Jack Pine Savage Loc: NW Wisconsin

Mike Huckabee said on his blog; "A dog's love is the closest thing to God's unconditional love we'll ever find on earth!" Amen!

Justoldjim Loc: JUNCTION CITY, OR.

Know the feeling all to well had to have my 15 year old Chahuahua put down a couple weeks ago great sadness

Kerry Hansen Loc: Bremerton, WA

I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN.

Kerry Hansen Loc: Bremerton, WA

X2

Scudrnr Loc: Hancock, Wisconsin

Condolences. Rosie will be waiting for you across the rainbow bridge. I've lost a few over the years and it is never easy.

E.pa.al Loc: Martin's Creek

My condolences RBB,when the time comes consider a rescue as Spirit suggested. We did 11 years ago & Willie has been the best dog we've ever had

Barnacles Loc: Northern California

How could it be heavenly without dogs?
==============================================
I know it hurts, Redneck. Been there several times. I believe she'll be waiting for you.

I've posted this before, but here it is again:

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.

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 trees. 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, each day a gift from God.

Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to the world around you. You notice the 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. 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 dog food brand your pet 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 chewie toys, bounce little rubber balls till your eyes cross, and even run around the house trailing your bathrobe tie with a dog 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. With such joy and love, 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 be 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 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 dog that only yesterday was a puppy 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. 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. And bless their souls for sharing their lives with us... and adding so much to our very existence.

Foodfisher Loc: SO. Cal coast

Thank you.....

Billycrap2 Loc: Mason county,W(BY GOD) Virginia, 🇺🇸🦅

Thank you 🙏

Scudrnr Loc: Hancock, Wisconsin

That is an awesome read. Thank you for sharing.

Jim Kay Loc: Franklin, Virginia

I am sorry for your loss. She is beautiful.

Spiritof27 Loc: Lincoln, CA

I've posted this before. I can never read it without tears.

Epitaph to a Dog
George Gordon Byron - 1788-1824

Near this Spot
are deposited the Remains of one
who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferosity,
and all the virtues of Man without his Vices.
This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery
if inscribed over human Ashes,
is but a just tribute to the Memory of
BOATSWAIN, a DOG,
who was born in Newfoundland May 1803
and died at Newstead Nov. 18th, 1808.

When some proud Son of Man returns to Earth,
Unknown to Glory but upheld by Birth,
The sculptor's art exhausts the pomp of woe,
And storied urns record who rests below:
When all is done, upon the Tomb is seen
Not what he was, but what he should have been.
But the poor Dog, in life the firmest friend,
The first to welcome, foremost to defend,
Whose honest heart is still his Master's own,
Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone,
Unhonour'd falls, unnotic'd all his worth,
Deny'd in heaven the Soul he held on earth:
While man, vain insect! hopes to be forgiven,
And claims himself a sole exclusive heaven.
Oh man! thou feeble tenant of an hour,
Debas'd by slavery, or corrupt by power,
Who knows thee well, must quit thee with disgust,
Degraded mass of animated dust!
Thy love is lust, thy friendship all a cheat,
Thy tongue hypocrisy, thy heart deceit!
By nature vile, ennobled but by name,
Each kindred brute might bid thee blush for shame.
Ye! who behold perchance this simple urn,
Pass on, it honors none you wish to mourn.
To mark a friend's remains these stones arise;
I never knew but one—and here he lies.

Billycrap2 Loc: Mason county,W(BY GOD) Virginia, 🇺🇸🦅

So sorry you going through this yes it is heartbreaking three and half years it still hurts my wife every morning she talk to her and every night before bed.her name was Blue eye. 😞😭😭🙏

Jim Kay Loc: Franklin, Virginia

Nice tribute.

smitty Loc: maine

said goodbye 2 my winnie 2 weeks ago. my brother died the week b4. was sad 4 my bro but bawled like a pinched
baby when the dog went. is there something wrong with me?