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Old 11-12-2010, 08:44 AM
 
501 posts, read 1,292,850 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elston View Post
Sugar......thanks so much for sharing with us.....your love is palpable.....you were all so lucky to have each other to count on! Love the road trip chicken story.....so I am smiling as I am crying....it is all so sweet.

When my son's beloved Jackson passed away....he choose to drive him to the crematorium also.....and like you.....he lovingly and tenderly tied a fresh bandana around his neck....because "it shows that he was loved!"

Months after......he told me that he could still feel the shape of Jackson's skull in his hand....tactile memories from the years of patting that silky black head. Sweet memories.

He also told me an Indian legend.....that when we pass on.....inorder to enter our home in heaven we have to cross a deep chasm on a rope bridge... it is a difficult and dangerous crossing.....but the dogs and animals who we loved and were kind to in our lives....their spirits are waiting there to hold and steady the rope so we can cross safely.
elston, what a beautiful thought contained in that legend - thanks so much for sharing something that resonates with me and will stay with me.

And the story of your son and Jackson resonates as well - Max was a shorthaired dog with an unusual characteristic for a german shorthair pointer. At the very end of his ears he had about an inch of fine long wavy hair, along with some thicker wavy hair on his neck. Because we are silly with our dogs, we'd often joked that some dog in Max's background must have had a one night stand with a German wirehaired pointer (they have long fur).

As I held him in the back seat area, one thing I did was remember that joke and felt his wavy neck fur and long ear hair one last time. I hope I still have the memory of that months later too, as it was something that used to make me smile when he was young.
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Old 11-12-2010, 09:46 AM
 
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
9,352 posts, read 19,958,779 times
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max knew love and kindness his entire life.... and love and kindness and dignity at the end..... what a fine testament to a fine dog and his fine people........

i LOVE that he got one last road-trip chicken ...... and ENJOYED it.....

(((HUGS)))
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Old 11-12-2010, 10:04 AM
 
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Originally Posted by tookey View Post
What a beautiful way to help Max make the transition. I hope that when the time comes and I am most sure it will I can do the same for my 4 legged babies. I loved the chicken story so sweet. Max knew you loved him with all your heart and the feeling was returned to you. The days ahead will be sad at times but just know his beautiful spirit is roaming the beautiful green hills over the rainbow bridge.
Even though you can't ever prepare yourself for the moment to moment events to come that will shape how your babies end will unfold, when you love your dogs as unconditionally as they've loved you, you will find a way.

The hardest part was keeping a balance between what we needed (time to say goodbye) and what Max needed (the moment when he needed to be let go). And end of the day, Max's needs were the only thing that mattered.
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Old 11-12-2010, 10:08 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by latetotheparty View Post
max knew love and kindness his entire life.... and love and kindness and dignity at the end..... what a fine testament to a fine dog and his fine people........

i LOVE that he got one last road-trip chicken ...... and ENJOYED it.....

(((HUGS)))
Whether it was commercial kibble when he was young, or the homecooked meals I made for him after that pet food recall (with our own beef), we couldn't ever entice him with chicken here. Just not interested in the slightest, and let us know that. You either gave him a greasy chicken piece made by someone else, delivered by us as carhops to him in his truck, or forget about it. Never varied that preference for for 15.5 years.

Knowing Max as we did, and his well developed sense of humor and irony, it was one of the few things that made us smile through our tears.
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Old 11-12-2010, 10:10 AM
 
3,736 posts, read 12,358,648 times
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Sugar - your memories not only clearly convey the sorrow you are feeling but also the deep love and bond you had with your sweet boy.

I hope its a comfort to you to also know that in sharing your stories with us, that they will now be here on CD to help the next person that needs to know that they are not alone and that others understand the joy and heartache of sharing a life with a special animal. It will be a help to them and ease their pain as well. Thank you for posting them.
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Old 11-12-2010, 10:26 AM
 
501 posts, read 1,292,850 times
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Originally Posted by Va-Cat View Post
Sugar - your memories not only clearly convey the sorrow you are feeling but also the deep love and bond you had with your sweet boy.

I hope its a comfort to you to also know that in sharing your stories with us, that they will now be here on CD to help the next person that needs to know that they are not alone and that others understand the joy and heartache of sharing a life with a special animal. It will be a help to them and ease their pain as well. Thank you for posting them.
I was thinking about that just this morning. Back in the months before we knew exactly what was wrong with Max, I read posts here extensively, about illnesses, loss, sorrow, the moment, and the void after. About the love shared written by people who loved their animals exactly as deeply as I love mine, and their memories and how they came to terms in their own unique ways with the inevitable.

It is probably the main reason why I was able to get over my shock quickly enough to be able to find a way through my sorrow to be there fully to embrace what little time we suddenly had left. And for the months prior, to be aware enough to treasure every single little thing we did together daily. I'd read, and I remembered...I asked for & received help in my moment as I faced the unknown, and found the best way forward for me to walk toward what I could no longer avoid.

I am indebted to every single person here who has ever shared at CD what I know full well can be an almost completely unbearable pain and grief, and I will continue to find ways to pay it forward. You have it exactly right - it is a comfort, like being able to follow a roadmap laid out by people who were also in the moment of facing loss & having a hard time putting one foot in front of the other as they made their way through their sadness. While it always tore at my heart to read it, my heart remembered when it counted the most.

Last edited by sugarsugar; 11-12-2010 at 10:40 AM..
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Old 11-12-2010, 10:42 AM
 
Location: On this planet most of the time
8,039 posts, read 4,500,814 times
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I wish I had known about the Dog forum when I lost some of my babies it might have made the loss a bit easier to bear. Now that I know and I do come here on a fairly regular basis, I know there is a wonderful and loving place to go to share anything about the care, love and loss of our wonderful pets and that will make the loss a whole lot easier to deal with when the time comes. My Kiddos have entered their twilight years and at times when I see them all peacefully sleeping lined up on the couch that my heart aches knowing that the time is growing short. Personally speaking I have gained so much knowledge and strength from the Dog forum and the wonderul people that reside in Doggy town. I am now doing the same thing that you did Sugarsugar reading and preparing ahead. Believe me when the time comes that I will face the same thing all of those wonderful posts will still be here to read back on, reflect on and take some measure of comfort knowing that others have/are going through the same thing. Thank you to all of you
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Old 11-12-2010, 12:36 PM
 
Location: in the southwest
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A beautiful passing, beautifully conveyed here in the dog forum--simply brimming over with the love you all shared.
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Old 11-12-2010, 01:01 PM
 
Location: West Coast of Florida
1,439 posts, read 2,910,688 times
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Thank you so much for sharing sugarsugar.

I hope that when the time comes that I must say goodbye to my first dog and soul dog Sheba, that I will handle it with as much courage, grace and loving manner, as you and other CD posters have done recently.

Please take care of yourself and your DH.
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