Just had to put my old GSP down. Goddamn thats hard to do. I will surely miss her. Jim

My sympathy to you. My best friend of all time was Charlie, my GSP. He died in 1973; I still miss him.

It sucks! I've had to do it before. I will have to put my current furry buddy down by the end of the year. I'm not looking forward to it but it's better than watching her suffer.
My heart goes out to you. A man and his dog develop a powerful bond.

Sorry for your loss. Not much else one can say, but been there too.

Jim,

Sorry for your loss....

Those of us who love dogs know that the real price we pay for their love and companionship is their passing.

You have a PM

Sorry to hear that Jim.

I'm facing the same thing with one of mine.

Hi Jim,

Very sorry for your loss.

Just last late October my seven year old DD lost a battle started by cedar chips he decided to eat. Three surgeries in a week and a yeast infection finally made us decide it was time.

I still miss the big guy a bunch.

Very sorry to hear that. It takes a long time to recover.

You will never forget a good dog but the pain can be less with the application of puppy breath.

My sympathy to you. February 1 was one year that my Elroy died. I still haven't got over it. His little sister Bella,also a Border Collie,helps. Now that I'm retired we're inseperable. It gets harder and harder losing them.

Nick10Ring

Thanks very much to all of you! Jim

Jim

I understand. I had to bury our beloved Lola yesterday and I am hurting bad man. My heart is in tatters. She was the most special dog you can imagine and absolutely joined to my wife at the hip - her shadow. We can never forget her as long as we live. It is so, so sad. I keep on looking for her to appear around a corner ...

Sorry for you loss as well Bahati.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim White:
Just had to put my old GSP down. Goddamn thats hard to do. I will surely miss her. Jim

Put my 14 year old GSP down several years ago. Getting a pup before she left us helped.

Man's Best Friend

When You Bring a Dog into Your Life

When you bring a dog into your life, you begin a journey. A journey that will bring you more love and devotion than you have ever known, yet will also test your strength and courage. If you allow, the journey will teach you many things, about life, about yourself, and most of all, about love.
You will come away changed forever, for one soul cannot touch another without forever leaving its mark. Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life's simple pleasures -- jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joys of puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the ears.

If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly experience every element, for no rock, leaf, or log will go unexamined, no rustling bush will be overlooked, and even the very air will be inhaled, pondered, and noted as being full of valuable information.

Your pace may be slower, except when heading home to the food dish, but you will become a better naturalist, having been taught by an expert in the field. Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to complete the trail rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the details: the colorful mushrooms on the rotting log, the honeycomb in the old maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a twig.

Once we walk as a dog does, we discover a whole new world. We stop; we browse the landscape, we kick over leaves, peek in tree holes, look up, down, all around. And we learn what any dog knows: that nature has created a marvelously complex world that is full of surprises, that each cycle of the seasons bring ever changing wonders, that each day has an essence all its own.
Even from indoors, you will find yourself more attuned to the world around you. You will find yourself watching: summer insects collecting on a screen; how bizarre they are; how many kinds there are; or noting the flick and flash of fireflies through the dark. You will stop to observe the swirling dance of windblown leaves, or sniff the air after a rain. It does not matter that there is no objective in this; the point is in the doing, in not letting life's most important details slip by.

You will find yourself doing silly things that your dog-less friends might not understand: spending thirty minutes in the grocery aisle looking for the exact brand of food your companion must have, buying dog birthday treats, or just driving around the block an extra time because your dog enjoys the ride. You will roll in the snow, wrestle with chewie toys, bounce tennis balls till your eyes cross, and even run around the house trailing your bathrobe tie with a puppy in hot pursuit, all in the name of love.

Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less dark clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that old socks adorn your living room floor because your dog loves an impromptu game of tug. You will learn the true measure of love--the steadfast, undying kind that says, "It doesn't matter where we are or what we do, or how life treats us as long as we are together."

Respect this always. It is the most precious gift any living soul can give another. You will not find it often among the human race. And you will learn humility. The look in my dog's eyes often made me feel ashamed--such joy and love at my presence! She saw not some flawed human who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but only her wonderful companion. Or maybe she saw those things and dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering, and so chose to love me anyway. If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you will be not just a etter person, but the person your dog always knew you to be--the one they were proud to call beloved friend.

I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as surely as the sun sets, one day your dear companion will follow a trail you cannot yet go down. And you will have to find the strength and love to let them go. A dog's time on earth is far too short, especially for those of us that love them. We borrow them, really, just for a while; and during these brief years they are generous enough to give us all their love, every inch of their spirit and heart, until one day there is nothing left. The dog that only yesterday was a puppy is all too soon old and frail and sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy now wakes up stiff and lame, the muzzle gone to gray. Deep down we somehow always knew that this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our hearts they would be broken. But give them we must, for it is all they ask in return.

When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead, young and whole once more. "God speed, good friend," we say, "until our journey comes full circle and our paths will cross again."
~~ Author unknown ~~