Goodbye to my friend

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Longgone

John/68 Barracuda & Dart
Joined
Jul 12, 2005
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Location
Newport News, Virginia
I`m heartbroken, yesterday I finally had to say goodbye to my Dalmatian (Dexter) after 16 years. He`s been sick on and off since July of 2007 with several bouts of an inner ear infection called idiopathic vestibular syndrome. The last week has been hell and we finally figured that he would never have another good day, so yesterday morning we had him put down. We buried him in the corner of the lot beside his two other brothers that went before him. We`ll miss him!

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Sorry for your loss. I know how you feel, it's been about 2 years since I had to put my buddy down and I still miss him meeting me at the door when I come home.
 
I'm always saddened to hear someone mention they had to put an old friend to rest. I'm so sorry to hear this John. That's the problem with being a pet owner: out living them. Our little girl is approaching 14, and we know we have only a few years left, at best.

Condolences to you & your family.
 
Man, thats the hardest part of being a pet owner. I've lost countless dogs and cats over the years, and it never gets easier.

Longgone, I'm sure Dexter enjoyed having you for his pet human for all those years too.

Sorry for the pain.

George
 
I am sorry to hear about your pal. We had a black lab that we had to put down (he was 5) due to seizures. He was my wife's "protector" as we would call him. Where ever she went, he was right there watching over her. Even from a sound sleep he would get up and follow her around the house. He was my dog before I even met my wife and he never followed me around like that! When we go out on walks, he would not let anyone near my wife, lips would curl and he would growl when someone approached her. Though he would never hurt anyone. Very nice and well mannered....Well, anyways...My wife loved the dog so much she had a memmorial made for him with his pictures surrounding the "rainbow bridge" which can be found here: http://rainbowsbridge.com/Poem.htm Sad indeed, we are sorry for your loss.
 
Morning, John.
It hurts this old guy to here this news, You must have been a great master to your old friend Dexter. I am sure he had a great life with you and your family. 16 years is a long life for a Dalmatian. I am truly sorry to here your lose.

Here is to our old friends we both lost this year.:-:)salut:[-o<

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so sorry to hear about your loss i have a 17 yrs dog and have been torn watching her slow up with age , you must have been a great owner with lots of love to your dalmation, 16 years is really good, sorry again and best wishes to your lost friend

and sorry to hear about your loss memike any pet in your hands would be so lucky to have such a kind owner
 
Very sorry to hear about your loss.... One of the hardest things I ever had to go through also.... Man it is tough. Good luck..
 
sorry to hear that john. i know how it feels. you did the right thing for the dog. 16 years? that seems quite good for a dalmatian.
 
John I'm sure sorry to hear this. I also know exactly what your going through. I had a boxer that was the sweetest thing and she got sick with cancer when she was only 10. As hard as it was I had made the decision to have her put down as soon as I returned from work on a monday morning and when I got home she was laying on the floor, allready gone. The whole time I was digging her grave I was crying. That was 15 yrs. ago but I still remember Honey and think of the good times we had.
 
Our heart goes out to you. Sorry for your loss, but like you said, he would never have a good day.
 
So sorry to hear of your family's loss. It's really tough to do, but I believe it's best to focus on all of the good times. Dexter's now running across a warm sunny field having the best time ever - not slowed down by age and illness.
Damn! Tough to type with excess moisture in your eyes.
 
So sorry to hear of your loss,we get so attached to our pets they're family members..
 
sorry to hear about your loss but at least he isnt suffering anymore its hard to put them down but they shouldnt have to be in serious pain everyday just cause we dont want to say goodbye. Your a strong person for letting him go im sure he appreciates what you did for him. good luck.Justin
 
I am so sorry for your loss, John. The first time I ever saw my father cry was when we lost our family pet, a Cherry River Walker Coon Hound named Pretty-Boy. He wasn't just a pet, he was a member of the family. It was just like loosing a child to my dad.:cry: I am sure it was the same for you and your family.
My prayers go out to you and your family for their loss.:angel7:
 
Thanks all for the consolation. We went out today to get a marker for his grave. This website has so many good people and when times are tough there`s always a hand on your shoulder. Thanks again guys!

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Damn, I'm sure sorry to hear about you losing your friend Dexter. I'm sure you gave him a good life and he was grateful, they always are. It's hard to let them go after so long though, I know. I lost two Boxers in 2002 and it broke my heart but I also got my new best friend Sweetie. I've become so close to her that I don't know what I'm going to do when she departs this world. I'm going to be hurting really bad.

God Bless you and Dexter, you can be comforted in knowing you provided him with a good life. Dogs don't ask for much and you went above and beyond.

I'll finish with an article I found on the net years ago when I lost my beloved Boxers.



The Best Place To Bury A Dog

We are thinking now of a setter,
whose coat was flame in the sunshine and who,
so far as we are aware,
never entertained a mean or unworthy thought.
This setter is buried beneath a cherry tree,
under four feet of garden loam,
and at its proper season the cherry tree
strews petals on the green lawn of his grave.
Beneath a cherry tree, or an apple,
or any flowering shrub of the garden,
is an excellent place to bury a dog.
Beneath such trees, such shrubs,
he slept in the drowsy summer,
or gnawed at a flavored bone,
or lifted his head to challenge
some strange intruder.
These are good places, in life or in death.
Yet it is a small matter,
and it touches sentiment
more than anything else.
For if the dog be well remembered,
if sometimes he leaps through
your dreams actual as in life,
eyes kindling, questing,
asking, laughing, begging,
it matters not at all where that
dog sleeps and at last.
On a hill where the wind is unrebuked,
and the trees are roaring,
or beside a stream he knew in puppyhood,
or somewhere in the flatness of a pasture land,
where most exhilarating cattle graze.
It is all one to the dog, and all one to you,
and nothing is gained, and nothing is lost -
if memory lives.
But there is one best place to bury a dog.
One place that is best of all.


There is one best place
to bury a dog.

" If you bury him in this spot, he will
come to you when you call -
come to you over the grim, dim frontier
of death, and down the well-remembered
path, and to your side again.

" And though you call a dozen living
dogs to heel, they shall not growl at
him, nor resent his coming,
for he belongs there.


" People may scoff at you, who see
no lightest blade of grass bent by his
footfall, who hear no whimper, people
who may never really have had a dog.
Smile at them, for you shall know
something that is hidden from them,
and which is well worth the knowing.


" The one best place to bury a good
dog is in the heart of his master."



By Ben Hur Lampman
from the Portland Oregonian Sept. 11, 1925


My Sweetheart

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Sorry for your loss. It's hard to put one down, but sometimes it is the right thing to do to keep them from suffering.

TopHat
 
Sad to hear John, a good dog is truly man's best friend.

Before my granfather passed away, one of the last things he asked me was whether dogs went to heaven too. He had a malamute/husky that was just like another son to him that he was really gonna miss.
 
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