I've just found all my old threads - my dog became ill initially in August 2014 and soon I was posting his symptoms and asking for ideas. When the vet suggested an operation I asked here should I do it, and was told maybe not the best idea, but I went ahead and then Ddog was desperately ill for a month before he had to be PTS. I even posted on here the morning he died, waiting for the vet to come.
When I was shocked at the grief, I wrote about it here and then we tried to get a rescue dog, that all went tits up, again I told it all here. I never thought it would be, but its helpful to me now to get my head around what happened - at the time I could barely understand what was happening even though I was actually there - but now I can look back on my posts and remember how it all came to pass that last month, who said what to whom, what each day was like.
There is no one in real life I can say these things to - some people were very sympathetic but after a year they've had it. I might open his box soon - when he died we put everything in a box. DD has looked inside it but I have never touched it again. His collar, a toy, a bit of his fur. Can't recall now.
We are still waiting for a new dog - I took a full time job last summer and now we have to wait till DH retires to get our puppy after Christmas - so probably be 2017. We are agonising over the breed so as to try to avoid health problems (and my DCs will never have a rescue dog again after our appalling experience, I've never see them so resolute).
There were so many people who posted with me all the time; I can't thank them enough. I know they are still around in particular MrsIsabellaVonDearheart and Floralnomad. Mumsnet at its best to coin a hackneyed old phrase!