have lost our faithful old dog

[thornton]

Leisa, sorry to hear about you loosing Arnie, he was a family member and it is very hard. We have gone through it twice and it is an awful experience.

[hilary.colwood]

So very sorry to hear about Arnie.
We have gone through this twice and my husband won't let me have another dog, as he says he can't go through it all again. When we lost our first dog, we went out and got a Dalmatian puppy the same week, so it wasn't quite as bad as the house wasn't "empty", but when we lost our Dali, he said that it was too much and we could never replace him so we had to become used to not having a dog. I still miss coming home to a wagging tail, but I now borrow as many dogs as I can - if anyone I know with a dog is going on holiday, the dog comes to stay with us. It's not the same as having your own bundle of joy but it does help.

[Nina A]

Leisa, tears are running down my face as I write this. What a dreadful shock for you. Nothing anyone can say can help you at the moment with your loss, it's such a personal thing.

You just need to work through all the emotions associated with loss but try not to get too hung up on those of guilt and what ifs. You did all you possibly could for him.

People without animals just don't understand that the loss of a beloved pet is just as bad if not worse than the death of a person. As Zena says the life of a pet is too short.

The pain of losing a pet sometimes makes me wonder if it is worth having another, knowing that in all too short a time they'll be gone but on balance the pleasure they bring far outweighs the pain.

Take care of yourself

[julieanne]

[grouphug] Liesa
As others have said, take some comfort from knowing you gave Arnie a good life and home and did the best thing for him yesterday [grouphug]

[jovi]

Oh Leisa I am so sorry to hear your sad news, I am sitting here with tears streaming down my face after reading the replies you have had[msncry]
I can only imagine how you are feeling, try to concentrate on all the good times and be comforted to know, you did the right thing for Arnie, it is hard on the ones left behind I know, but he is out of pain and in a better place.
God Bless[angel]

[LiesaAnna]

thankyou all so much for lovely kind words, got me crying again, i thought it was a dream and came down at 3am to see if it was true, again i did this at 8am when i got up, he was such a big bright light in our lives and i dont see how i can go on without him, we had got even closer these last few months, since he lost his sight he always looked for where he thought i was, funny if i was the other side of the room, bless him,
we had been looking into getting a great dane for after Arnie had gone, which we thought would be a long time to come, we had Arnie to cuddle when the last dog was put down, he had seen the vet every week for about 10 months, he said he wouldnt see the year out, we got to december 27th, he was 14 1/2 our dogs are silly dogs, they talk to us sing with us, and love us unconditionally, i know he felt loved by each and every member of my family, even the grown men cried many tears yesterday,

so now onwards.......
we can have our holiday without worrying for Arnie, if you couldve heard his voice last time we went away, a friend stayed with him, he was so hoarse from crying for us, felt very guilty

i think we will have to wait till after christmas to think of another new dog, i need to get on top of things with my knee, so couldnt cope with a puppy yet, or the worry of one eating chrissy decs etc.....
again thankyou all i feel like im truely amongst friends who care, xx [grouphug]

[Cruella DeVilla]

[grouphug]

[Lynnes]

I am so sorry to hear this Liesa. I know having lost our two family pets a few years ago. Just remember you gave him a great home and life and also what he gave to you.
Will be thinking of you.

[Nina A]

Liesa, just had to look back to see how you're doing. Hang on in there, it's a really horrible time, especially the first few weeks without them, the pain seems unbearable.

I know what you mean about going away and leaving them, it's the only part of being away I hate. We actually probably suffer more than they do, but oh the guilt. If there's a tiny of glimmer of good in this, it's that you were with him at the end and not away. My worst nightmare.

When you feel stronger perhaps you'd like to post a picture of him in happy times here? At least here there are people that understand what you're going through. Oh how angry I get when someone says, "it was just a dog, cat, rabbit, bird etc". In a way it's their loss as we know differently.

[grouphug]

[pieman790]

Sorry to hear you bad and sad news.
We lost our dog a few years ago (she was 17 and Cathy had her from being a pup)and even now we cannot come to terms and replace her with another dog even though the kids would love a dog.
Our dog also lost her balance, mainly down to a stroke and was never really the same dog again. Things started to get worse and we decided that the best/kindest option was to put her to sleep.
The big mistake we made was not to take her straight away, and instead we booked her into the vet 3 days later so we could say goodbye to her. It was the worst three days of our lives. Every time i saw i could have cried as she looked so sad and i was not sure we were doing the right thing as she could move around a little and she was eating.
We took her to the vet and stayed with her until she was sleep. It was very hard but we did get through it and with time it will get better for you.