For Elle & G

[Fata Morgana]

Whenever her father was alone with a dog in a house he would lean over and smell the skin at the base of its paw. This, he would say, as if coming away from a brandy snifter, is the greatest smell in the world! A bouquet! Great rumours of travel! She would pretend disgust, but the dog's paw was a wonder: the smell of it never suggested dirt. It's a cathedral! her father had said, so-and-so's garden, that field of grasses, a walk through cyclamen--a concentration of hints of all the paths the animal had taken during the day.


Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/foxkitsune/81de5907e7db0ae2549639ced55bc2ef1b70a165660afc7c013f4e8f5b644890_1_zpslmhqkwgr.jpg

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[Fata Morgana]

It's a marvellous quote, thank you, dear, dear friend.


There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
But when we are certain of sorrow in store
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Rudyard Kipling

Gorgeous.

 

[ElizabethWest]

I'm so sorry, dear Elle. I have been in your position only once, and it broke my heart.

'Dogs are our link to paradise.
They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent.
To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon
is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring
—it was peace'.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[lovecraft68]

I remember when I had my first German Shepherd put to sleep. I got him when I was sixteen, bought him from the people down the rode that bred them.

He made it until fourteen, pretty good for a Shepherd, but he had cancer and I paid several thousand dollars for two operations and this time there was just nothing we could do and he was in pain.

They let me stay with him when I put him down. I held him when they gave him the needle and sat on the floor with him in my lap when he breathed his last. he looked up at me just before he went and as usual it was with that soulful clam look he always had.

He put his paw into my hand just before he went, fucking killed me, cried like an idiot.

My best memory of him, well of the type of dog he-and many dogs are was when I had my daughters.

When my first wife was pregnant he would sit next to her where ever she went and give anyone who went near her the "Better watch it" look and he would growl if it was a person he didn't know well.

When my daughter was born we would put her on floor in her car seat and he would sit behind her watching over her the same way.

That memory came back to me big time a couple years ago. I now have two Shepherds and when my daughter was pregnant with our grandson, they would both sit by her when she came over and then when she brought the baby over, they would lay at her feet when she held him, or both lay down on either side of him when he was playing or in his bouncer or play pen.

They are so much better than people.

 

[Lorilei]

 

[Not Normal]

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[Noor]

for E & G and also everyone else who has a loss.

 

[silver gurl]

So sorry Elle and G. Sending my last dog off, was one of the hardest things I had to do. Love to your sweet companion.

 

[doowdniw]

Even when we know it is right, it is never easy.

 

[ElizabethWest]

Thank you.

Perhaps this can be not just for G and I but for all of us who lose or have lost these beloveds? I remember others lost recently, and pain might still be keenly felt. Your remembrances are reminders we have felt it and share love for other animals.

Thanks, Elle, for opening your thread to others.

My Brodie, gone since 2012. I still miss the little fucker, as I fondly called him. He was a mess, but a wonderful companion.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[LallyH]

My parents finally let me have a dog when I was 16 to help me get through a tough time. I had to leave him behind when I left for university two years later and missed him like crazy, but I think having him at home helped my mum get over me (the youngest) leaving.

Fourteen years later, he had cancer and was going blind. My dad was a tough, hardened ex-policeman, but when he rang me at work after taking my dog to the vets to be put to sleep, he was sobbing worse than me. It's the only time I ever heard or saw him cry.

I'm so sorry

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[OralDave]

Elle & G

it sounds a little trite-- but its so true.. it's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.

coming from one whose circumstances have required him to be dogless (although is loved by strange dogs, nevertheless)

a hug for both of you!

 

[Knot Again]

I remember when I had my first German Shepherd put to sleep. I got him when I was sixteen, bought him from the people down the rode that bred them.

He made it until fourteen, pretty good for a Shepherd, but he had cancer and I paid several thousand dollars for two operations and this time there was just nothing we could do and he was in pain.

They let me stay with him when I put him down. I held him when they gave him the needle and sat on the floor with him in my lap when he breathed his last. he looked up at me just before he went and as usual it was with that soulful clam look he always had.

He put his paw into my hand just before he went, fucking killed me, cried like an idiot.

My best memory of him, well of the type of dog he-and many dogs are was when I had my daughters.

When my first wife was pregnant he would sit next to her where ever she went and give anyone who went near her the "Better watch it" look and he would growl if it was a person he didn't know well.

When my daughter was born we would put her on floor in her car seat and he would sit behind her watching over her the same way.

That memory came back to me big time a couple years ago. I now have two Shepherds and when my daughter was pregnant with our grandson, they would both sit by her when she came over and then when she brought the baby over, they would lay at her feet when she held him, or both lay down on either side of him when he was playing or in his bouncer or play pen.

They are so much better than people.

this is wonderful

our dogs also lie down with the grandkids and kiss and protect her....

 

[pensivepoet]

The cost of love is sorrow
Love can end no other way.

 

[cookiecat]

It's a marvellous quote, thank you, dear, dear friend.

For all of us who love dogs, or indeed, share our hearts with any other species. I know you know it too.


There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
But when we are certain of sorrow in store
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Rudyard Kipling

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[butters]

elle & g - a difficult day for you

 

[Not Normal]

It is where you are now that has kept Bluey and me from getting more animals. Mine had to stay with my ex-wife, but we saw them and helped with their care a good deal after the divorce. They are all truly missed. Their endings were hard on all of us not just myself and my ex, but Bluey and my ex's new partner as well. We all cried and shared memories, hugged and laughed. Pets have a great influence on your well being, often more than they or you realize.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[Fata Morgana]

It's the hardest thing to do, no matter how many times you've done it before, and despite knowing it's the right thing.

I feel for you Elle.