My buddy(dog) is passing away

[Frankenkubota]

I sure hope the following is a true story.

I was in St Andrews golfing with my dad. We were there for a few days and the days are long so I found myself just walking around looking at the ald grey toon.

Came to an old cemetery.. I knew that both old and young Tom Morris were buried there so I wanted to say hello. (Famous golfers) Everything was closed and locked but a young attendant saw me and reopened it so I could take a quick look. Ya gotta love the Scots!

I found old and young toms spot and looked at a bunch of ancient headstones and noticed.....

There was a grave with a "special" headstone/marker. It kinda stood out and got my attention?

It's been a while but if memory serves, there was a small statue of a terrier dog just sitting?

Story goes.....some old guy owned the dog. They were inseparable. The man died and the dog didn't leave the grave.........

For something like 10 years! Of course the dog is now buried next to his owner.

If you research this and find it's not true, please don't tell me.

 

[oosik]

So sorry to hear of your dog. Being out in the "sticks" for 40 years - I've had a few dogs pass. I can tell you - the good times will always be remembered. The pain will pass.

 

[dodge man]

I know exactly how you feel. We just buried our cat Sonny 2 days ago. He died while we were on a month long vacation in Moab. The vet said tumors around the heart. The vet “put him on ice” while we were gone and could hardly say thank you more than a whisper when the vet worker brought him out in a card board box, my wife was in the truck on the verge of tears. We had a good 15 year run with this one. We had a “cat lady” coming in to take care of our two cats so this is our last pic of him that she sent us.

 

[Snobdds]

I was in town getting a hair cut last night when I saw a little dog running around when I walked out of the shop. I got my dog to see if he would come to it. He just kept going and came to a busy street. I knew it was not good. He had no fear of cars and just walk right out. Needless to say a car hit him right in front of me, and they just kept going. I stopped traffic and picked up the lifeless body and took him to a safe place. I looked at the collar and it had a apple tag and a phone number. I called it and a young couple came. It was hard seeing their reaction.

I have a mini Australian Shepard and I live on a ranch, but he stays at my mom's in town during the day. I walk him in town right after work each day and I have trained him to walk off leash but stay on the sidewalk. He might run up a few houses, but always stays at the end of the street to wait for me. He is not allowed to cross a street without my permission. It has taken daily walks for 3 years to get to this point. I feel so sorry for dogs that get some freedom and don't know how to function in a town with traffic.

So people, work with your dogs to know boundaries and how to be a dog in a city. It can be done. I have a ranch dog and a city dog that is comfortable in both. It will save their lives.

 

[JasperFrank]

My wife had never owned a dog before, till she moved, from her inner-city life, to the rural 20 acres we have now. We both didn't have children. I have always had dogs. We were both in our late forties and had established separate lives when we stared dating, and at the time I had a prior dog that didn't like her at all, and I think the feeling was mutual. Fortunately, or unfortunately, that dog, Henry, jumped out a screened window, and was killed chasing a large truck. That dog was very much, just my dog. This Dobie/Mix dog would even growl at my future wife sometimes, when she would visit. This was the hardest pound dog I had ever worked with, as he seemed to have been trained as a guard dog and failed, then was sent to the pound. I tend to pick the hard case dogs at the pound.

After much discussion, and after marriage, and the understanding that the wife would move to my/our property, we together would get another dog from the pound. There we got Charlie: An Australian Cattle Dog/ Terrier Mix. Charlie was completely shut down emotionally. He had been adopted briefly twice and then returned. The handler at the pound would not say why. But Charlie was considered a hard case, and was due for the needle in the near future. We got some time to spend with him, at the pound before making any commitment. He was entirely unresponsive to toys and walking or commands. All the light had gone out of this dog's eyes. All he did was stand in the middle of the fenced out door "play zone" and stare off into the distance. So we were sitting on a bench discussing if this is the dog we want,... when Charlie slowly walked over and put his head on my wife's lap and just stayed there. That did the trick, and we took him home. For the two following months, he was still shut down emotionally. Didn't seem to care about anything. And then, I think somehow, he figured out that we were not going to return him. Even if he did eat all the seat belts in our cars, and destroy a few things in the house if left alone. Some sort of light turned on in this dog's soul: A brilliant beautiful light that he was accepted into the pack. From then on, he was our adopted son. And a beacon of energy, that everyday is new, and we should have some fun with it, and every day.... even after a bad day of dealing with humans, here's this dog, that is ecstatic, just because you are home.
I can not evaluate the amount of joy this dog has given us over 14 years. Protected us over 14 years, as early warning, and made our house gardens something other than deer food.
The wife is going to have a hard time, as her first time losing a dog that has become family. Charlie has about one or two years left before we have to make the big decision.
Its a hard, hard decision, with no good way out of it.

Yet with dogs, all good things come to an end. I have found it personally soothing, for most passed dogs, to write down a history. All the little usual and important events, we did together. In my lists, it seems like a pretty good and extremely interesting life for a being that only lives 1/5 of our normal life span. In this, there is no sadness. Just a sense of celebration, that for a time, this dog and us, shared so many good times.

 

[oosik]

Brownie is a small brown Cocker Spaniel. His entire life has been out here in the country. He knows no boundaries except the barbed wire fence around my property. He is ALWAYS on his leash when we visit my son in the city. Just too many distractions in the city.

 

[oosik]

Funny story. A good friend visited the other day. We were already outside - so Brownie saw the pickup the minuet it came to the inner gate. He was excited - barked and ran around like a wild rabbit.

Then the vehicle stopped and Mike got out. Brownie stopped all his boisterous activities. Ran up to Mike - sat down, tail wagging.

I wonder - did he REALLY remember that Mike had brought him a treat the last time he visited?? That previous visit was over four months ago.

 

[IH3444]

Must have done something pretty special to be called, "Man's best friend!"

 

[KiotiKowboy]

I am very sorry to hear you are losing your friend. It's never easy - but - some of them are really special and their passing can leave a hole in your heart. The worst of the pain will pass but, for me, there is always a sadness when I think of them. I pray God has made provision for them in His Kingdom.

 

[Captsteve57]

To me a dog is like a child to me