A little heart fades away.

[Nashoba]

I add my condolences to those already offered Paddy. Just a couple of years ago I went with my mother to put down her dog Freddie who we'd had for 16 years. I dread the day that I lose my chesapeke, Maverick. I know how hard it is, but your memories of her will help her to live on in your heart. And you have such wonderful pictures of her to remember her by. I hope that you will find the comfort you seek.

 

[Brooksie]

Paddy, I am so sorry to hear that you lost your sweet and lovable furry friend.
It is so hard to have a pet pass away - I know I have lost a few over the years.

LB

 

[luvthatlulu]

Paddy...

:cry: I, too, am sorry to hear of the loss of your friend.

 

[imoldfashioned]

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear this Paddy. What a sweet face she had! She was lucky to have an owner who clearly loved her so well. My condolences.

 

[DW Evans]

Having experienced such a thing I can empathize. Losing your best friend is always difficult to overcome, let alone get used to. But one thing that I've come to learn is that you shouldn't mourn one's death, rather you should celebrate one's life.

So, in honor of Becky, here's to a wonderous life well lived. She shall be missed greatly but remembered always.

Paddy, my sincerest condolences to you and yours.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

She is probably running across the greenest plains in Heaven right now, sniffing the flowers and trees, rolling in the grass, and something I better not mention here.

 

[GoldLeaf]

I am so sorry, Paddy. I cried a little with you. My childhood dog passed away 11 years ago, and I still cry when I talk about her. I am glad that you had an opportunity to have such a good friend.

 

[Technonut]

My deepest condolences go out to you PADDY. It is always very difficult to lose a friend that shared unconditional love with you.

 

[Johnnysan]

My heartfelt condolences go out to you, Paddy. I've been where you are now and will likely be there again far too soon. Be well and take comfort in fond memories.

 

[RondoHatton]

Saddest tale told on land or sea

Dear Paddy,
Pets are rather special companions. Please take whatever comfort you can. You have touched a nerve. My only family now is feathered and perhaps quite old. The poem below is on my icebox:

A PRAYER FOR ANIMALS
By Albert Schweitzer

Hear our humble prayer, O God, for our friends the animals, especially for animals who are suffering; for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or
frightened or hungry; for all that will be put to death.

We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity, and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion and gentle hands and kindly words.

Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals and so to share the blessings of the merciful.

#######

As is this (I sing them to sleep with this, adding their name here and there):

Home
Peter Van Steeden

When shadows fall and trees whisper day is ending,
My thoughts are ever wending Home.
When crickets call, my heart is forever yearning,
Once nore to be returning Home.
When the hills conceal the setting sun,
Stars begin a peeping one by one.
Night covers all and, though fortune my forsake me,
Sweet dreams will ever take me Home.
#######
You have made a stranger weep. PS today would have been my papa's 91st birthday.

 

[BeBopBaby]

Paddy, your post and the poem that Rondo posted both brought tears to my eyes. Animals are such special friends, I think their unconditional love touches a special part of one's heart that other things/people can't. My heartfelt condolences go out to you (and anyone else who has recently lost a pet). I hope you take solace in knowing that you helped to give your puppy a wonderful life. She may not have been able to express her feelings on the same levels as we can, but I'm sure she was greatful and happy for the patience, caring and comfort you showed while she was ill.

 

[Marty M.]

So sorry to hear of your loss PADDY. I hope that you find comfort in remembering the fun times that you and Becky had together.
Your Friend,
Marty

 

[Trickeration]

I'm so sorry Paddy. She looks like she was a great companion to you. My prayers are with you. Trix

 

[PADDY]

I appreciate all the kind words from animal lovers out there.

Those that have lost a dog/or pet of any kind, will understand the feeling of loss and unreality about the whole thing.

One minute a little life that has been such a close part of your life for years, is just snuffed out like a candle and you are left in limbo, almost in a daze.

And their little ghostly images still follow you around. You're still mentally locked into the daily routines of walking a dog, feeding a dog, putting a dog to bed, etc.

I'm finding too, that when I walk the other two boys (and believe me, having to focus on them is a God send right now), I'm still feeling that Becky is tootling along behind us.

I was in a field of wheat this morning and the tractor has made a double track through it. Often I'll walk on one track and the dogs will walk on the other!

It's the sort of rural area you can just lose yourself in. The only sounds are deer that I have disturbed, a Barn Owl, a big Hare or two scarpering away off the track, or Kestrals hovering over surfing the thermals.

Up until a fortnight ago, Becky would have been pottering along on the other track, and I still just feel that when we walk through this field, Becky is still there with us...just out of sight on the other track...[huh]

I have a photo of her on my mantle piece, when she was still a pup, running towards me like cavalry at Balaclava (I'm holding the camera) across this big field, a huge blue sky in the background, and she looks like she's going to run right out of the photo and into my arms!!
As you maybe can tell, it's a photo that conjures up happiness and sadness all in the same breath.

Grief is a small price to pay for the love and happiness they give us, those of us fortunate enough to have experienced this

Thankyou, one and all for all those comforting comments.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Very well said,my friend.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I feel it Paddy

 

[Mojito]

I'm so sorry, Paddy. I've always regretted that there's such a discrepency in the length of our lives and those of our dogs. May you see her often in happy dreams.

 

[Edward]

There's nothing more I can add to what is already said, barring my own sympathies. I've been through the loss of five cats over the years, and they were all painful. I still miss the first one terribly - I grew up with him from I was six til I was 18; he died Easter 1993 and there are times when I visist the folks I still expect to see him (and the rest of them) wander in the back door. For what it's worth often I dream about them - something will remind me during the day, I suppose. Dream is always the same - one of the cats (once it was all of them, most frequently it's the first) just reappears and it's as if they've never been away. It always happens when I'm very stressed or down, and somehow in the morning things are never quite as bad. Maybe Becky will do the same for you one day.

Loss never gets easier, but over time you deal with it better. And that, of course, is when the good memories shine through. I hope your other dogs are dealing with the loss well too, I'm sure they must feel it themselves.

 

[PADDY]

A 'Victoria Plum' tree is planted...

I enjoy my gardening folks (that's no indication of my being good at it!), but I thought it was an appropriate gesture that I plant a fruit bush over this little ones' body, so that in 'some small way' out of her will blossom warm memories when I harvest the fruit born from the ground that she now gives life to.

As you can see, I also made a little memorial stone. That's all I can add to this thread now. Thankyou 'one and all' for your kind writings here.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

What a lovely memorial in every way, Paddy. My animal companions have meant so much to me over the years -- my beloved Border collie Cooper, my little ferret Tommy, my white rabbit Snowball, my cockatiel Piper, and others. My Birman cat Claire is my darling these days. So I know how much Becky meant to you, believe me. The novelist Milan Kundera said that the love of animals is the closest we get to paradise here on earth, and I absolutely see what he means: the joy they bring is so constant and pure. They are friends in a different way than our human friends -- but I believe they truly are friends.