing you, I'm confident you provided Noodles with a great life & companiship.
Noodles is in a better place as all dogs go to heaven. |
I'm sorry to hear about your loss slippahs.
I agree with bhatnasx that all dogs go to heaven, and I do think when we as pet owners get there, we'll have a great welcoming committee waiting for us. |
re: "In Memory"
Thanks everyone. They say time heals all wounds. Just a matter of how much time... Give your dogs an extra pat on the head for me.
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Originally Posted by slippahs
(Post 16379443)
Thanks everyone. They say time heals all wounds. Just a matter of how much time... Give your dogs an extra pat on the head for me.
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My Angel received a big kiss from me also!
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It is so hard to say goodby. Extra hugs and kisses to my surviving two today. So sorry for your loss. Oh, how we cherish our beloved animals.
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Slippahs...I totally know how you are feeling. I will give my dog an extra hug in the name of Noodles today. If I was still living in Hawaii, I would offer to meet you for a malasadas in Aiea and we could talk story about how great our pets are.
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Dear friends,
I have some sad news for you as my beloved Angel died last Tuesday. For over the last ten years a little girl named Angel has been the joy of my life. I selected her as a puppy because she captivated me with the biggest smile and from the very first day I knew that there was something very special about her. She was always full of energy, constantly smiling and she brought an immeasurable amount of love not only into my life but also to everyone that came in contact with her. Angel was not only my loyal companion but also my best friend who always showed me unconditional love. Wherever I walked she was my shadow, constantly at my side. In May of 2010 she was diagnosed with mitral valve heart disease and for the last 2 ½ years she was fighting this condition like a trooper. She was handling her medication well and unless I informed them, people didn’t have a clue as to how serious her heart condition really was. Last week she encountered a new obstacle when without any advance symptoms her gall bladder suddenly failed and drastically affected her liver functions. Coupled with her heart disease this was too much for her frail and tiny body to withstand. I had no choice but to do the humane thing and say goodbye to her. I had her body cremated on Saturday and brought her ashes back home to be with me forever. Wherever I went, people would always say that Angel was the prettiest Cavalier King Charles Spaniel they had ever seen. Not only was she a beauty queen, but in addition she was very intelligent, well behaved, with the sweetest manner and disposition you have ever seen. People were always amazed as to how well she communicated with me and others. You always knew what she wanted to do and what was on her mind. She was everything you could ever want in a pet and a wonderful dog. I loved her very much and she will have a place in my heart forever. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x...0/P1010502.JPG |
My deepest condolences
RSSrsvp as a fellow Cavalier owner please accept my deepest sympathy and condolences on the loss of your Angel. LAF
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I am so sorry, but proud of the strength you showed to do the right thing. It is very, very hard, and my thoughts are with you.
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R.I.P., beautiful Angel. I had the pleasure of meeting this sweet girl. She was exactly as RSSrsvp described. She was truly loved.
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Wirelessly posted (iPhone-ETOPS: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 6_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/536.26 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0 Mobile/10A405 Safari/8536.25)
RSSrsvp, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. May she rest in peace. |
I am so very sorry for your loss.
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Very sorry for your loss, RSSrsvp - I know how much she meant to you.
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I'm so sorry for your loss, RSSrsvp.
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A lot of non-pet owners don’t understand that pets can become part of the family
Many years ago I met a girl who had just adopted two 7 week old kittens, a brother and sister, as we dated and I started spending a lot of time at her place, the male took to me and would always sit on my lap, while the female would sit on my girlfriends lap. Later on we became engaged and when she moved in with me, along came the cats. We lost the male at 16 years of age after an almost 3 year battle with cancer, during that time he underwent numerous chemo treatments and he took the treatments in stride, like a human he would have his bad days just after a treatment and then feel good until his next treatment. He came down with pneumonia and his vets tried strong antibiotics to fight the pneumonia, but because his immune system was suppressed because of his chemo treatments he was not able to fight off the infection One day he started gasping for breath and by the time I was able to get him to our local vets office he had gone into respiratory arrest and died in the car on the way to the vets. His name was Elliott, and my screen name is in his honor, he was the best cat I ever had. His sister Eloise lived to 18 years, she was not felling well and not eating so we took her to our local vet, the vet did an x-ray and discovered a mass on one of her lungs, the biopsy showed it to be lung cancer. After consulting with Elliott’s oncologist, she felt that the cancer had already spread and surgery would not prolong her life, so had to make the toughest decision we ever had to make and put her to sleep. We buried her next to Elliott in our back yard and they have their own little grave markers on them. One of the interesting things about these 2 cats is they were born in a horse barn where my wife rode horses, their mother was a barn cat and gave birth to a litter of 3 in a box in the barn. Cats, like dogs are born both blind and deaf, their only sense they have when born is smell. If anyone has ever been around horse barns, they have a very distinctive odor, so from their first breaths they inhaled the smell of horses. When my wife came home from horseback riding once in a while she would put down on the floor her saddle blanket and watch the cats reaction, they would start kneading, rubbing and rolling on it and start to salivate, we figured the horse odor was triggering something deep in their minds going back to when they were nursing from their mother, who probably smelled from horses as well and they would not stop doing this until we removed the blanket Because of this both of them were people cats, especially Elliott, he loved people, the more around him, the more he was happier, he would just go from one lap to another to say hello and push his head up against you looking to be petted and then find the most comfortable lap to curl up on and take a nap. While he was comfortable, the person whose lap he was napping on wasn’t, most of the times it was me. He was a big guy, not fat just large, he weighed 13 and a half pounds. When he would stand on his hind legs he could easily reach up over the top of the kitchen counters or could jump up and swat the refrigerator magnets we had at the top of the freezer door and it didn’t take long with all that weight stretched out from my lap to my knees for either my back or neck to start bothering me, so against his will he would get relocated to a spot next to me. 3 months after we lost Eloise, we adopted 2 unrelated 12 week old female kittens from a local shelter, while we still consider them part of the family, they don’t have the same personalities like Elliott and Eloise, their more like typical cats, lovable but aloof and independent. Elliott and Eloise were handled from day one by animal lovers and mama had so much trust in people that when they were let of their large dog carrier to roam around, mama and the kittens were kept in the dog carrier because a horse barn is not a place for young kittens to be roaming around, mama would go outside and relax, leaving her weeks old kittens in the hands of the barn people. As pet owners we all will go through the tough time of losing a pet. Unlike with humans where the only decision to end someone’s life is to pull the plug, taking a pet to the vets for the final injection had to be one of the toughest things someone has to do, I know it was for me and my wife. But having a pet can also bring a lot of happiness in one’s life and we do this with the knowledge that we will outlive our pets, but during that time they will have enjoyed a good long life, I know Elliott and Eloise did. Thanks for letting me share some fond memories. Mr. Elliott |
My dog died this morning.
I really enjoyed reading about Elliott and Eloise. As a cat lover myself I have experienced the heart wrenching loss of a wonderful companion. They are certainly in our hearts forever.
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edited by me
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Resources for those experiencing grief from pet loss
Having experienced too many losses over the years, including two cairn terriers, two Siberian huskies, two cats, a German shepherd, four Rhodesian Ridgebacks, one "Heinz 57" - all except the Cairns we purchased from a breeder in the 1960s were rescues - we can empathize with what folks are feeling when they lose a pet. (This doesn't count the pets we each lost before we married.) It's not easy, we have to allow ourselves time and space to grieve and not everyone understands.
RSSrsvp, we've walked that difficult walk and had to make the difficult decision for some of our pets - quality of life vs. end of pain and travail. Heartfelt sympathies for you and lots of kudos for doing the right, if difficult, thing. The University of California at Davis Veterinary Medical School has previously operated the pet loss hotline previously mentioned, as well as a page that lists various pet loss resources here ranging from hotlines to memorial websites to books, articles, etc. They offer a short (two page) PDF brochure here. Pet Loss Hotlines (most staffed by caring veterinary students) Cornell University pet loss support hotline 607-253-3932, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. ET, Tuesday-Thursday University of Illinois pet loss helpline US Tollfree (877) 394-CARE (2273) / (217) 244-CARE (2273) in Champaign, IL 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. CT, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday Michigan State University pet loss support hotline 517-432-2696, 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. EST, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (Summer hours Tuesday and Thursday only) * Callers are invited to leave a message if calling outside of these hours. Your call will be returned during our next regular hotline hours. Calls are returned with a calling card and may appear as unlisted on caller-id. Tufts University pet loss support hotline 508-839-7966 6:00 PM - 9:00 p.m. EST Monday - Thursday during the academic year Washington State University pet loss hotline 1-(866) 266-8635 or (509) 335-5704 7:00 -9:00 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 1:00 -3:00 p.m. Saturday Pacific Time during the academic year. E-mail [email protected] While school is not in session and during holidays we have abbreviated hours checking phone and email messages Monday-Thursday and Saturday once daily. All messages will be returned as soon as possible. Note: most have additional weblinks and resources available A short, non-copyrighted article from UC Davis Vet Med School here: Loving Animals and Losing Them For those of us who choose to share our lives with pets, at one time or another we will undoubtedly become emotionally attached to them. Even for people who share their lives with many animals, every so often an extra special one comes along. When we must face the loss of an extraordinary animal companion, we may be shocked to find ourselves experiencing intense grief. It might even be worrisome to have such an overwhelming response to losing "just an animal." You need to realize this is NOT "just an animal." This pet, for reasons perhaps known only to you, has managed to find a very special, unique place in your life and in your heart. Part of the sadness in losing such a pet is knowing that no other pet or person will ever fill that special place in quite the same way. Reactions to Loss First and foremost, GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION to have a reaction, whatever it is. Know that grief can occur before, during and after the loss of a loved one. Grief also includes a wide range of reactions that are considered normal, such as feeling numb, irritability, crying spells, hallucinations, and feeling hopeless. Every loss is unique and every person grieves differently - even when experiencing the loss of the same animal or person. It is normal for profound sadness and grief to last a few weeks to many months, lessening with time. Without proper care and attention, painful grief can last for years. Recovery from Grief If you have suffered painful losses before, you may know that no two losses are alike and losing loved ones does not get easier. If a loss of this magnitude is new to you, you may feel as though you will never get over it and that you will be suffering forever. PEOPLE DO RECOVER from painful losses. The people who adjust to loss are those who experience their feelings about the loss and take one day at a time. Many eventually decide to bring another pet into their lives. In every case, grief does not go away magically. Dealing with your loss and the passage of time are the two best healers. |
Originally Posted by JDiver
(Post 19557291)
Having experienced too many losses over the years, including two cairn terriers, two Siberian huskies, two cats, a German shepherd, four Rhodesian Ridgebacks, one "Heinz 57" - all except the Cairns we purchased from a breeder in the 1960s were rescues - we can empathize with what folks are feeling when they lose a pet. (This doesn't count the pets we each lost before we married.) It's not easy, we have to allow ourselves time and space to grieve and not everyone understands.
RSSrsvp, we've walked that difficult walk and had to make the difficult decision for some of our pets - quality of life vs. end of pain and travail. Heartfelt sympathies for you and lots of kudos for doing the right, if difficult, thing. |
I can't even bear to read this thread. I just wish you the best, and sincerely hope you can move on with the pleasant memory of your friend. Wouldn't imagine what I'd do if it happened to my dog.
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thanks for the info on the hotline....think my kids love the dog more then me!
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Our sweet Hazel, our shiny black Pug died this week. She may have been the sweetest dog in our dog history. Hazel was unlike any pug I have ever known. Hazel thought she was a greyhound and could outrun every other dog in the dog park; she came pretty damn close.
She was 13. During the last 2 years she had become incontinent and her back legs were paralyzed, apparently due to spinal problems. We refused to euthanize her because she peed on our carpets. Earlier this week, it became apparent that she was suffering. She had several seizures during the night and screamed. We were thankful that she passed peacefully and is no longer suffering. I have had dogs my entire life. Saying goodbye never gets easier. Now, our Yorkie is very clingy. Although, they didn't exactly play, they did hang out. Big transition. Sad transition |
I am very sorry for your loss. It is very hard...
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O2K, I know how much you loved all of your pugs. Hazel is playing with my Angel right now in a better place.
xoxo |
I have just discovered this section of the forum about the special bonds between us and our pets. Reading the posts here about the immense griefs which we have all experienced in losing a beloved pet, made me wept. But, it also made me felt grateful that there are so many who love their pets deeply as we have. They are parts of our family - they give us more than we ever know. Thank you to all of you who have shared your stories here.
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My dog died this morning.
O2k, I'm so sorry to hear about Hazel - it sounds like you have her a very full life and did the right thing for her once the suffering became apparent.
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O2k, I'm so sorry for your loss! I always hate it when this thread has new posts. :(
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bhatnasx, as you are the OP for this thread and many of us have posted about our own losses would you object if I revised the title to "In Memoriam" or "In Memory"?
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Originally Posted by RSSrsvp
(Post 19558092)
Thanks for your kind words. Last night I was reflecting with one of my neighbors who is also a dog owner and she hit the nail right on the head. I had 2 beagles growing up as a kid but they were both "family" dogs. Angel was the first dog I owned in my adult life and I spent more time being with her than any living person in the last 10 years. She was my shadow and it was almost like she had a sixth sense that I needed a mental boost as no matter how bad a day I was having she always managed to put a smile on my face.
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Originally Posted by RSSrsvp
(Post 19927641)
bhatnasx, as you are the OP for this thread and many of us have posted about our own losses would you object if I revised the title to "In Memoriam" or "In Memory"?
O2K |
Originally Posted by RSSrsvp
(Post 19927641)
bhatnasx, as you are the OP for this thread and many of us have posted about our own losses would you object if I revised the title to "In Memoriam" or "In Memory"?
I appreciate that this community can be so supportive to each other. |
I was reading through the Travel with Pets forum and came across this thread.
Being the owner of a 7 year old black lab, I was moved by the original post and by the support of this community, even on a thread going for 5 years. I'm very fortunate to be in such good company. bhatnasx, hoping that the memories of Indy still remain strong :) |
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