Such pain.

I had to have my dearly loved rottweilerx doberman bruce put down today.His body had given up the battle.He went downhill so fast,he just gave up.He couldn't get up and refused to eat anything at all.He looked so sad.The vet said it was the kindest thing I could do for him.He was 13 years old and has lived a full and happy life without any previous illness.Poor sally,my staffy can't understand why he is not here,she keeps looking for him.
I feel privileged to have known him and am hurting so much.Why do we have to feel such pain?I feel the same now as when I lost my first dog when I was 13.I'm now 61 and he is the 7th dog I've lost.It doesn't get any easier as you get older.I'm giving sally extra love to help us both get through it.

I'm so sorry xxx

It's in our nature to bond with those in our lives and when we do we understand how important they are to us and we are to them. This bond cannot just be replaced like other things in life can be, as your other little Sally is your best friend, she will get you through this horrid time and the grieving process in general. Sadly we have all felt that pain of loss and that powerless feeling of something taken away that shouldn't be and can't put it right. A mixture of shock and injustice mainly. We spend our lives protecting them from their first jabs onwards and so feel any number of emotions when this happens. Bruce is a good strong name for a good strong boy that joined your life and will always be a part of it, nothing can take that away. Ultimately you feel like you do because you care, if only that could be bottled. Unfortunately although dogs live so much longer than they used to it's never really long enough for us, it's side effect of living so long ourselves. Give yourselves time and when you can try to celebrate the things you enjoyed together, Bruce wouldn't want anyone to make you so sad least of all him. You did your best to give him everything he could possibly need so he couldn't have done better, be very proud of that. One hell of a big hug from all of us of the Staffy clan here.

R.i.p bruce so sorry for your loss extra staffy cuddles .

No, it doesn't get any easier as we get older, but that's because we don't love them any less.

Sleep tight lovely man, and be forever young at Rainbow Bridge.

Run free Bruce, so sorry for your loss

So sorry for your loss. Run free Bruce

so very sorry to hear of your loss,they are such a large part of our family over the years the pain we feel is the same for any other family member,RIP Bruce gorgeous boy xx

Look after yourself. Im so v sorry for your loss. RIP Bruce xx

So sorry run free baby boy have fun at rainbow bridge Xxx

Thank you all for your kind words,it's been a great help.

I'm sitting here reading all of this and tears are falling down my cheeks at how you must be feeling, I'm so sorry It's the worst thing when our doggy friends pass away....I too lost an absolutely beloved, treasured girlie this time last year to cancer. Once diagnosed she only lived 3 weeks before becoming distressed and passing out even with chemo and steroids and we knew we had to let her go. She was 13 years old and we loved her so, especially me. She was my soul mate and friend. She followed me everywhere even into the loo.

After she'd gone I only lasted two weeks without a dog, so depressed, before finding Milo at the local Rescue Centre. I fell in love all over again. He was 7 months old and I was 65 then, now I'mm 66 and Milo is only 17 mths and sometimes I feel guilty at the prospect of getting older while he's still so young and fit but we play a lot in the house, he has two good walks a day and he has oodles of love. Thankfully he's a bit of a couch potato and if its raining or cold he'd rather snuggle up to me or under a blanket

I couldn't live without a dog.

I'm so sorry for your loss, the only thing i could think to do is share one of my favourite internet reads that i'm sure has been read many times, but I found comfort in it and i hope you do too:

"Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker’s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, “I know why.”

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I’d never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, “People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?” The six-year-old continued, “Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.”

-Author Unknown

Run free at Rainbow Bridge Bruce xXx

So sorry for your loss

so sorry for your loss and my heart goes out to you it really does.

Feel for you so much!!

Somehow I missed this posting. So very sorry for your loss

He is beautiful. I miss my boy like he'll. I suppose every now and then there's a dog that really pulls on your heartstrings and some that are JUST dogs if that makes sense.