Comment

Comment by John Wolff on March 29, 2010 at 1:26pm

Nobody gets outa here alive. Whenever you love someone, you open yourself to getting hurt. The sun will fry this whole planet sometime. There's little to gain from fearing or mourning the Inevitable. There is, however, a lot to be gained by honoring and cherishing the joy in life and attending to what we can do.
Here's what to do: get yourself a horseshoe and nail it over your door. This is The Horseshoe of Inevitability. It brings Luck (a.k.a.Fate): One end of the horseshoe protects against the Impossible, making sure this will not occur. The other end insures that the Inevitable will indeed happen. In between them, you will notice, is a small but considerable gap: this is the region of uncertainty wherein your human will can influence the course of events. That's what you pay attention to.
Watch the doughnut, not the hole. Hug dog frequently.

Comment by Joanna, Rainy and Calvin on March 29, 2010 at 1:15pm

I know how you feel, and you're certain not alone. But you can't stop the inevitable, and I wish they COULD stay with us forever. I just lost Algy last week after 12 years and like you, between the time he got sick and the time he left us, I worried all the time about the day we would lose him. Our other corgi mix, lived to be 17, and she was blind and going deaf, but did ok for herself. And we loved her very much too. Don't let it consume you. Just love Buffy the best you can while she is around. She knows.
And you are right about missing their little paws on the floor. It's about the little things you'll miss too. Give Buffy a hug from me.

Comment by Bev Levy on March 29, 2010 at 12:31pm

It was really sweet reading about your Buffy and everyone else's furry loved ones. It made me cry a little but in a good way. They bring so much into our lives that we miss them terribly when they are gone. I have lost some really special ones over the years but I see my love for the current fur family as a tribute to the ones that have gone before. Think of how very lucky you are to have her in your life now. You help her have a great life every day that you care for her and make yourself a better person along the way. Thanks for sharing!

Comment by christy fry on March 29, 2010 at 11:53am

My Shuffles was sick for a year or so before he passed and I would worry almost obsevisly about him. I'd sit on the couch and just stare at him to see how he was breathing, first thing in the morning I'd roll over and peek over the edge of the bed to see if he was still breathing ,I'd watch to see how hard it was for him to get up(his hips also had problems), I was concerned that I was doing right by him and not prolonging anything, you know the ultimate question "Can you see the forest from the tree's?" But looking back I wish that I was able to not do that because our end time would have been better I think. All the time I spent crying over what might be and how it was going to happen was a waste because it happened in it's own time anyways....So please don't worry about the what if's and the how's those questions will be answered soon enough spend time with your sweet girl you do after all still have it.
HUGS TO YOU

Comment by Laura Jones on March 29, 2010 at 11:29am

I totally understand this, although we had dogs that passed away while I was growing up the one animal that really hit me hard was my horse. I got him when I was 11 (1991). I had had ponies before but he was my very first big girl horse that was all mine. We went through a lot together over the years some good, some bad but always together. My parents took him with them when they moved about a month after I got married (I had no where to keep him) and then in 2001 right after Christmas I get a call from my dad about 10:30 at night, (never good news when the phone rings that late at night). They had to put him down due to colic, they had tried everything but it was just too bad. I started bawling on the phone, my dad (whom I have ever only seen/heard cry maybe 3x in my life) was crying, my mom was in the background crying......my husband was sitting beside me thinking something had happened to my grandmother (why else would we all be bawling?). I was upset for days afterwards, even though I knew he was in a better place. My mom made me a shadow box with pictures of the two of us, and they had taken a chunk of his tail and put in it. I still miss him. And I can not even begin to imagine what it will be like when one of my fur kids has to cross that bridge and I am praying it is a long time in the future. Take lots of photos, remember the good times in an online blog or a journal and know that she loves you and knows that you love her.

Comment by Nicola Porter on March 29, 2010 at 9:43am

I know how you feel. After I lost Max I couldn't bear the thought of getting another dog because when Max went Rainbow Bridge the pain was excruciating for me.

Comment by Beth on March 29, 2010 at 7:14am

I understand. On January 30th I lost a cat who I'd had since I was one year out of college (I"m almost 40). I'd never had a cat before. We were dog people. I never even really wanted a cat, but she showed up under our hedge and I could hold her in the palm of one hand, she was that tiny. I don't think she'd ever been handled, it took me a week to catch her and when I brought her in she promptly went under the bed and hid. I called the shelter and they said they had over 300 cats, and if she was that small she probably would get sick at the shelter, and if she was that shy she'd never be adopted. So, I now had a cat.

I never knew how loving cats could be til I had one of my own. That cat saw me through nearly every adult milestone in my life, good and bad. And from the time she was about 14 I started thinking of the inevitable, or trying to because I wanted to prepare myself, but I could not even think of it without crying so I put it out of my mind.

A week before Christmas she got cancer and within 6 weeks she was gone. I cried like a baby. I'm crying a little typing this now. I miss her terribly, but I know she had a good life and she loved and was loved, and that is all a living creature can hope for in this world.

You've given Buffy a wonderful life and believe me, she knows it. You will miss her terribly, and you will never forget it, but other dogs will continue to fill your life with love, in memory of Buffy, and that is all WE can hope for in this life.

Big hugs.