HI SPEEDR

I've been a dog and animal lover all my life. My wife and I enjoy our four dogs and think of them as our children. Recently, my Bichon who was going to be 15 years old, started to have a problem with a heart murmer. She was healthy all her life until about 30 days ago. To make a long story short, her health started to go down hill. Our vet put her on heart drugs. One night, her poor little enlarged heart had trouble pumping properly, so at 1 PM my wife and I rushed her to Emergency and luckily, she was able to be stablized and was able to come home the end of the next day. She was so excited to be home. Two days later, the same thing happened again, only this time her breathing was worse. We brought her back to emergency only this time she couldn't be stablized. My wife and I always said none of our babies would be allowed to suffer. So the decision was made to euthanized her with the over dose of barbitchuates. In 20 seconds, she died in my arms without suffering. We brought her home and lay her lifeless body in the family room so our other dogs could grieve (otherwise they would never know what happened to her). My male Shih Tsu was the closest dog to her and groomed her everyday. He was depressed and the next day, left a small stuffed toy where she had been in the family room the night before. I buried her in our back yard and planted white flowers over her grave. A grave stone has been ordered. On Thursday, I didn't got to work because I couldn't stop crying. After I buried her, the matter was more final and I started to get on with my life. Any dog lover knows that loosing a beloved pet is sometimes worse than loosing a relative. Anyway, thanks for allowing me to get this out. Sorry it was long.

S2K Learner

Sorry to hear about your dog. My heart goes out to you and your family. I am a dog person myself and know what it is like to lose your loved ones. I lost my 6 year old shipperke and 1.5 year old rat terrier both within 1 month of eachother...one due to heath problems, and one due to a freak accident. Only time can heal, but memorys will always live on.

HI SPEEDR

Thankyou S2K Learner, the wound heals, but the scar remains.

Grannyrod

In the Animal Doctor section of the Washington Post this morning, the animal doctor responding to something similar stated it is best for dogs to see their canine companion laid out to rest but not to see them being buried. I thought your actions were strange since I'd never heard of anyone taking this action but seems you're not alone in doing this. Thought the article was timely in conjunction with your post. Sorry about your loss. Pets really are members of the family.

MsPerky

Yes, we've talked about pets a bit before. It's hard to let them go - I had several dogs growing up and three during my marriage. Buried two of them in the yard of my third house. The last one was cremated. My ex still has the ashes.

I think that is sweet that your other dog left a toy.

valentine

In my lifetime, I've had many friends, whose names I can no longer remember. I remember the name of every dog I've ever had. I still grieve horribly for my little Sue Lee (Chinese Pug) who died four years ago. My little maltese, BB is one of the great joys of my life. I'm sorry for the loss of your little dog.

Defender

Your story brought back many memories of past pets. I even remember my very first pet -- a chameleon . He died in about three days, but his name was Barnaby .

OhioRacer

Ken,

Sorry for your loss. I rememeber you posted a couple times when I lost my dog. Hang in there.

matrix

Hi Speeder, sorry to hear about your loss. Being a dog owner I know how close the tie between a dog and a person can be.

Da Hapa

As a dog owner and lover, my heart and prayers go out to you and your family.

It is clear that you loved your dog very much and it must have also been clear to her as well.

May time relieve your grief but not rob you of your memories.