My beloved dog

After 15 1/2 years, my dog Cheyenne is no longer with us. I'm writing this because I need to let a little pain out, and can't talk about it or be with anyone close to me right now. It just hurts too much. I think I'm looking for comfort also. The house is so empty without her here. What I wouldn't give for just a couple more years with her. Cheyenne was the world to me. She was my furry little daughter, and I can't believe she's not here.

Please forgive my public display of emotion. I don't know what else to do at the moment.

Nothing wrong with loving your pet nor mourning its passing.
I have felt that pain many times. It will get better with time it did for me.
Topper

I'm sorry to hear that Bimmerboy, but she'll always be with you in your heart....

ya must recall the good life ya gave her.and how lucky ya both was to find each other

raggie33 said:

ya must recall the good life ya gave her.and how lucky ya both was to find each other

Click to expand...

That's so true, Raggie. Thanks for saying that.

Thanks to Topper and Nemul as well.

Bimmerboy,

I am so, so sorry about Cheyenne. What a terrible loss this is. She must have been very special. And you must have a very large heart to feel her loss so intensely, and to feel so strongly about Cheyenne and her passing that you posted about it here.

You have nothing to apologize for. If a place like this didn't make room for public displays of emotion, and didn't help out people in need, I wouldn't be here.

You listen to me: you have lost a friend, a family member, and a beloved companion. And nothing less. Your loss is not less because it wasn't a human who passed from your life. It is no less significant. And, damn it, don't let anyone tell you different. Treat this for exactly what it is: a great change in your life.

I feel for you. I feel that I know what you are going through. I too lost a beloved animal, a friend. The night of Nov 2, 2003. For a long, long time--more than a full year--not a day went by that I didn't think of my Winnie and wish that I could go back in time and prevent her death. I'm getting upset just typing this. At this point, days will sometimes go by without me thinking of her loss and wishing she was still with me. But I still miss her just as much, only the pain isn't nearly as bad. And while this may sound sentimental to some, I know she is not gone, even though she is gone from my life physically for now.

Everyone's experience is different, but perhaps you can see something in what I have written. Please know that I am sincerely and truly sorry that Cheyenne is no longer with you.

You might try www.petloss.com to help you through this. There is a link on that page to their forum which you can post to, and the people there are very helpful and kind and compassionate. Don't let the sometimes maudlin and sentimental trappings put you off. These are real people with real grief, helping each other out. My username there is the same as here. Perhaps I will see your post about Cheyenne on their forum. It's time I went back there in any case.

Our condolances on your loss. Grieve for your loss, for the loss of your friend, furry and four legged that she was. With time, the pain of your loss will fade a bit, hopefully enough for your to remember some of your time together without the hole in your heart from her death from overpowering everything else.

Go ahead and cry for her, we've been there.


Why Are You Crying

Why are you crying,
I am not there.
Look not for me by the favorite chair,
I am not there.
See me not at the bed's foot, nor
at the door's step,
I am not there.
Do not look to the earth's cold hand,
it could not hold me,
I am not there.
Look to the midnight star, a comet's flash,
racing shadows in the field, sun lights dance on water's edge.
Hear me, the rustle of the grass, pine boughs sigh, the beat of bird's wings,
the rain's quiet tattoo.
Feel me in your heart, for it is there I can not leave.
Wait for my loving kiss, my paw's soft touch
at Rainbow's Bridge.
I will meet you there, and we shall dance again,
together.

by Thomas J. Kee

Again, our condolances.

You're not the only one to feel this sense of loss. It happens to all of us with pets. In the last few years I lost two of my cats, Tiger and Suzette. I was beyond consoling for a while after Tiger passed. I wrote a little story about it here, and I wrote about Suzette here

Lucky, our oldest cat, is now 18 and a half. Even though she's relatively healthy it'll probably be her time in the next year or two, and that's something I'm not looking forward to. Our pets reach us in ways that humans can't. When they die, it's as if a part of us dies too.

My sincerest condolences on your loss. :mecry: Although the pain will be there forever, it will get less with each day. In time you'll only remember the happy days you and Cheyenne spent together.

It's been 15 years since we last lost our Cocker "Sandy"...I said I'd NEVER get another dog (we don't tend to get attached to our fish in the aquarium - but did sense some loss when one of our cockatiels died and then we had to get rid of the other...)

...said I'd NEVER get another dog that I had to get rid of or pass away on us. It's was a great loss for us not to get another though!

I'm sorry your companion is gone, and another would never replace her - but don't do as I've done!! Get hooked up with another!! Enjoy the companionship that only they can provide!! Their unconditional loyalty certainly helps to polish the rough edges of daily life!

Yes, I still miss ours after all these years!

As a dog owner and enthusiast...please accept my sincere condolences on your sad loss...

Gary

I want to say that all your responses are very, very appreciated, and are helping me get through this day. Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and feelings.

My GSD is now 8 years old..and losing him...is something that is at the back of my mind...

Shepherds don't live very old...and 8-12 years is usually the time they pass away...

Shouldn't think/predict the future...but it's always there...

Even though he's a guard dog and lives outside permanently..(he's patrolling the grounds now...I can see him from the window in my study, illuminated by the security lights)...he's still a family member...

This is the fellow;

I had a cat that passed away many, many years ago after 21 years. Old geezer was so old in the end that I had to carry him around the house and to/from the littler box. Old fossil would still go nutz over a piece of string dragged over his back and he'd still purr when I'd pet him.

When he passed, the vet that had seen him for all those years sent me a little ceramic keepsake with his name on it. I still have it, still in the shipping box, packed carefully, and placed safely in the rear of the gunsafe. Keep the good ones close to your heart, but don't let their passing become a tragedy or a bad thing. Heal, and then start looking for a new family member.

I'm truly sorry for your loss.

_____________________________
When God had made the earth and sky
the flowers and the trees,
He then made all the animals
the fish, the birds and bees.

And when at last He'd finished
not one was quite the same.
He said, "I'll walk this world of mine
and give each one a name."

And so He traveled far and wide
and everywhere He went,
a little creature followed Him
until it's strength was spent.

When all were named upon the earth
and in the sky and sea,
the little creature said, "Dear Lord,
there's not one left for me."

Kindly the Father said to him,
"I've left you to the end.
I've turned my own name back to front
and called you dog, My friend."

Author Unknown

When I was in fifth and sixth grade, we lived in a condo above another family that had three cats. One of them, Tux, and I really took to each other. The girl downstairs and I actually went to the same Catholic school but very rarely talked. Anyway, the cat spent most of it's outside time up with me when I was home. A couple years later I was back visiting a friend after we had moved away so I went to the condo where Tux and lived and asked about him. The girl sort of looked at me oddly then her eyes welled up with tears and she hugged me and said that they had to have him put down because he had kitty leukemia. I asked if she was OK and she said she was fine, but she knew how much I loved him.

It's strange how attached we can get to animals. Just know that he loved you as much as you loved him.

I am sorry for your loss Bimmerboy. Three years ago today (Jan 18) we lost one of our Great Danes. I spent new years eve 2002 in a hotel in Raleigh NC because I had to take Taz to the veterinary hospital at NC State. He was going into congestive heart failure due to dialated cardio miopathy. They stabilized him and we got to take him home a few days later. The long term prognosis was not good, anywhere from a few days to a few months.

He died in his sleep on his bed in our bedroom. All things considered the best possible end.

Six months later we had to put our other Great Dane to sleep. He was 8.5, got bloat and had internal organ failure.

2003 was the worst year of our lives. Not a day goes by when I don't think about my lost friends. We have yet to replace the dogs, although we will get another someday.
Until then, we make due with two cats we adopted over the last 18 months. Not quite the same as the dogs, but they are good companions.

MoonRise said:

...snip....
Wait for my loving kiss, my paw's soft touch
at Rainbow's Bridge.
I will meet you there, and we shall dance again,
together.

by Thomas J. Kee

Again, our condolances.

Click to expand...

seconded...

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Wow. . .I don't have pets, but can see how dogs are beloved family members, not part of but are. . .

Bimmerboy,

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. You don't have to explain it to me, they are family, and 15 plus years is a long time. I've had a few dogs live to 13, and when they were gone, it was a shock. I know it hurts. Though it always will to some degree, it will get better than what it is now.

You did the best thing for your dog and believe me I have also been there. AT over 15 years you surely must have done something right and that pet had very many good years to live so long. My dog Zeus was 12 yrs old and a Dane at 250 lbs was said to be able to live maybe 7 years. With much love my dog made it to 12 years.

Pet people are good people in my opinion however it does not take the pain away when we lose them. I was so shocked after Zeus was gone and very suprised at how losing this "little" friend could almost destroy me. I have seen so much death in my work as well as pain. I have had dealings with criminals daily and have been stabbed,shot at,and even shunned at times by the public. Nothing ever bothered me as I had control of my emotions until it came to the love of an animal. This one animal came into my life and he truly could pull my tired old heart strings. His death brought me to my knees however it was the least I could do for him in his time of pain....you did the right thing Bimmer and you do not have to worry anymore as your dog is at peace now.

I so miss Zeus and find myself constantly wishing that I could have had just one more day. What I would not give for just one more time to hold that big neck of his and see those eyes light up for me. I will say this to any who listen and that is there is nothing more loyal than a good dog. We all have good friends however nothing will stand beside you like a beloved dog....no human can even come close.

Sorry to hear of your loss Bimmer and please do not make the same mistake I have made. I have shut the idea out of my head to another dog. I was so afraid of losing another trusted friend that I have now became so close minded that I can not even consider it. It is obvious that you are a good person and thus any animal would love to share their life with you....as I said dog people are just good people. Good luck and when you are ready give another loyal friend a home.