The last few weeks has made me really think about that sad time when we lose our best friends, especially as Ben Fogle's Inca has recently been in the news.
Ben's tweet just en-captured it all for me "Thanks for all your kind messages. It's hard to describe or define the emotional bond you have with your dog. It's like losing your shadow."
Only dog owners will know the pain of making that decision to say goodbye to our best friend. We always know it will happen but there is nothing that really prepares us for the shock.
Time waits for neither man nor dogs, and one of the brutal truths of the natural order is that man outlives most other species.
We lost my parents dog a few years ago, which was the hardest thing. I can remember picking her up in my arms as a puppy, her snuggling into my neck for comfort on the way home. How those amazing 16years past so quickly and then all of a sudden we found ourselves with the worst decision any dog owner/lover has to make.
When is the right time to say goodbye?
There is no right time to say goodbye, but as a dog owner you will know when it is time. The decision should never be made lightly and it should be the most serious decision you ever have to make.
One thing that outrages me when people just take their dogs to the vets to have them put to sleep for no reason, my pet hate is that they have to move house and they simply can't take their dog or they have just had a baby so have to get rid of their dog. To me when you have a dog it should be part of your family not to be thrown away when your life changes.
Should you be there or not?
I wish i could have had the guts to stay with our dog right up to the very end, but I just couldn't I wanted to have our last memory cuddling in our front room. The hardest thing for me was to walk out of our front room knowing that I would never see those eyes, worn paw pads, lovely fully fur or that wag of the tail again. Our vet came out to our home had put her to sleep while we waited in the kitchen. I am not saying this was the right thing to do but you have to do what is right for your dog and you.
What to do with her body?
Gosh what a decision to make. I took the decision not to see her body as I wanted to remember our last hug that will last forever. The vet took her body for us and we arranged to have a solo cremation. I wanted to have her ashes back home and it was a family decision to scatter her ashes on her favourite walk. Please be careful if you decide to do this as there are laws about scattering ashes.
Rainbow Bridge...
A little while ago a friend introduced me to Rainbow Bridge a beautiful poem that gives hope that we will one day be reunited with our best friends when we pass. This makes things a little hopeful but in a weird way makes me less scared about dying as I know I will be reunited with my best friends once again. Now that is what I call Heaven!
I am writing this blog while my Jem is snuggled up to my leg, I really can't even bring myself to think about the day I will have to say goodbye to her. One thing is for certain I will enjoy every day and moment I have with her.
This blog post was written a few weeks ago since then I have lost a dear friend in a car accident along with her two dogs.... I can't believe how sad it has been but hope that they are all together enjoying what ever there might be on the other side. Run free dear friends.
