Posted on 04/21/2006 1:19:24 PM PDT by ChocChipCookie
We are leaving in a few minutes to comfort our female Basenji, Chase, who has developed peritonitis following intestinal surgery. She isn't going to make it past today, and we want to be there with her as her life ends. My two children, ages 4 and almost-7, don't know this yet, and I'm unsure how and what to tell them. They deeply love all our dogs, and Chase was always the, "Mommy Dog."
Chase was a gentle soul and a wonderful mother. She will be deeply missed by the other four Basenjis in her pack, including her mate, Chamuit, and her three daughters. I know some people raised their eyebrows at the number of dogs in our home, but from the beginning these were a pack. Chase and Tano, from her first litter, were especially close. I know it will be a long time before this little group of dogs will be back to normal.
Please keep us in your prayers. My husband and I owned her and Chamuit from the early years of our marriage, long before we had kids. She is our, "little girl." I so hoped the surgery would be successful and that she would recover.
Thanks for indulging me in my very first vanity post.
I'm so sorry for your loss. Chase will be at the Rainbow bridge playing with my beloved Soda and all the other FReeper doggies waiting until the day that we meet them again and cross over together.
I'm sorry to hear this sad news about Chase. Prayers said for you and your family.
Prayers being said for you and your family. It's tough dealing with the loss of a beloved pet.
My basenjii, Gracie, was the first dog I ever owned (at age 40). I still miss her today.
Hugs.
They occupy a huge chunk of your hearts.
I'm very sorry.
I hope your other fur babies bring you comfort.
My sincere condolences to your family. Dogs love hard, and children love them hard right back, don't they?
If you can bear it, do allow your other furbabies to see and sniff their housemate's body. They need to know - dogs recognise death. Let them grieve too.
Thanks, everyone, for your comforting words.
Here is a bit more information about our beautiful Chase: http://www.basenji.org/african/Chaza.htm
My kids are taking this very badly. We decided to have Chase cremated and will be getting her ashes. Neither dh nor I have any idea how we'll explain that. My son, 4.5, is sobbing and telling me he wants to go up to heaven to be with Chase. It's going to be a heartbreaking evening.
I am really sorry to hear about your loss. Everyday when we look at Petunia, our Peke, we know the day will eventually come. I know your heart is broken, and you and your family will be in our prayers.
(((hugs))) Karen
Here's a prayer that might help your son.
A Parting Prayer
Dear Lord, please open your gates
and call St. Francis
to come escort this beloved companion
across the Rainbow Bridge.
Assign her to a place of honor,
for she has been a faithful servant
and has always done her best to please me.
Bless the hands that send her to you,
for they are doing so in love and compassion,
freeing her from pain and suffering.
Grant me the strength not to dwell on my loss.
Help me remember the details of her life
with the love she has shown me.
And grant me the courage to honor her
by sharing those memories with others.
Let her remember me as well
and let her know that I will always love her.
And when it's my time to pass over into your paradise,
please allow her to accompany those
who will bring me home.
Thank you, Lord,
for the gift of her companionship
and for the time we've had together.
And thank you, Lord,
for granting me the strength
to give her to you now.
Amen.
I am so sorry to hear this. God Bless you and your family to find comfort. I have been through this. Hang in there.
What a fine looking dog she was.
I love dogs!
![]() Blessing all creatures, great & small. ![]() |
ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own, live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality never fully understanding the necessary plan. " from The Once Again Prince by Irving Townsend |
Tears for your family. We've been where you are now. We have lost two precious "dogters" (dog daughters), they were "Mommy's and Daddy's little girls", so we understand, to some extent, the grief you're feeling. We are praying for you all.
ChocChipCookie...I am so sorry for your loss....God Bless Chase, and all those that mourn for him...whether its your human family that mourns, or the dog members of that pack that mourn, its a grief, that wrenches at the heart...cry all you want, mourn all you want, for you have lost a value member of your family...I have lost many of my dogs, I know the grief, that will seem so very overwhelming, as do others here on this thread today...dogs are those special beings, that are blessed by God...they make our lives better and more complete....
Hair...thanks for that wonderful poem in your post #35...I am 60yrs old, an older woman, and all my life, I have had dogs...all wonderful, loving, sweet babes, and I miss every single one of them....they were all my babies....my last three that passed on to that great Rainbow Bridge, are buried out in the back yard, each one in a specially built resting box, that my husband hand built for each of them...each dog is wrapped in his/her especially loved blanket, and their favorite toy is lovingly placed in between their front paws...
I mourn them all, I often cry for them all, but most of all, I remember the way they were in life, the great gift of love they gave me, and my whole family...there is no such thing as being 'just a dog'....our beloved dogs are our family, our loved ones, our children..my life is most blessed, as I have been able to have a life, which included a whole wonderful number of dogs...I hope to reach the Rainbow Bridge, and immediately be knocked down and licked for hours, by the pack of dogs, who added so very much to my life...
Thanks for that link- your Chase was a beautiful girl.
Your pictures and description show what a beautiful and sweet dog Chase was. My heart hurts for your children, especially your 4 year old. It's so hard to lose a friend.
My thoughts are with you and your family.
Your dear Chase was born about the same time as my two wrinkleheads, Panga and Kisu. Basenjis are just so full of life you can't imagine them ever being gone. My deepest sympathies.
Oh my dear, I am so sorry to hear this. I have lost so many dogs in my life and I consider them my dearest friends. I fully understand what you are going through and you have my prayers. I am crying tears of sadness for Chase and all my pups who have passed on.
Beautiful post, andysandmikesmom. I'm sure you spoke for a lot of dog lovers. You surely spoke for this one. God bless. :)
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