Departed pets;

Gael23

5 years today,
As time passes by it hurts so much less and it’s not at the front of your thoughts as often but then all of a sudden something brings it right back

seamus

I'm so sorry for your loss sdp.

I haven't been a regular on this forum in years, but it's so hard to know who will understand that opening up about it is difficult.

We had to let our wonderful Darcey go on Saturday. Just over 10 years together, and exactly one week shy of her 13th birthday.

I won't go into everything, I'm in work and have to hold myself together

She was a 3-legged Staffie with health problems up the wazoo. While the end seemed to appear so suddenly and hit us like a lorry, in retrospect we knew for months and months that is was coming. She stopped climbing the stairs about a year ago and stopped even trying about 3 months later. In the space of 18 months her walks went from taking her out for 20 minutes (and dragging her home), to a 15 minute loop followed by panting, to a reluctant 150m trip down to the bus stop and back. Just after Xmas we made it 25m down the road, she went to the toilet and then dragged me home.
Her bouncy in-the-middle-of-everything self spent a lot more time sleeping, scavenging and just moving from room to room, rather than roughing in with the kids and running up and down the hallway to see what was going on. On Saturday I thought about all the times she stood at the hall window whining to go out and play, or looking to see whose car was after pulling in. At that point I realised that the window had been cleaned in September and there still wasn't a single nose mark on it. Even at that time, I don't think she had looked out that window in months.

So in retrospect it was coming. For a long time. Nevertheless one cannot be prepared for it.

We didn't even think she'd make it this far. She was on a permanent dosage of steroids from about six years of age, which the vet told us would shorten her lifespan by a couple of years, but we accepted that as a necessary consequence of a comfortable life. In the end, we probably got more time than we deserved. There are a number of dogs we call her "contemporaries" - dogs that others adopted around the same time, and we kept in touch with. With the exception of one other staffie, Darcey ended up somehow being the last dog standing. She was tough as old boots, and even to the end she never complained, never whimpered in pain or withdrew herself when she wasn't well.

We're glad we didn't let her suffer. She and we knew it was time, and making the decision to let her go while in our company and not suffering was the only option. The alternative was not.

We got her shortly after getting married and she had since seen the arrival of two kids. A 3rd is on the way and we had hoped that we might get to have all six family members together, if even for a fleeting moment, but we don't get to make those choices. The fact that we have basically never been a family without her makes it all the more difficult, but she has shaped the very nature of the family that we are, so her impact and her memory will never be gone.

Looking at old pictures and videos is sad, but also very comforting. A reminder of the lifetime of experiences that she had, things we did together that were long forgotten. When she left, she didn't take with her a lifetime of potential; she lived that lifetime, exceeded her potential.
We had a dog when I was a teenager, and we have about ten photos of her in total. We have hundreds, perhaps thousands of photos of Darcey, and I'm very glad of that.

sdp wrote: »

Its so comfering having all the people on this thread who understand, I've had people saying to how nice it must be to have an extra hour in bed, and not to have to do the early beach walk, before we went to work.
still listening out for him,around the house.

When we were getting building work done, we moved in with the in-laws. My mother in law tends to be a bit of an over-reacter, so when Darcey wouldn't eat for first couple of days (out of protest, you see), I told her it's fine, that the dog would start eating again in a while. The mother-in-law couldn't stand to see an animal not eating, and went and bought some fresh chicken, cooked it and gave it to Darcey. Who was only delighted with herself. And that continued for the entire 3 months we stayed there.
18 months later, in our own house, we were still buying fresh chicken and mixing it in with the dog food. We're vegetarians. We don't even cook meat for ourselves, so it's not like we could just include her in the pot or something.

Even though Darcey would eat just fine without it, my wife insisted on it. It was an absolute pain in the arse, but when I put the casserole dish away for the last time on Sunday, I thought that I would happily do all those annoying things again. I would pick up the crap in the garden, give her medication, go into the rain to get her dog food, kill my back giving her a bath. Every day - twice a day if necessary - if it meant we could keep her with us.

I hope you're doing better today sdp.

cocker5

sdp wrote: »

thank you Jellybear,and Anewme,

Its so comfering having all the people on this thread who understand, I've had people saying to how nice it must be to have an extra hour in bed, and not to have to do the early beach walk, before we went to work.
still listening out for him,around the house.
thank you all again so much x

So sorry for loss XX its bloody awful X

Meemars

RIP Token.
In spring 2011 Token and her 'brother' were surrendered to a rescue, as their previous owner had died.  Both Black LabX, Her brother got a forever home, and Token waited, for us I think.  We met in June 2011. Happy the day she came in to our home.
She was already a little old, a little arthritic, a little overweight, and a little grumpy, so she fit right into our hearts straight away.  She & I discovered our neighbourhood together, got fitter together, found river walks & new beaches, she got used to travelling in the car, gained a few more years of youth, climbed mountains, visited islands & bogs, and she came everywhere with me.  She lost a few teeth & learned a few things along the way, & she remained just a little grumpy sometimes.
She was not fond of other dogs, or most other people, but she loved the bejebus outta me and stuck to me, and 'protected' me closely all her life long.
Over the long years, she slowed down a bit, gained a white snout and eyebrows, we had to modify "her" armchair so she could still climb in. She stopped jumping into the car, and walks got shorter. We raised her feeding bowl, and placed mats all around so she wouldn't slip on the tiles. She became deaf and couldn't hear the things on the TV that set her off anymore.  Life was just fine though, we were very, very content. She'd spend long hours gazing at me across the room. I gazed back.
Eventually the time came, and she went downhill quickly last weekend. I spent the last hours cradling her chin in my hand to keep her comfy, and she began to snore.  She died in her sleep, in the early hours of Monday 13th Jan.
Codladh sámh beautiful one.

Alun

So sad to see so many posts in this thread all of a sudden, my own included. My sister sent me a lovely card with a pencil sketch of the Rainbow Bridge, so I thought I'd share the drawing with you all if that's OK. Be warned though, get the hankies ready ...

anewme

Ahh, I'm off again.

Although this is a very sad thread, it's probably one of my favourite threads on Boards.ie.

It celebrates the lives of the beautiful pets and hopefully gives some comfort to the owners. I love hearing the stories of the pets, the tribute posts are always beautifully written and give real insight into the personality of the pet.

Every single contributor is lovely, always offering support and a virtual hug.

sdp

So sorry for your loss Seamus, Darcey was a true member of your family, and a precious fur baby, beautful heartfelt tribute, take care of yourself's, Rip Darcey.

Meemars, What a true blessing you were able to be there beside Token as she left this life, at her own time. be kind to yourself, Rip Token,

sdp

Alun, Thank you for sharing such a lovely drawing! you sister is very talented.

tk123

And just like that my heart is broken into a million pieces Got her ashes back earlier.

Alun

tk123 wrote: »

And just like that my heart is broken into a million pieces Got her ashes back earlier.

Same here, got the call from the vets today to go and pick them up. Buffy is now resting underneath her favourite tree in the garden.

purplesnack

Alun wrote: »

So sad to see so many posts in this thread all of a sudden, my own included. My sister sent me a lovely card with a pencil sketch of the Rainbow Bridge, so I thought I'd share the drawing with you all if that's OK. Be warned though, get the hankies ready ...

Oh my God, this had just destroyed me. I said goodbye to my beautiful Bandit just last Thursday - my beautiful, intelligent, playful 13yo Border Collie mix. My heart is broken but I had 13 fantastic years with her. She had a hemangiosarcoma, and was symptom-free until last Thursday when it burst and she was gone within hours. I'm glad she didn't suffer and that I didn't have to make the decision for her, but it's still so hard to take. She's resting now beside Smokey, back together again...

SleetAndSnow

I know I didn't really post here much, but I read a lot and you guys helped me once when my dogs skin was very bad, but most of you probably don't know me or my Bichon toby.

Unfortunately he's had to be put down today, the hardest decision we've ever had to make as a family. He's been in pain for a few months and on steroids and Painkillers. Thought he was getting better but he wasn't and then he was put on morphine patch but was still roaring in pain so there was nothing else we could do. About 7 discs in his back welded together. He was gone within 30 seconds so he was ready to go I think as he had stopped eating and drinking for a few days.

Remembering the good memories we had together now. Just wanted somewhere to post to let my emotions out and it's helping. Thanks so much for your help with his skin issues a few months back, I'm sure he was very grateful for it. This post is probably all over the place but I'm just glad he's painfree now and managed to give us the 9 and a half years of joy that he did

Fakediamond

Ah gosh sleetandsnow, so sorry for your loss. I so wish we could hold onto our beloved pets for longer.

You did what you could and did right by your beloved Toby when he needed you most. May he Rest In Peace.

Fakediamond

purplesnack wrote: »

Oh my God, this had just destroyed me. I said goodbye to my beautiful Bandit just last Thursday - my beautiful, intelligent, playful 13yo Border Collie mix. My heart is broken but I had 13 fantastic years with her. She had a hemangiosarcoma, and was symptom-free until last Thursday when it burst and she was gone within hours. I'm glad she didn't suffer and that I didn't have to make the decision for her, but it's still so hard to take. She's resting now beside Smokey, back together again...

sorry for your loss purplesnack. It’s a small comfort that Bandit didn’t suffer on, however hard it has been to let her go. May she Rest In Peace.

jellybear

So sorry for your loss SleetAndSnow. You did everything you could for Toby!! May he sleep tight.

Purplesnack, so sorry for your loss too. Poor Bandit may she sleep tight with Smokey by her side.

I fear I'll be posting in this thread soon as our beloved bunny Joon is quite unwell

sdp

Oh Purplesnack, so sorry for your loss, It's so hard to see them go. Rip Bandit.

sdp

So sorry for your loss Sleetandsnow. its the hardest decision we have to make for our beloved pets.. Please know you did the right thing by Toby,. Run free Toby x

purplesnack

jellybear wrote: »

So sorry for your loss SleetAndSnow. You did everything you could for Toby!! May he sleep tight.

Purplesnack, so sorry for your loss too. Poor Bandit may she sleep tight with Smokey by her side.

I fear I'll be posting in this thread soon as our beloved bunny Joon is quite unwell

Thanks Jellybear. Cherish every minute you have with Joon - they are so precious.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/73461151@N06/49463364996/in/dateposted-public/

Here are my two angels, lying by the fire, Smokey on the left and Bandit on the right. So many fabulous memories...

jellybear

Our beloved Joon passed away this evening.
She had a wonderful life with us and we were so, so lucky to have her.
We rescued her from a sanctuary, changed her name from BunBun to Joon, after the movie Benny and Joon (my french lop was Benny). She had 5 babies 28 days after we rescued her and we kept them all. She was our last bunny as unfortunately Benny and the 'baby bunnies' (Junior, Mouse, Teddy, Fudge and Wilson) passed away over the last few years. She was at least 8 and was munching her favourite vegetables and apple tree bark up until yesterday evening. I'm glad for her that she's at peace now and back binking with her Benny and the 'baby bunnies' but we'll all miss her gorgeous face forever. Sleep tight Joon. We love you forever.

Capercaillie

jellybear wrote: »

Our beloved Joon passed away this evening.
She had a wonderful life with us and we were so, so lucky to have her.
We rescued her from a sanctuary, changed her name from BunBun to Joon, after the movie Benny and Joon (my french lop was Benny). She had 5 babies 28 days after we rescued her and we kept them all. She was our last bunny as unfortunately Benny and the 'baby bunnies' (Junior, Mouse, Teddy, Fudge and Wilson) passed away over the last few years. She was at least 8 and was munching her favourite vegetables and apple tree bark up until yesterday evening. I'm glad for her that she's at peace now and back binking with her Benny and the 'baby bunnies' but we'll all miss her gorgeous face forever. Sleep tight Joon. We love you forever.

What a beautiful looking bunny! Sorry to hear about her passing.

Fakediamond

Ah so sorry to hear that jellybear. Joon was a beautiful bunny, stunning colours and markings.

May she Rest In Peace with her bunny family.

sdp

So Sorry Jellybear, was thinking of you from your last post about her.
A truly beautiful girl.
Rip Joon, look after yourself x.

puppieperson1

Hi All i just want to remember a few of my dogs on this post
Ollie - springer
Charley - terrier
millie - terrier xcross
ghost - terrier
ruby - terrier
droelin - foxhound
ben - lab
hebe - dachshund
Duchess - dachshund

PinkLady2016

puppieperson1 wrote: »

Hi All i just want to remember a few of my dogs on this post
Ollie - springer
Charley - terrier
millie - terrier xcross
ghost - terrier
ruby - terrier
droelin - foxhound
ben - lab
hebe - dachshund
Duchess - dachshund

Rest in Peace

Samsgirl

Our beautiful boy Sam was pts two weeks ago. We had him for 12 and a half years.

He was diagnosed in Sept 2018 with hemangiosarcoma - the bad boy of doggie cancer.

He had surgery to remove the tumor and his spleen. The vet said that the cancer has spread to his blood and we would only have him for max 6 months.

We had him 15 months and one day more. He went downhill in the last two weeks and stopped eating. He was in good enough form till the last few days. It was a heartbreaking but morally right decision. We are awaiting now to have his ashes returned to us.

sdp

So sorry for your loss. RIP Sam

Irish Stones

Sorry to read this, Samsgirl.
But you had the luck to have Sam for much longer than the doctors said, this is the greatest gift Sam gave you.

RIP Sam, your family loved you so much!

PinkLady2016

So sorry to hear about Sam. They are so much a part of our lives. But at least you had those precious months with him. Rest in Peace Sam

tk123

RIP Sam

I've been dreaming about Lucy the last few nights Just makes me sad when I wake up

Ruby Ring

Daisy ... still miss her after all these years