Godspeed, Charlie. May you run free and healthy once again at the Rainbow Bridge until the time to greet your loved ones. Peace and comfort to those you leave behind.
I am very sorry for your loss. This is when being a dog mom (or dad) sucks.. I am certain you could pen this sentiment in fashionably eloquent language but reality is that it just sucks!
“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” ~From a headstone in Ireland~
Thank you all for the comforting comments.
Whenever we have a dog euthanized, we bury them in our yard. Before we actually put them in the ground, we allow our other dogs to approach the body and sniff – just basically so they know the dog has died. We have had some interesting reactions over the years but generally it’s a short sniffing session and the dog wanders off to attend to other matters. This morning, when we were burying Charlie, most of the dogs did the typical sniff and leave thing but his daughter Patty suddenly lay down at the graveside and remained there quietly while we filled in the hole and even after we went inside. I had to call her to come in. I believe that is the saddest thing I ever saw.
I am very sad to read this. Patty laying by the graveside made me cry. I hope you will keep all of the wonderful memories of Charlie close to your heart!
It takes us back to brighter years,
to happier sunlit days
and to precious moments
that will be with us always.
And these fond recollections
are treasured in the heart
to bring us always close to those
from whom we had to part.
There is a bridge of memories
from Earth to Heaven above…
It keeps our dear ones near us
My condolences, Shirley. You gave, he gave, you took, he took. The life with a dog is full of so many small, wondrous acts of love and selfishness. I’m so sorry Charlie is gone.
Godspeed dear Charlie. Shirley, here’s hoping these words will help the hurting:
For thou hast been my help, and in the shadow of thy wings I will rejoice. -Unknown
and this (long):
THE JOURNEY
When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey. A journey that will bring you more love and devotion than you have ever known, yet will also test your strength and courage. If you allow, the journey will teach you many things, about life, about yourself, and most of all, about love. You will come away changed forever, for one soul cannot touch another without leaving its mark.
Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life’s simple pleasures — jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joys of puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the ears. If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly experience every element, for no rock, leaf, or log will go unexamined, no rustling bush will be overlooked, and even the very air will be inhaled, pondered, and noted as being full of valuable information.
Your pace may be slower, except when heading home to the food dish, but you will become a better naturalist, having been taught by an expert in the field. Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to complete the trail rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the details: the colorful mushrooms on the rotting log, the honeycomb in the old maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a twig.
Once we walk as a dog does, we discover a whole new world. We stop; we browse the landscape, we kick over leaves, peek in tree holes, look up, down, all around. And we learn what any dog knows that nature has created a marvelously complex world that is full of surprises, that each cycle of the seasons bring ever changing wonders, each day an essence all its own.
Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to the world around you. You will find yourself watching: summer insects collecting on a screen; how bizarre they are; how many kinds there are or noting the flick and flash of fireflies through the dark. You will stop to observe the swirling dance of windblown leaves, or sniff the air after a rain. It does not matter that there is no objective in this; the point is in the doing, in not letting life’s most important details slip by.
You will find yourself doing silly things that your pet-less friends might not understand: spending thirty minutes in the grocery aisle looking for the cat food brand your feline must have, buying dog birthday treats, or driving around the block an extra time because your pet enjoys the ride. You will roll in the snow, wrestle with chewy toys, bounce little rubber balls till your eyes cross, and even run around the house trailing your bathrobe tie with a cat in hot pursuit, all in the name of love.
Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less dark clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that an old plastic shopping bag adorns your living room rug because your cat loves the crinkly sound. You will learn the true measure of love. The steadfast, undying kind that says, “It doesn’t matter where we are or what we do, or how life treats us as long as we are together.”
Respect this always. It is the most precious gift any living soul can give another. You will not find it often among the human race. And you will learn humility. The look in my dog’s eyes often made me feel ashamed. Such joy and love at my presence. She saw not some flawed human who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but only her wonderful companion. Or maybe she saw those things and dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering, and so chose to love me anyway.
If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you will be not just a better person, but the person your pet always knew you to be. The one they were proud to call beloved friend.
I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as surely as the sun sets, one day your dear animal companion will follow a trail you cannot yet go down. And you will have to find the strength and love to let them go.
A pet’s time on earth is far too short, especially for those that love them. We borrow them, really, just for a while, and during these brief years they are generous enough to give us all their love, every inch of their spirit and heart, until one day there is nothing left. The cat that only yesterday was a kitten is all too soon old and frail and sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy now wakes up stiff and lame, the muzzle gone to gray.
Deep down we somehow always knew that this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our hearts they would be broken. But give them we must for it is all they ask in return. When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead, young and whole once more. “God speed, good friend,” we say, until our journey comes full circle and our paths cross again.
~Author Unknown
I’m so sorry. Any dog that gets to live with such a kind, compassionate, funny animal loving person as you would have a great life, and he will be waiting for you at the “rainbow bridge.”
So sorry to hear about Charlie’s passing. I’m sure he lived a much blessed life to be loved by you and yours.
This always makes me feel better when i lose a loved one:
“I am standing on the seashore—
A ship spreads her white sails in the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean—
She is an object of beauty and I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky meet to mingle with each other—
Then someone at my side says, “There! She’s gone!”
Gone where? Gone from my sight that’s all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my sight, and just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place of her destination—
Her dimished size is in me—not her—
And just at that moment when someone at my side says, “There! She’s gone!” there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices take up the glad shout, “There she comes!”
I also believe you will meet again. I take great comfort in knowing when I pass, I will be greeted by all the animals I have loved, saved, rescued or helped in any way.
It is that knowledge that gives me strength to keep on keepin on.
A Living Love
If you ever love an animal, there are three days in your life you will always remember . . .
The first is a day, blessed with happiness, when you bring home your young new friend. You may have spent weeks deciding on a breed. You may have asked numerous opinions of many vets, or done long research in finding a breeder. Or, perhaps in a fleeting moment, you may have just chosen that silly looking mutt in a shelter — simply because something in its eyes reached your heart. But when you bring that chosen pet home, and watch it explore, and claim its special place in your hall or front room — and when you feel it brush against you for the first time — it instills a feeling of pure love you will carry with you through the many years to come.
The second day will occur eight or nine or ten years later. It will be a day like any other. Routine and unexceptional. But, for a surprising instant, you will look at your longtime friend and see age where you once saw youth. You will see slow deliberate steps where you once saw energy. And you will see sleep when you once saw activity. So you will begin to adjust your friend’s diet — and you may add a pill or two to her food. And you may feel a growing fear deep within yourself, which bodes of a coming emptiness. And you will feel this uneasy feeling, on and off, until the third day finally arrives.
And on this day — if your friend and whatever higher being you believe in have not decided for you, then you will be faced with making a decision of your own — on behalf of your lifelong friend, and with the guidance of your own deepest Spirit. But whichever way your friend eventually leaves you — you will feel as long as a single star in the dark night.
If you are wise, you will let the tears flow as freely and as often as they must. And if you are typical, you will find that not many in your circle of family or friends will be able to understand your grief, or comfort you.
But if you are true to the love of the pet you cherished through the many joy-filled years, you may find that a soul — a bit smaller in size than your own — seems to walk with you, at times, during the lonely days to come.
And at moments when you least expect anything out of the ordinary to happen, you may feel something brush against your leg — very very lightly.
And looking down at the place where your dear, perhaps dearest, friend used to lie — you will remember those three significant days. The memory will most likely to be painful, and leave an ache in your heart–
–
As time passes the ache will come and go as if it has a life of its own. You will both reject it and {embrace]it, and it may confuse you. If you reject it, it will depress you. If you embrace it, it will deepen you. Either way, it will still be an ache.
But there will be, I assure you, a fourth day when — along with the memory of your pet — and piercing through the heaviness in your heart — there will come a realization that belongs only to you. It will be as unique and strong as our relationship with each animal we have loved, and lost. This realization takes the form of a Living Love — like the heavenly scent of a rose that remains after the petals have wilted, this Love will remain and grow — and be there for us to remember. It is a love we have earned. It is the legacy our pets leave us when they go. And it is a gift we may keep with us as long as we live. It is a Love which is ours alone. And until we ourselves leave, perhaps to join our Beloved Pets — it is a Love we will always possess.
The pain of your loss as well as the joys of your companion’s life is well understood. Reading these condolances tears my heart out, stirring memories of the most love I’ve ever had. The worst part of loving a companion is, you always out live them & it’s tuff saying farewell.
Going from aquiring, through their life, on to loseing them; it never gets easier as I have experienced this love & loss numerous times. Something tells me you have too.
There’s nothing anyone could say to ease your pain, only time will, but we have been blessed with a life shared like no other & are better for it.
God bless you Shirley, Charlie & future little angels.
Godspeed, Charlie. May you run free and healthy once again at the Rainbow Bridge until the time to greet your loved ones. Peace and comfort to those you leave behind.
Cherish your memories of your good friend and companion, Charlie. He’ll live forever in your hearts.
Kathy SB
Lovely picture, and words. Loving memories they leave us with. And I do think we’ll meet again with them.
Charlie will forever be in your heart. May the memories warm you until you meet again.
Rest in peace, sweet boy.
I am very sorry for your loss. This is when being a dog mom (or dad) sucks.. I am certain you could pen this sentiment in fashionably eloquent language but reality is that it just sucks!
“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” ~From a headstone in Ireland~
Our very best thoughts and wishes to those left behind.
I am so sorry for your loss. I agree, though–your paths will cross again.
Goodbye sweet Charlie. You made this world a better place to live in. Thank you.
My sincere condolences on the loss of your friend.
Thank you all for the comforting comments.
Whenever we have a dog euthanized, we bury them in our yard. Before we actually put them in the ground, we allow our other dogs to approach the body and sniff – just basically so they know the dog has died. We have had some interesting reactions over the years but generally it’s a short sniffing session and the dog wanders off to attend to other matters. This morning, when we were burying Charlie, most of the dogs did the typical sniff and leave thing but his daughter Patty suddenly lay down at the graveside and remained there quietly while we filled in the hole and even after we went inside. I had to call her to come in. I believe that is the saddest thing I ever saw.
Heartbreaking. You and your family are in my prayers. Give Patty and extra belly rub from me.
So sorry but that is a beautiful story of Father and daughter…..Happy Fathers Day Charlie! RIP oxoxoxoxo
I am very sad to read this. Patty laying by the graveside made me cry. I hope you will keep all of the wonderful memories of Charlie close to your heart!
so so sorry for the loss of your doggie….
Very sorry for your loss.
A Bridge Called Love
It takes us back to brighter years,
to happier sunlit days
and to precious moments
that will be with us always.
And these fond recollections
are treasured in the heart
to bring us always close to those
from whom we had to part.
There is a bridge of memories
from Earth to Heaven above…
It keeps our dear ones near us
It’s the bridge that we call love.
– Author Unknown
My condolences, Shirley. You gave, he gave, you took, he took. The life with a dog is full of so many small, wondrous acts of love and selfishness. I’m so sorry Charlie is gone.
Goodbye, Charlie. May the way be soft to your paws.
They take a piece of us when they go.
Here’s to the time when we’re all reunited and all the pieces come joyfully back together again.
Godspeed dear Charlie. Shirley, here’s hoping these words will help the hurting:
For thou hast been my help, and in the shadow of thy wings I will rejoice. -Unknown
and this (long):
THE JOURNEY
When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey. A journey that will bring you more love and devotion than you have ever known, yet will also test your strength and courage. If you allow, the journey will teach you many things, about life, about yourself, and most of all, about love. You will come away changed forever, for one soul cannot touch another without leaving its mark.
Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life’s simple pleasures — jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joys of puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the ears. If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly experience every element, for no rock, leaf, or log will go unexamined, no rustling bush will be overlooked, and even the very air will be inhaled, pondered, and noted as being full of valuable information.
Your pace may be slower, except when heading home to the food dish, but you will become a better naturalist, having been taught by an expert in the field. Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to complete the trail rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the details: the colorful mushrooms on the rotting log, the honeycomb in the old maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a twig.
Once we walk as a dog does, we discover a whole new world. We stop; we browse the landscape, we kick over leaves, peek in tree holes, look up, down, all around. And we learn what any dog knows that nature has created a marvelously complex world that is full of surprises, that each cycle of the seasons bring ever changing wonders, each day an essence all its own.
Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to the world around you. You will find yourself watching: summer insects collecting on a screen; how bizarre they are; how many kinds there are or noting the flick and flash of fireflies through the dark. You will stop to observe the swirling dance of windblown leaves, or sniff the air after a rain. It does not matter that there is no objective in this; the point is in the doing, in not letting life’s most important details slip by.
You will find yourself doing silly things that your pet-less friends might not understand: spending thirty minutes in the grocery aisle looking for the cat food brand your feline must have, buying dog birthday treats, or driving around the block an extra time because your pet enjoys the ride. You will roll in the snow, wrestle with chewy toys, bounce little rubber balls till your eyes cross, and even run around the house trailing your bathrobe tie with a cat in hot pursuit, all in the name of love.
Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less dark clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that an old plastic shopping bag adorns your living room rug because your cat loves the crinkly sound. You will learn the true measure of love. The steadfast, undying kind that says, “It doesn’t matter where we are or what we do, or how life treats us as long as we are together.”
Respect this always. It is the most precious gift any living soul can give another. You will not find it often among the human race. And you will learn humility. The look in my dog’s eyes often made me feel ashamed. Such joy and love at my presence. She saw not some flawed human who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but only her wonderful companion. Or maybe she saw those things and dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering, and so chose to love me anyway.
If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you will be not just a better person, but the person your pet always knew you to be. The one they were proud to call beloved friend.
I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as surely as the sun sets, one day your dear animal companion will follow a trail you cannot yet go down. And you will have to find the strength and love to let them go.
A pet’s time on earth is far too short, especially for those that love them. We borrow them, really, just for a while, and during these brief years they are generous enough to give us all their love, every inch of their spirit and heart, until one day there is nothing left. The cat that only yesterday was a kitten is all too soon old and frail and sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy now wakes up stiff and lame, the muzzle gone to gray.
Deep down we somehow always knew that this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our hearts they would be broken. But give them we must for it is all they ask in return. When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead, young and whole once more. “God speed, good friend,” we say, until our journey comes full circle and our paths cross again.
~Author Unknown
I’m very sorry for your loss. And Patty’s. I hope one day you’ll meet again.
I’m sorry. But he’ll be waiting for you at the Bridge.
I’m so very sorry for your loss. My deepest condolences to you and your family.
I’m so sorry. Any dog that gets to live with such a kind, compassionate, funny animal loving person as you would have a great life, and he will be waiting for you at the “rainbow bridge.”
May you take comfort in your memories until you meet again as you surely will. My condolences Shirley.
My condolences…whaaaaa.
So sorry to hear about Charlie’s passing. I’m sure he lived a much blessed life to be loved by you and yours.
This always makes me feel better when i lose a loved one:
“I am standing on the seashore—
A ship spreads her white sails in the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean—
She is an object of beauty and I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky meet to mingle with each other—
Then someone at my side says, “There! She’s gone!”
Gone where? Gone from my sight that’s all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my sight, and just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place of her destination—
Her dimished size is in me—not her—
And just at that moment when someone at my side says, “There! She’s gone!” there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices take up the glad shout, “There she comes!”
And that is Dying.”
—-Harry K. Keyes
I’m so sorry for your loss.
I also believe you will meet again. I take great comfort in knowing when I pass, I will be greeted by all the animals I have loved, saved, rescued or helped in any way.
It is that knowledge that gives me strength to keep on keepin on.
A Living Love
If you ever love an animal, there are three days in your life you will always remember . . .
The first is a day, blessed with happiness, when you bring home your young new friend. You may have spent weeks deciding on a breed. You may have asked numerous opinions of many vets, or done long research in finding a breeder. Or, perhaps in a fleeting moment, you may have just chosen that silly looking mutt in a shelter — simply because something in its eyes reached your heart. But when you bring that chosen pet home, and watch it explore, and claim its special place in your hall or front room — and when you feel it brush against you for the first time — it instills a feeling of pure love you will carry with you through the many years to come.
The second day will occur eight or nine or ten years later. It will be a day like any other. Routine and unexceptional. But, for a surprising instant, you will look at your longtime friend and see age where you once saw youth. You will see slow deliberate steps where you once saw energy. And you will see sleep when you once saw activity. So you will begin to adjust your friend’s diet — and you may add a pill or two to her food. And you may feel a growing fear deep within yourself, which bodes of a coming emptiness. And you will feel this uneasy feeling, on and off, until the third day finally arrives.
And on this day — if your friend and whatever higher being you believe in have not decided for you, then you will be faced with making a decision of your own — on behalf of your lifelong friend, and with the guidance of your own deepest Spirit. But whichever way your friend eventually leaves you — you will feel as long as a single star in the dark night.
If you are wise, you will let the tears flow as freely and as often as they must. And if you are typical, you will find that not many in your circle of family or friends will be able to understand your grief, or comfort you.
But if you are true to the love of the pet you cherished through the many joy-filled years, you may find that a soul — a bit smaller in size than your own — seems to walk with you, at times, during the lonely days to come.
And at moments when you least expect anything out of the ordinary to happen, you may feel something brush against your leg — very very lightly.
And looking down at the place where your dear, perhaps dearest, friend used to lie — you will remember those three significant days. The memory will most likely to be painful, and leave an ache in your heart–
–
As time passes the ache will come and go as if it has a life of its own. You will both reject it and {embrace]it, and it may confuse you. If you reject it, it will depress you. If you embrace it, it will deepen you. Either way, it will still be an ache.
But there will be, I assure you, a fourth day when — along with the memory of your pet — and piercing through the heaviness in your heart — there will come a realization that belongs only to you. It will be as unique and strong as our relationship with each animal we have loved, and lost. This realization takes the form of a Living Love — like the heavenly scent of a rose that remains after the petals have wilted, this Love will remain and grow — and be there for us to remember. It is a love we have earned. It is the legacy our pets leave us when they go. And it is a gift we may keep with us as long as we live. It is a Love which is ours alone. And until we ourselves leave, perhaps to join our Beloved Pets — it is a Love we will always possess.
~~by Martin Scot Kosins
I am very sorry, Shirley.
I’m so sorry, Shirley.
Very sorry Shirley. RIP Charlie. May peace be with you.
The pain of your loss as well as the joys of your companion’s life is well understood. Reading these condolances tears my heart out, stirring memories of the most love I’ve ever had. The worst part of loving a companion is, you always out live them & it’s tuff saying farewell.
Going from aquiring, through their life, on to loseing them; it never gets easier as I have experienced this love & loss numerous times. Something tells me you have too.
There’s nothing anyone could say to ease your pain, only time will, but we have been blessed with a life shared like no other & are better for it.
God bless you Shirley, Charlie & future little angels.