A Well Missed Best Friend

[Gordon]

I was going to post this under woods walking because she sure loved her walks but it just didn't fit. So here goes.

You don't realize how much they mean to you until they are gone. I'm finally going to post this. Tried once before and just lost it.

This is what we have gone through the past couple of months.
My wife's dog Haleigh a yellow lab had ten healthy puppies, June 24. But it seemed like she was still trying to push more out. We took her to the vet and x-rayed her and it showed that there were still more puppies to be delivered. They gave her medicine to help push the puppies out. This didn't work.

So the next step was an emergency C-section. The wife is already pretty upset. She wishes her well and they wheel her off to the operating room. Little did we know this was the last time we would see her. They lost her on the table. Words can't explain this. --Everyday she would greet me without fail at the door with her turtle. This turtle made a groaning sound when she gently squeezed it. It first really hit me when I was burying her and next day when I got home from work it hit me in that respect again. That she really is gone.

So that evening I brought her home and buried her in the front yard under the weeping willow with her favorite toy--the turtle. This is very hard to write about this but I have to do it. Man I miss that mutt. I always called her a mutt to the wife but she had some darn good blood lines and papers to prove it.

But what helped keep my wife's mind (and mine) off of what happened for the time being was the ten puppies to take care of. Made a small cage and put a heat pad in it. She bottle fed all ten of the puppies without fail. The good news of this is that eight of the ten made it. All very healthy. The first few feedings were pretty tough to get the hang of but then it smoothed out as time went on.

Found out real quick how expensive milk replacer is and how quick those puppies would make it disappear. After feeding they would suck on each other so the wife came up with the idea of a babies pacifier. She bought a couple and it helped to keep them from sucking on each other. It was a sight to see them sucking on a pacifier.

As the puppies grew I built a bigger cage, until finally they got the ok from the vet to be kept outside. Didn't want to put anymore strain on them than necessary. So all of my wife's hard work paid off. Eight healthy puppies. So far six are sold and have a buyer for the seventh in NJ if she decides to sell it.

Here is where they ended up. One in DE, two in Long Island, one in NJ, one in MD, one in PA. She has one chocolate left that she is going to keep and one black that is sold if she wants to sell her as well. She was right about Haleighs blood lines being good I guess. But nothing will replace the memories of her, keeping a puppy or two out of the litter will help ease the pain some.

Rest in peace Haleigh, Jennifer the stepmom to your puppies did a fine job and the puppies all have very good homes, we made sure of that. Miss you girl, you darn mutt. Your lost but far from forgotten, once again bye baby and we all miss you.
Gordon

[RavioliKid]

Gordon -

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss.

I always wanted a dog when I was a kid. We never could have one because of all our allergies.

We did get a cat last January because my mother wanted one. She was failing, so anything we could do to make her happy, we did.

Well, Mom passed on in April, but we still have Kitty. Dad and I are just crazy about the cat.

So, while a cat isn't a dog, I now understand a little bit better how attached people get to their pets.

Thanks for sharing your story with us.

Kim

[Tom]

It is really losing a friend, isn't it Gordon

That is a difficult thing to lose, a friend, and we share a bond with our pets almost as strong as with our children. It's natural to feel the loss but difficult to explain because, without a reference, other folks can only sympathize.

I was over at one of my Old Timer's  the other day and the conversation turned to pets for some reason.  He started describing the strays he had taken in and the short lives they had led.  He started with his first one from 20 years ago and ended with his last pet, a child of one of the strays.  Each had a loving story, each had a quirk, each followed him where ever he strolled and each had it's own revered final resting place in the field.

He also had trouble telling the story but tell it he must and you could see the love in his eyes as he remembered the stories of each and every one.  I'm sure he will do it again and tell different stories and I will listen;  not because of his bonds but rather because of mine.  

Love is so easy.

[CHARLIE]

Gordon, I'm sorry to hear of your and your wife's loss of part of your family. Dogs can be so special because they give their love and ask nothing in return.  I know it won't be the same without her, but you will always have the good memories.

Charlie

[Gordon]

A couple of things have been e-mailed to me and here is one that really hits home to all of us I think.


If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can get along without pep pills,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your
troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful
for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy
to give you any time,
If you can overlook it when those you love take it out on
you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never
correct him/her,
If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a
poor friend,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have
no prejudice against creed, color, religion or politics,
Then, you have ALMOST reached the same level of
development as your
DOG......................


Dont know who wrote it, but it sure does tell the story
Gordon

[timberbeast]

Gordon,  my sincere sympathies.  My best buddy,  George,  a black Lab,  had to be put down three years ago.  I put it off too long,  he was in heart failure,  and I had to carry him down the steps from the porch and back up,  because he refused to foul the house.  He was my duck hunting partner,  and he would actually dive after ducks that were wounded and dove.  I had one sail,  at least 200 yards behind me once (a teal) which I wounded.  It was in the thickest of marshes you could imagine.  He didn't see the fall,  as the cattails and marsh grass were over my own head,  but I reluctanly sent him.  Ten minutes,  and he was back with the bird,  bird still alive.  The kids used him for a pillow when they watched TV or read,  and they went on great adventures with him around the yard,  dressing him in T-shirts and things,  and George never complained once.  When it was time,  he walked into the clinic with his head high.  He is perhaps 60 or 70 feet from me now,  buried in the yard,  wrapped in my hunting coat.  The kids still put flowers on his grave,  and the wife has planted a rosebush there.  Believe me,  Gordon,  I share your grief!!!  We have a yellow now,  a wonderful dog,  but George was that "one" special dog...................