Dizzykizzy
Well-Known Member
so sorry for your loss, all of us who love our animals know how you are feeling, take good care of yourself xx
I am so so sorry. When ever we take on an animal we know that there is going to be a time when we will have to lose them. Until that time we should make the most of our time with them and give them the best life we can. You did that for Joey then you allowed him a peaceful and dignified death. He was a lucky boy to have you and you were lucky to have a beautiful dog who loved you. One day you will be able to think of Joey and smile about the life you had together. It takes time but the pain you are suffering now will turn into happy memories. Allow yourself to grieve for Joey as you would if you had lost anyone close to you.
I think of the poem 'give your heart to a dog' by R Kipling (I think) when I am thinking about the dogs I have lost in the past.
Take care of yourself.
I am so sorry for your loss. I'm not sure if anyone has posted this (it's still too raw for me to read right through your thread) but this poem literally sustained me in the weeks and months after we lost Chloe. It's by Gene Hill.
He is my other eyes that can see above the clouds; my other ears that hear above the winds. He is the part of me that can reach out into the sea. He has told me a thousand times over that I am his reason for being; by the way he rests against my leg; by the way he thumps his tail at my smallest smile; by the way he shows his hurt when I leave without taking him. (I think it makes him sick with worry when he is not along to care for me.)
When I am wrong, he is delighted to forgive. When I am angry, he clowns to make me smile. When I am happy, he is joy unbounded. When I am a fool, he ignores it. When I succeed, he brags. Without him, I am only another man. With him, I am all-powerful. He is loyalty itself.
He has taught me the meaning of devotion. With him, I know a secret comfort and a private peace. He has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant.
His head on my knee can heal my human hurts. His presence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and unknown things. He has promised to wait for me... whenever... whereverin case I need him. And I expect I willas I always have. He is just my dog.
I'm sorry for your loss.
I lost my old girl to CDRM last August.
It was so painful and I could hear her shuffling around the house even when she had gone.
Months later and the pain is replaced with sadness, but I can remember her with joy.
I know I did everything I could to give her a good life and then a peaceful and dignified death - as you did for Joey.
Let yourself grieve now and it will get easier.
It was easier for me.
Xara was elderly - I'd had her for 11 years and she was at least 3 when I got her.....
I have Salem, my other, younger dog to hold on to. I was terrified about how he'd cope without Xara (he was very needy about her), but he has blossomed while being the only dog in the household.
It helped me really. There was no point me dragging my bottom lip on the floor when Salem had picked himself up and moved on.
I miss her, but as a family we can laugh now about all the good times and the trouble she got into -
when she got loose and ran rampant around Sainsbury's
the racket she'd make if we left her outside a shop or at the pet groomers
her casual disregard for hubby for the whole decade she lived with us
her refusal to learn the command 'stay'
when she leapt into an RSPCA van full of cats
the way she would only turn left at the end of the road (to the beach) and refuse to turn right
When the pain subsides, you will be able to remember similar exploits of Joey and you will laugh and feel joy at sharing the time with him.
Glad if I could help at all .
You will find yourself happy one minute and hysterical the next. Just ride the wave, it's normal.
Maybe help out at a local shelter? You could help walk the dogs and it will give you some interaction with dogs without the commitment of having one at home right now?
Anyway, to cheer you up here is a picture of Xara in happier times, chastising Salem for stealing a cone
So sorry RIP Joe.
I always say:
You can NEVER replace the one you lost .... What you do in time is open a new place for a new patter of feet.
When one door closes another opens.
Joe will always have his place within you and your memories
The heart has many doors of love. Each animal opens a door like a advent calender.
When one door closes another opens.
I know we are living in borrowed time at the moment. Mine has hip displacia and crucial ligament injury , this has gone down hill and he cant place his feet down after you bend them back ( neurological) I am trying Hydro which has helped a lot. But it still not a complete cure.
Animals come into our lives and change them.............. we love them so and miss them so.