We got our dog when he was 4 and we had him for 7 years he was the most gentle soul. He wouldn't hurt a fly he would catch flies that were bothering him in his mouth and spit them out when they dried off they would bother him again I always waited for him to gulp them down but he never did.
when my twins were just starting to crawl they would be all over him and he never minded. he would just lick them all over.
He always went to bed when I did and if I had to play musical beds in the night if he didn't follow me he was there when I woke up.
There is a gaping empty space in our family.
We buried him in the back yard and planted all kinds of flowers and plants and put some solar lights around as he was afraid in the back yard because it is so dark. We are really sad.

Oh, I know how much this hurts. Dogs become like our children to us. There so special, they are just sweetness and love. I love my 10 year old Golden more and more with every year. I dread the moment I will not have him....

Just like with any loss you have to greive...and move on . But I wanted to tell you I know how sad you are, and I have been there too. I lost my last dog after 16 years. I never thought I could love another as much. But I do love this Golden as much now...

I hope you are feeling better soon

Hi threekidsthen5,
I'm so sorry to hear that your dog died. I have had to have 3 put to sleep and it ripped my heart out. I always have 2 dogs at a time so they can keep each other company. When the last one got sick (my little Lhasa Apso, Biscuit), I thought we'd just keep the remaining dog and not replace the one we lost. I grieved for over a year and had a big hole in my hard and finally asked myself why was I doing this to myself, so I decided to get another dog, this time a Shih Tzu and I can't tell you the joy this dog has brought into my life. She is so precious and sweet. One thing I know about dogs is that they love you unconditionally no matter if you yell at them or give them a swat, they come right back at you wagging their tails. They ARE a part of your family because they depend on you (like an infant) to take care of their physical and emotional needs, so you end up investing your time and love.

My daughter's Minature Pinscher was killed by a vehicle several months ago and to say she was devastated would be putting it mildly - hysterical would be a better word. Anyway, after 4 days of crying her heart out, her dad and I bought her a new dog of the same breed and she was soooooo happy to have a puppy to love.

God knew what he was doing when He gave us pets. I hope grieving gives you the relief you need for now and maybe you will decide to get another dog. Just remember the saying it is better to have loved, than to never have loved at all.

A dog is more than just a dog and is a pet and becomes part of the family. I lost my dog last year at the age of 15 years. We had her from a 6 months old puppy and she had a veyr happy life. She was the most beautiful Blue Merle Border Collie and I just adored her.

It hurt so much when she died and I still miss her now, but always keep her in my heart and still talk about her all the time. You never really get over it, but the pain gets a little less though. When she died, we had her cremated and asked to keep her ashes. We buried her ashed in the garden and have made a garden for her with lots of plants such as Pulsatilla.

I am into alternative therapies myself , so if you are finding that you are having problems coming to terms with the loss of your beloved pet, then I would suggest that you try taking a homeopathic remedy called IGNATIA. It is one of the grief remedies and can really help you to come to terms with this more readily.

Good luck

It took me 17 years to get over the loss of my first dog, Ben-Gee. I had him since I was 12 and he got me through my teenage and young adult years. When my kids started asking for a dog, I just didn't think I could do it again. But I finally gave in and said we could get a dog, but it would just be a "dog". I would never give up my heart to a dog again. My Ben-Gee died in my arms as the vet gave him the last injection that ended his suffering.

So now we have Hershey. He has been part of our family for three years. And yes, of course he is my 45 pound baby and I love him with all my heart. Two years ago, we suffered the horribly tragic loss of our beautiful 10 year old daughter. Hershey has been of such comfort to me in coping with that worst of losses.

But what I wanted to tell you is that yes, I lost a child, and that is the worst loss I can ever experience. There is nothing worse. But the loss of my beloved first dog, Ben-Gee is a close second. Dogs become family. When we adopted Hershey at the local pound, we took that very seriously. We adopted him into our family and he is as much a family member as any of us. And his unconditional love and quirky personality is one of the major things keeping us going.

Let yourself grieve. It is a major loss. But you will get through it. Just as we are coping with our losses. You just get by day by day. Don't avoid the grieving. You need to plow right through it. And don't let anyone tell you that the loss of a dog is nothing. Dogs become our children. And that loss is the worst that anyone can endure. But even though I thought I could never love another dog, I now have my beloved Hershey. Yes, I know dogs have relatively short lives (though many live longer than my little girl who was 10), but I am enjoying every moment I have with him. He is my crazy, loving, psycho companion. Having him in my life has also allowed me to reconcile with Ben-Gee's loss. I can now concentrate on the wonderful 14 years Ben-Gee and I had together, rather than the trauma of his death. And knowing that it is possible to reconcile is also helping me to get through these awful years of grief after my daughter's death. I know I can make it though at times it seems impossible. Hang in there. You will get through it. You are not alone.

I know how empty you feel. When my dog was killed I had a knot in my stomach for weeks. My wife and I would cry ourselves to sleep every night......it sucked. I used to make fun of people that grieved like that over a dead pet, but not anymore! I messed up and left our gate open and Samson, a beautiful, sweet yellow lab got out. We looked for him for 2 days and then one morning around 5:00 a.m. my wife and I found him in the road. He had been hit by a car. We were devastated. I swore I would never get another dog and then a friend said something that stuck with me. He said, "Youd don't want Samson's legacy to be that he kept you from ever owning another dog. Think of all the happiness and joy he brought to your life." I thought that made sense and got another Lab and I'm so glad I did. I will pray for you and your family. I know it's tough.

Originally posted by threekidsthen5:
We got our dog when he was 4 and we had him for 7 years he was the most gentle soul. He wouldn't hurt a fly he would catch flies that were bothering him in his mouth and spit them out when they dried off they would bother him again I always waited for him to gulp them down but he never did.
when my twins were just starting to crawl they would be all over him and he never minded. he would just lick them all over.
He always went to bed when I did and if I had to play musical beds in the night if he didn't follow me he was there when I woke up.
There is a gaping empty space in our family.
We buried him in the back yard and planted all kinds of flowers and plants and put some solar lights around as he was afraid in the back yard because it is so dark. We are really sad.

Hi, I have some thing I would like to share with you, Im very sorry to hear of your loss, its sad our little furry friends seem to become part of our familys, just like one of our children do, but here it goes, you may want to save this and give it to a friend or a family member...

I remember bringing you home. You were so small and cuddly with your tiny paws and soft fur.
You bounced around the room with eyes flashing and ears flopping. Once in awhile you'd let out a yelp, just to let me know this was your territory.

Making a mess of the house and chewing on everything in sight became a passion, and when I scolded you, you just put your head down and looked up at me with those innocent eyes, as it to say "I'm sorry, but I'll do it again as soon as your not watching".

As you got older, you protected me by looking out the window and barking at everyone who walked by.

When I had a tough day at work, you would be waiting for me with your tail wagging just to say, "Welcome home. I missed you." You never had a bad day, and I could always count on you to be there for me.

When I sat down to read the paper and watch TV, you would hop on my lap, looking for attention. You never asked for anything more than to have me pat your head so you could go to sleep with your head over my leg.

As you got older, you moved around more slowly. Then, one day, old age finally took its toll, and you couldn't stand on those wobbly legs anymore. I knelt down and patted you lying there, trying to make you young again. You just looked at me as if to say you were old and tired and that after all these years of not asking for anything, you hadto ask me for one last favor.

With tears in my eyes, I drove you one last time to the vet. One last time, you were lying next to me.

For some strange reason you were able to stand up in the animal hospital' perhaps it was your sence of pride.

As the vet led you away, you stopped for an instant, turned your head and looked at me as if to say, "Thank you for taking care of me."

I thought, "No, thank you for taking care of me."

Once again, I am very sorry to hear of your loss, I have a special little guy, hes a yorkie, had him since 5 weeks old, hes 4 yrs now, takecare

Michaela

I am so sorry to hear about your dog. I know how you feel. I am a dog lover and have had many. I have also lost many and it does hurt so bad. How long has it been? Have you thought about getting another dog? It is just like loosing a member of your family. I hope that you feel better soon. We are all hear for you if you need a sholder to cry on.

jroscher

I can just feel your sadness. I will send out positive thoughts to you and your family. How lucky you were to have him in your life for 7 years. I am sure he loved you very much!

actually, my passion is cats -- for years i was seriously allergic to them, but when a grey and white stray wandered into our backyard (i was 45 then), i was hooked -- he was so insistent! apparently his owners had gone off and left him; we put posters all over the neighbourhood and in the grocery store ... it was when he had a serious ear mite infestion (to the point where he had sores in his ears) that we decided to adopt him ... and after some $800 worth of vet's bills, he was ours ...

he was the smartest cat we've ever owned (my husband once owned six at one time!) ... he used to look at us and we knew exactly what he wanted: he had some sort of serios ESP going on (i'm not kidding -- he could summon us from the den, without making a sound, from outside when he wanted to come in -- my husband and i used to look at each other and say, "i wonder if mobius wants to come in?") ... he had a serious set of complicated vocalizations and he found the perfect echo in our three story stairwell... he loved ping-pong balls -- he used to go all the way upstairs and toss the ball down to the bottom floor -- BONK-eta BONK-eta BOMK eta ... BONK, you'd hear echoing on the hardwood steps! then he'd go downstairs, pick up the ball in his mouth, and start the wole process all over again (this at 3:00AM)...

we live in a quiet neighbourhood, he was killed by a speeding car two and a half years after we adopted him; we've adopted three cats since (one drowned in a neighbour's pool), and they're just, well, cats ...

we absolutely adored him, and i still tear up five years later when i think about him ...

so yeah, threekidsthen five, i understand, and my heart goes out to you ... http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif

[This message has been edited by jinglebts (edited 07-15-2003).]

My Dog Bobby died today and it's so sad, all i can think about is Bobby and i wouldn't have it any other way. Bobby got hit by a fire truck today in the morning at around 11am i didn't even know that he was outside my mom was letting him out in the back yard so he can go to the washroom but then my mom was doing some gardening and forgot about Bobby next thing you know, a fire truck has it's sirens on full blast and knowing my dog he like to chase them. one of my neighbours knocked so loud on my door so i ran and opened it and he pointed to the middle of the street and there i saw my dog lying on the middle of the street. i ran as quick as i can up to him when i saw him his eyes were still and his whole body didn't even move or shake i was so shocked so i picked him up and ran back to my house and called as loud as i can for my sister i ran up the stiars to her and she started to scream i was also screaming "PLEASE WAKE UP BOBBY" and crying at the same time. he looked dead to me at that point but i didn't raelly care cause i still wanted to drive to the vets hospital so i got there in less then 5 mins when i got there they brought him in a room and cleared off the table right away and tried to ressurrect him, they put me in another room and while they were trying to ressurect him i was praying to god and asking for a miracle after abuot another 5 mins, the nurse walked in and said that there was nothing else they can do and they brought him in to me wrapped in bed sheets i was crying like there was no tomorrow, and i'm still crying as i write this, as Bobby lay in front of me motionless i felt so bad that there was nothing i can do for him =*( i kissed him a few times and tried to get the blood off him so he can at least look good the nurse came back in and took him away and i siad my good-byes to him and i really hope he's in a good place. there's no words to express how much i love my dog and hearing about your dog dying makes me know that they are really special cause Bobby wasn't only my best friend he's like a little brother to me i hope that i will one day see him again and the sooner the better b/c i feel so lonely without Bobby