Things my dogs taught me when they passed

[iluvk9]

Please feel free to add to my list. It is my hope that someone reading this will be comforted.

1.) Although you will feel like you are going through it alone, you have many friends who understand.

2.) The pain never goes away, but it does lessen over the years.

3.) You will talk about your dog 5 years from now and still tear up.

4.) There are times you will swear you see your dog in his/her familiar places in your home. I still see Carlos sleeping behind the couch.

5.) Some people will not "get it" and suggest you "snap out of it". Feel sorry for them. They have not known the love of a dog.

6.) Talking about it does help. Yes, you will get choaked up, but telling about your dog's life just makes you realize how loved they were.

7.) Some days you will be fine. Other days, not so much. It comes and goes.

8.) You may second guess yourself if it was a situation where you had to make a choice. Trust yourself. You know you made the right choice for your dog.

9.) Everyone grieves differently. That is okay, too.

[madremissy]

That is great Joyce.

[gayrghts]

Wow... Joyce.. that's awesome...

so many of those, i wanted to just scream... get out of my head



You were so very much on target...

I've lost 4 dogs over my lifetime.... not bad at 50 yrs old... but most of this applied to each and every one of them....

Thanks

[Malli]

I have only lost one dog, but I see much of this at my work, and this is what I have learned....
-being able to end something that they cannot end themselves can be a wonderful gift and an incredibly selfless act all at the same time.

[KJS]

5.) Some people will not "get it" and suggest you "snap out of it". Feel sorry for them. They have not known the love of a dog.

Sometimes you get this from people who do own dogs ....I figured out that their "heart" dog has not found them yet and then I make a silent wish that they meet up soon...for both thier sakes

[nicole]

this is very touching, thank you for sharing Joyce

[turtle]

Their love and companionship has been priceless. My life has been far better because of having my dogs, even though their passing has been so painful that I felt like I never wanted to start another day without them...

Rudyard Kipling said it well in his poem:


The Power of the Dog

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 passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for 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 find--it's your own affair--
But...you've given your heart for 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 gone--wherever it goes--for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart for the 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-time 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?

by Rudyard Kipling

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[Wyldmoonwoman]

This is so true, greiving after a loss is an experience that lasts forever, even after you reach the stage of acceptance, every once in awhile you get that feeling of sadness...

[gmorales]

Their love and companionship has been priceless. My life has been far better because of having my dogs, even though their passing has been so painful that I felt like I never wanted to start another day without them...

Rudyard Kipling said it well in his poem:


The Power of the Dog

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 passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for 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 find--it's your own affair--
But...you've given your heart for 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 gone--wherever it goes--for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart for the 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-time 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?

by Rudyard Kipling

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thank you for sharing, this is truly priceless, I can hardly see what I am typing.

[amazincc]

10. Don't feel guilty about bringing a "new" dog into your home. Your departed furry friend would understand that he/she could never be replaced, and that they hold a special place in your heart that's reserved just for them.