It's just a dog.

[liv2ski]

Man, just opening this thread can almost bring me to tears. FOC, your girl likely had to much fun and like me, after I get back from a ski trip, can barely walk for a few days. Wishing you both the best.

[smmokan]

I love this thread... all the love these dogs are getting makes me smile. We lost our younger (11-1/2) lab Talley to lymphoma just over a year ago, and now our older lab (14) Yoshi has osteosarcoma. It’s tough to deal with, but I know we’re doing all we can and it helps knowing they’re as comfortable and spoiled as possible. It looks like there are a bunch of other spoiled labs out there too.

Here’s Yoshi enjoying life as a Colorado lab

.

[Supermoon]

Man. Seeing this thread bumped always makes me sad. Hang tough Yoshi!

Sorry for all of your losses. My girl is almost seven now and it’s clear she’s starting to get a bit older. Dreading the day I have to contribute here.

[skiJ]

Jacob

Your Momma picked you back when you were just a sick little guy and took care of you when no one else would. She never left your side.
You grew up, and looked after her and kept her safe when it was just the two of you. You never left her side.
Then you picked yourself a Dadda. Momma wasn't sure about him, but you were. And then we were three. Momma, Dadda, and Jakey. You barked and scared burglars away, and kept your kitties clean. But still you were always by our side.
Whenever something went wrong, you were the first one to let Momma know it was going to be ok. Even when you got sick, you just wanted to comfort her and lick her tears away. Forever by her side.

We said goodbye to you this week at home, and your Momma never left your side.

Best friend and soulmate.

Jakey.

Dear 'Blue' ... there sure are some fine tributes here --

CA's To Jakey is as great as any ( ... and had me weeping again... ) ;

I still like the one about the one who could type, and sleep on a sack of hammers... ( ho ho )


Jakey. always by their side . . .

And 'Blue' , I know you 've got me covered --
Thanks for showing me to get the pups : They are Good little dogs ( Always at my side, too ... ! ... ! )

. . . next time I am North, I shall climb your hill...


I should take a stab at a tribute to 'Guy' - but not tonight . . .


oh, yeah (yes) : Thank you, 'Blue' for your final lesson to me ( I think = though there could be More out there. ) :

" ... the Good dogs leave us
before we cannot live without them ... "


I 'd have gladly gone with 'Blue'. and yet, She is still With me...

' You tell 'em, 'Blue' '

I love m' Blue' !!!


I Miss You, 'Blue' . . .


Thank you, 'Blue' ... ( !!! )


February 13, 2016. tj


IF you haven't read the op recently, Please do : it is one of my all-time favorite essays.

( Thanks, BSS )

[skiJ]

Dear diary...

I said I should attempt to pay tribute To 'Guy' , my parents' thirteen year old Border Collie who died of liver disease in February...

How can I thank the dog who saw my parents into their eighties ... (?) and spent his last year riding shotgun for Mel as they checked the cattle...
( Mel said - yesterday - that it was A favorite part of his day... (gulp) )


I did not know that my father would have another dog...
Just past seventy, he gave it ( Much ) thought... But their Border Collie had meant so much to them, and - I am Certain - was an important buffer in my parents' relationship . . .

so(,) 'Guy' it was --
Dad had horses and cattle. The cattle were pasture - fed and Dad,,, rotated the cattle through pastures he had fenced a decade earlier
( Mel comments repeatedly about my father's 'layout' ( ' your Dad knew what he was doing... ' That is pretty sweet music to a boy like me... ) ) ;
anyway... 'Guy' helped Dad - and I know Dad loved to watch 'Guy' ...

Mother also benefitted : 'Guy' was 'her dog, too'
huh : I had forgotten this : in their sitting room, they kept a rolled-up sock, or a knotted washcloth. and in the evening, 'Guy' would Expect my parents to toss it across the room(,) so he could bring it back to them.
It was one of the ways 'Guy' took care of my parents...


. . . when Dad went to resident care four years ago, I told Mother that it would be my honor to care for 'Guy' If she no longer could...
it was devastating to me(,) when he was given to the neighbors last year when Mother moved following Dad's death.

but it was the right move --
I have spent the last year on the road - back-and-forth trying to keep an eye on Mother and the farm... fifty thousand miles. 'Guy' would Not have liked it, and he loved checking the cattle with Mel .

... we knew he was ailing -- 'Guy' rejected the Prescription Diet that might have extended his life - and his final episode of hepatitis was ,,, an uneasy forty-eight hours. He received great Care.


Thank you, 'Guy' (!)

He rests in the yard where he sat for hours with Mother, watching. Ready... for anything ( like m' Blue' )

it is a good spot; he had a Grand life.

and this is about the best I can offer in thanks To 'Guy' for taking care of my parents ...

it's "just a dog." How do we get so lucky... (?)


Thank you, 'Guy' ! !!!



I still Love this place ( Thanks for listening... )


tj

[liv2ski]

Great tribute. Little kid trying to figure out why the old dood is crying at lunch

[ACH]

Dear diary...

tj

Nice tribute.
It brought back memories of our little girl that we had to say goodbye to Summer before last (post 666 of this thread).
Thinking of her still brings tears to my eyes, like this thread does when it gets the inevitable bump.

[skiJ]

Nice tribute.
It brought back memories of our little girl that we had to say goodbye to Summer before last (post 666 of this thread).
Thinking of her still brings tears to my eyes, like this thread does when it gets the inevitable bump.

Thank you...

one of two favorite threads. ( BigLost's ' a pic or two... ' )


Thanks, ACH ... tj

[stuckathuntermtn]

Nice tribute, skiJ.

[axebiker]

It's been a week since Salomon crossed the Bridge... Love you pal. I miss you more than words can say....

Thanks for the 14+ years.





Came across this in the yard on Saturday. Gutted...

[Flyoverland Captive]

Condolences, Axe... that sucks. I'm guessing Salomon had a pretty good life in your care.

[axebiker]

Condolences, Axe... that sucks. I'm guessing Salomon had a pretty good life in your care.

Thanks, F. I can only hope that I'll be half as great of a person as he thought I was.

[Harry]

Daisy sends her condolences for her friend Solomon. They were butt sniffing buddies. Solomon was a good dog.

[Mazderati]

RIP, Sal.

[ACH]

It's been a week since Salomon crossed the Bridge...

I'm sorry for your loss axebiker.
RIP Salomon.

[SkiBall]

It's been a week since Salomon crossed the Bridge... Love you pal. I miss you more than words can say....

Thanks for the 14+ years.





Came across this in the yard on Saturday. Gutted...

Lost my 14 yro last week. Gutted is a fair word...been feeling like a kick to the gut. Getting through it, but those random waves that flow through on occasion persist.

[Supermoon]

So sorry for your losses fellas.

[Norseman]

Pour some plaster in that paw print. Or maybe some molten aluminum. Save it... if it would be a happy keepsake.

[ACH]

Pour some plaster in that paw print. Or maybe some molten aluminum. Save it... if it would be a happy keepsake.

I like this idea...

Bummer SkiBall, I am sorry for your loss.

[TNKen]

Here's to all the pups in this thread, and their partners who still have an empty spot.

Spring striper season, Molly's favorite time!

[axebiker]

Lost my 14 yro last week. Gutted is a fair word...been feeling like a kick to the gut. Getting through it, but those random waves that flow through on occasion persist.

There are those moments when something just hits you...and all the sudden, it's like you can't get air... It's a hurt like nothing else. There are also those moments when you do things out of habit - set a plate/pan/bowl on the floor, save "the last bite" for someone who isn't there for it, turn on the radio when you leave for work so that there is a voice for someone no longer there to hear it, coming home over lunch to let someone out who isn't there...the list goes on and on...

Vibes to you - and all who have experienced this loss. It's soul-crushing.

[axebiker]

Pour some plaster in that paw print. Or maybe some molten aluminum. Save it... if it would be a happy keepsake.

My step-mom was the vet who helped him cross the bridge - we'll be getting a paw print/cast, and his ashes. I'll treasure those.

[SkiBall]

There are those moments when something just hits you...and all the sudden, it's like you can't get air... It's a hurt like nothing else. There are also those moments when you do things out of habit - set a plate/pan/bowl on the floor, save "the last bite" for someone who isn't there for it, turn on the radio when you leave for work so that there is a voice for someone no longer there to hear it, coming home over lunch to let someone out who isn't there...the list goes on and on...

Vibes to you - and all who have experienced this loss. It's soul-crushing.

We have a 1-1/2 yro pup that was probably raised more by old boy than us, so we have him to focus on. But the path I travelled with my lost friend is more than I (hopefully) ever will with the youngster. The bond we had was so much that it has still really hurt a lot. Was mentioning to a friend that I kind of felt bad that it kind of has been hurting more than when my dad passed. Maybe my memory is just faded on that, but feels real now.
It makes me ponder why I open myself up to the pain, but I will treasure the time I had with him and that will become more clear as the pain fades. My last dog died in the middle of the night, so this is the first I have had to make the call. The second guessing is brutal, and coming to grips with it being to remove his pain and not taking his life, which I still haven't shaken. Death is a process. Vibes back to you.

[skiJ]

There are those moments when something just hits you...and all the sudden, it's like you can't get air... It's a hurt like nothing else. There are also those moments when you do things out of habit - set a plate/pan/bowl on the floor, save "the last bite" for someone who isn't there for it, turn on the radio when you leave for work so that there is a voice for someone no longer there to hear it, coming home over lunch to let someone out who isn't there...the list goes on and on...

Vibes to you - and all who have experienced this loss. It's soul-crushing.

'Vibes'(,) axe - that 's grief...

your "last bite" resonated with me : That was 'Blue's program :
as she got older, she became less Patient : I'd get down to ,,, about the last four bites, and 'Blue' would start woofin' ( 'Where 's My "last bite" (?)' ) - it was endearing...

'Blue's last six months(,) she taught me so-much about patience. and about love...

it was so hard.

I believe The Pain is soul-affirming... The Gift that companions like Salomon and my 'Blue' are for a boy like me...

I would not have lived this long Without 'Blue'.


SkiBall had one, too --

'Blue's end was a mercifully Short twelve hours, and
we were on our way(,) 'Blue's one way trip...

'Blue' rests high on a hill overlooking (Lake) Superior. it is the right spot : the pups and I go to visit...

for me, grief has evolved, and those moments that used to haunt me, ,,, most of them, now, make me smile...


still, every once in a while, I sob ( or weep like I am now . . . ) and I remember, 'Blue' is " Just A Dog "


Thank you ! 'Blue' !!!

( ' You tell 'em, 'Blue' ! )


god. I miss m'Blue'...


Thanks for listening...

grief can ease ( I believe. . . )


tj

Thanks, guys...


.

[PNWbrit]

Coming up on 5 years since Gus had his first lumpectomies. off his armpit, belly and back leg... big surgery, long recovery.

Two years since tumor in his anal gland removed... we were told "be prepared for the worst"

He had another couple of lumps taken off his paw earlier this year.

His twelfth birthday tomorrow.



Hang in there.