Posted on 05/18/2020 9:36:02 PM PDT by conservative98
I hear you. I have had to put many a good doggie and cats in my life. Broke my heart every time. I had a beautiful cat, “Scooter’’, God Almighty was he handsome. Stripped black, gray and white, white paws, with a tawny underbelly and what a mouser. I live on the edge of The New Jersey Pine Barrens and have a big back yard. A couple of mice got in here over a period of some months years ago and got everyone of them. Five in all.
But my boy got sick, an inoperable brain tumor so... miss him a lot.
I have lost many, many of my best friends (my cats). But oddly, the pain that was once like a knife in the heart turns into a kind of sweet sorrow over time.
I have been told that I'm a sociopath, in that I can casually observe the suffering of humans, yet descend into depression and gloom at the thought of a suffering dog.
Weird people, us humans.
But I think that's what makes us human.
An anecdotal relation, if I may:
I rescued a half-bred Rhodesian Ridgeback from the roadside years ago.
The first several months were horrific, as he was mostly worms and parasites, requiring several trips to the vet and much money to rid him of the ravages of his wild living.
But once he began to regain his strength, nothing...and I do mean absolutely nothing would keep him from being as close to me as possible at all times.
He was overly protective of me, to the point of actually standing in front of cars/trucks that he felt were getting too close to me.
He never growled at my wife or kids or acted in the least aggressive toward them, but they knew, KNEW that the biggest human in his eyes was me, although he would tolerate them, as long as I was in sight, allowing the kids to play ball and fetch with him, but with an eye on where I was at all times
I'm a "gentleman" farmer and I had a tractor that was not in the best of repair.
Of course, Trouble (an apt name) was right there watching my every move.
My exasperation caused me to throw a wrench down, which promptly bounced on the cement shop floor and struck my leg.
Trouble was up and had the wrench immediately and was gone.
I never saw the wrench again.
I tried to tell him that it was not the wrench's fault, it was the tractor that had pissed me off.
He immediately commenced to chewing on the lugs of rubber on the tire of the tractor, as if to say...don't even do that again!
Over time, all I had to say, no matter where on the ranch we were, was: "That tractor pissed me off!" and he was gone!
16 years he owned me.
16 great years, marred only by the tumor he developed on his right rear leg, which was inoperable.
But he adjusted to it and lived rather well with it, until a stroke last year.
We will forever miss them, no other dog will be like them, but we are thankful for the time we had them.
Believe me, I share your pain.
Truly mans best friend and the Chinese eat them for dinner, who is the animals here? scumbag chinese
I have an unwritten rule/bias in my head, I am immediately suspicious of someone who either has never had or doesn’t like dogs.
One of the reasons I don’t get another dog. You love them and then you have to say goodbye.
My little buddy is a 3 year old black lab. I don’t even want to THINK about the day. It is going to completely break my heart. I hope its a long long time until then.
I’m reading the book now after having watched the movie. So far the two seem pretty close together. Except of course the detail in Enzo’s narrative is greater in the book.
It was quite poignant, but I did enjoy it. We lost Chester 2 years ago and it was easy to see Chester’s thinking processes in the same manner as in the book. I know there are a lot of smart dogs, but for me personally I always describe Chester as the poster dog for anthropomorphism. He had an excellent grasp of cause and effect. Anyway he too was a great friend. And he too knew when it was time to go.
I think it helped a lot to know that for him time was different and he didn’t see his time here to be short the way we did.
Our Aussie is on her last legs. :( 13 and a few months old.
So far 2020 has been an awful year and getting worse.
We had a sheltie mix (Other half unknown) for 13 years.
Good animal and friend. Had to put her down due to pancreatic cancer.
PFL
Netflix? No, only movies that promote homosexuality are allowed on netflix.
Funny you should say that. There are a couple of homers in the book. Don’t know if they made the movie.
Robinson Jeffers: The House-Dog’s Grave
I’ve changed my ways a little; I cannot now
Run with you in the evenings along the shore,
Except in a kind of dream; and you,
If you dream a moment,
You see me there.
So leave awhile the paw-marks on the front door
Where I used to scratch to go out or in,
And you’d soon open; leave on the kitchen floor
The marks of my drinking-pan.
I cannot lie by your fire as I used to do
On the warm stone,
Nor at the foot of your bed; no,
All the nights through I lie alone.
But your kind thought has laid me less than six feet
Outside your window where firelight so often plays,
And where you sit to read‚
And I fear often grieving for me‚
Every night your lamplight lies on my place.
You, man and woman, live so long, it is hard
To think of you ever dying.
A little dog would get tired, living so long.
I hope that when you are lying
Under the ground like me your lives will appear
As good and joyful as mine.
No, dears, that’s too much hope:
You are not so well cared for as I have been.
And never have known the passionate undivided
Fidelities that I knew.
Your minds are perhaps too active, too many-sided...
But to me you were true.
You were never masters, but friends. I was your friend.
I loved you well, and was loved. Deep love endures
To the end and far past the end. If this is my end,
I am not lonely. I am not afraid. I am still yours.
Mrs AV,
In memory of Superior Legs Diamond(Legsy) - the best Pembroke Welsh Corgi in the worldie.
I almost cried when I read this post and the comments. Madison, I know what you mean. I loved all our dogs, but our black Lab (died in 2016) was my soul mate. I almost lost my mind when she had to be put to sleep.
Good news, though! We have been “dogless” since 2016 after our Lab and our goofy but lovable German Shorthaired Pointer died and we became renters, but our landlady just gave us permission to get a dog. I am so excited!
I’ve been looking at rescue dogs, but almost all of them for 100+ miles around are pit bulls! Why is it so difficult to find a smallish (don’t want tiny) to medium sized dog these days? My husband and I probably shouldn’t have a big dog now that we are old coots. I don’t need a nutty GSP dragging me down the street after he spots a squirrel.
Anyway, I am now on a quest and will not give up! :-)
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