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The doghouse

Gone but not forgotten

4 replies

ItsaTenfromDen · 24/04/2016 18:31

This week we had to say goodbye to our dog. It was completely the right thing to do for him. We never anticipated that we would miss him so much. The house feels empty and we can see him everywhere we look. My heart aches and I've shed a tear every day. How do we move on from this heartache?

OP posts:
iMatter · 24/04/2016 18:38

I was in your position 2 years ago. I was heartbroken.

Take it a day at a time and don't be surprised when the grief comes from nowhere and hits you like a truck.

Remember your dog with happiness. I remember a friend telling me that our grief showed just how much we loved her and how important she was in our lives.

It will take time. Don't rush it. Thanks

Chickenagain · 24/04/2016 20:51

The House Dog's Grave
By Robinson Jeffers
I’ve changed my ways a little; I cannot now
Run with you in the evenings along the shore,
Except in a kind of dream; and you,
If you dream a moment,
You see me there.

So leave awhile the paw-marks on the front door
Where I used to scratch to go out or in,
And you’d soon open; leave on the kitchen floor
The marks of my drinking-pan.
I cannot lie by your fire as I used to do
On the warm stone,
Nor at the foot of your bed; no,
All the nights through I lie alone.
But your kind thought has laid me less than six feet
Outside your window where firelight so often plays,
And where you sit to read—
And I fear often grieving for me—
Every night your lamplight lies on my place.
You, man and woman, live so long, it is hard
To think of you ever dying.
A little dog would get tired, living so long.
I hope that when you are lying
Under the ground like me your lives will appear
As good and joyful as mine. No, dears, that’s too much hope:
You are not so well cared for as I have been.
And never have known the passionate undivided
Fidelities that I knew.
Your minds are perhaps too active, too many-sided...
But to me you were true.

You were never masters, but friends. I was your friend.
I loved you well, and was loved. Deep love endures
To the end and far past the end. If this is my end,
I am not lonely. I am not afraid. I am still yours.

Hope this helps.

puffylovett · 24/04/2016 23:38

The answer is, you don't. You just take it day by day Sad

We lost ours in March and I've been surprised at how ok I've been. Then out of the blue it hits me and I have a storm of upset. Just try to focus on all the happy memories :(

Giggorata · 02/05/2016 11:51

A bit late to this one... Just shed a tear for that amazing affecting poem.
It's been a few years since my dear old boy went & I still miss him, but the heartache has mostly morphed into happy memories, bittersweet sometimes, but it's cope able.

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