do you ever wonder why you do it? (for real dog lovers only)

[nightshade]

have a dog that is?

have just had my 14yr old border collie cross put down this afternoon.

just wanted to leave a quick tribune to one of my best friends.

I'm so, so sorry.
You must be devastated.

Nightshade, so sorry that you've had to go through such a sad time this afternoon, we've had our dog for only 12 months and I love her to bits already, she's part of our family .

thanks.

Sorry for your loss, we lost our 13 year old GSD to bloat almost 10 months ago and still miss her dearly.

As much as it hurts, she gave us so many good times and we treasure those memorys.

ah yes, had my beloved dog put down 7 years ago, he was 15. Now have a mad nutcase of a springer spaniel. I can't help it, I just love having a dog .

So sorry for you. It is such a heartbreaking thing to go through.
It is coming up to 12 months since I had to have one of mine put to sleep, and it still hurts.

aww nightshade,how sad.

I will probably have to do the same soon for my dog.

I feel sick and panicky when I think about it.

Hope it was a peaceful goodbye.

Nightshade - so very sorry for your loss.

It has been five years since I lost my two best friends very close together(great dane and great dane X ridgeback). Not a day goes by when I don't miss them terribly. I'm looking forward to the day when I can find a new doggy friend (or two) to share my life with.

I know why I did it, and I'm sure you know why you do too.

thanks everyone, appreciate the responses.

so sorry nightshade, you must really miss him/her...

i can completely understand what you're saying

my newfie died just over a year ago and it was one of the worse thing i have gone through.

It is devestating to lose a pet

So sorry nightshade. They're so much like family aren't they? I'm sure (s)he had a wonderful life.

...and to answer your question, you had a dog to give him/her a fantastic life that she/he might not have had with other owners and you got to be a part of each others life for such a long time.

THE BEST PLACE TO BURY A DOG

"There is one best place to bury a dog.
"If you bury him in this spot, he will
come to you when you call - come to you
over the grim, dim frontier of death,
and down the well-remembered path,
and to your side again.

"And though you call a dozen living
dogs to heel, they shall not growl at
him, nor resent his coming,
for he belongs there.

"People may scoff at you, who see
no lightest blade of grass bent by his
footfall, who hear no whimper, people
who may never really have had a dog.
Smile at them, for you shall know
something that is hidden from them,
and which is well worth the knowing.

"The one best place to bury a good
dog is in the heart of his master."

it is sad - but it is best to focus on all the good years you had together.

We are currently going through the pain of dog ownership from the other end - trying to sanitise a puppy (and sometimes wondering are we mad)- but we also have an old dog and know that within a few years she will no longer be with us - not a nice thought.

I had my baby for 17 years. She has been dead for three years and I still miss her terribly but would go through it all again to have her back.. I think this poem sums it up..

The Power of the Dog
by
Rudyard Kipling

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie--
Perfect passsion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart to a dog to tear.

When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will findit's your own affair
But ... you've given your heart to a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!)
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gonewherever it goesfor good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear.

We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve:
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-term loan is as bad as a long--
So why in--Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

So sorry nightshade.

The kipling has me blubbing... we lost our dear little dog suddenly in January.

Last week my DD brought home her RE exercise book. They'd had to write about something sad and, of course it was about Max dying. "He was my best friend. I'd never known a day without a dog...".

However, before the end of January we'd found another lovely little chap who needed a home and he's a total joy. We simply had to fill the dachshund-shaped hole in our lives. DD loves him to bits, as do DH and I. The memories - happy and sad - remain but life goes on.

We lost our border collie cross at the end of May and he was getting on for 15. It was so so sad & although we have another dog now we all miss him terribly. It's especially hard when people see us out with the new dog and ask what happened to our old one. But we all gained so much from having him, especially the dc's, and I think in some ways it at least gives them an insight into death, which is a necessary 'evil'. So sorry for you, nightshade.

thanks everyone, loved the poems. both extremely fitting.

so sorry!!

we have 3 siberian huskies - they are my best friends. I love them to pieces, and can only imagine what i will be like when they are gone they are all under 3 though, so hopefully not for a long time. touch wood.

big hugs to you sweety!

So sorry nightshdae Our springer is 11 now and I am becoming more aware that he won't be around forever.
This is a nice thing I came across a while ago:

Inscription on the Monument of a Newfoundland Dog

by Lord Byron

Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who
possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferocity,
and all the Virtues of Man,
without his Vices.
This Praise, which would be unmeaning
Flattery if inscribed over human
ashes is but a just tribute to the Memory
of Boatswain, a Dog.

I'm sorry.