It is just over a week since I executed put down,
our pet dog of sixteen years.
I didn’t actually inject the lethal dose,
but I did put her on a leash,
and lead her to her executor.
Since then I must admit,
I miss her greatly.
There is no welcoming bark when I return home.
My faithful pal does not,
wearily leave her basket,
to come to me to exchange greetings.
A wag of the tail from her,
A pat from me.
My kitchen feels empty and quiet.
There is a space on the floor,
where once her basket was.
Her food is still in the cupboard,
and her bowl and collar,
are poignantly sitting on her grave in the garden.
Yes, as you can see I grieve for my faithful companion.
My children tell me they too greatly miss her.
Obviously children show their grief differently.
This is how they are grieving.
Every minute of every day,
they say….
“When are we getting a new dog?”.
They have taken to emailing me,
the pictures of their favourite dogs,
and have even named them.
“Mum, meet miley”.
They are also telling me,
that in the space of one week,
their grief has transformed them.
No longer will they expect me to,
feed and groom a dog daily.
They will be happy to do it.
And wait for it…
They will even walk a dog,
AND pick up anything he/she may leave on the path!
It is truly remarkable,
How much grief has affected them.
However it remains to be seen,
just how long their grief will last,
if we do in fact ever get another dog!
photo credit: StArHaCkT via photopin cc</a
photo credit: alfredlee via photopin cc
My thoughts on a page. 
Children of Ireland don’t appear to be much different than our children over here in this regard!
You should see the dog they want. Big and fluffy and WHITE! It’s been raining here for weeks, can you imagine what it would look like.
My vote is for a lab or golden retriever! Big white and fluffy sounds awful.
Your choices are even worse. Big dog equals big sh*t! Anyway as I say to my kids I am too overcome with grief to even consider another!
sad but “like”
Aw thanks. Am good really. Hey was checking you out! Good looking and a birthday boy! Happy birthday.
aww thank you so much
We just put down one of our own pups. Losing a dog is so strangely painful. They really are a part of the family. Sorry for your loss 😦
thanks. As I say with kids like mine its hard to live in the past!
Getting up to, and coming home to, an ’empty’ (dogless) house is an awful feeling. That’s why my wife and I decided we would keep 3 or more dogs – so the house would never again be ’empty’ when one dog died, and there would always be at least two surviving dogs to console each other over the loss of their canine companion
We did have two but they hated each other! I can see myself relenting but puppies are very hard work. It would be like going back to having a baby.
I had to give my dog away when I was a teenager. I think my youngest brother took it the hardest. He’s still missing my dog till now (and asking my Mum to adopt one). My vote goes to golden retriever too. They are such sweet dogs!
Have my kids been onto you?? Ha ha. jury still out.
Lol! Can’t wait to see which breed you’ll be getting finally.
It’ll hurt less in time, hang on in there. Kids have a great capacity to bounce back by replacing a pet, whereas us geriatric parents (in my case) can’t imagine starting over again with a new animal. When our cat fought a lorry and lost seven years ago, the vet and a neighbour ganged up on me with the kids and presented me with a stock of kitten formula and a three-week old black furball that had been abandoned in a box on a petrol pump. The kids assured me that they would look after him. Murphy is now the terror of the house, a bulimic, characterial bin thief. And naturally, I’m the one who gets to feed him, clean up after his exploits and pay the vet’s bills when he has accidents 🙂
This sounds like my future but put puppy in place of kitten! Thanks. Kids…. why did we have them?
Because our parents promised that if we gave them grandchildren they’d take them at the weekend? 😀 I agree that the golden retriever is a perfect family dog- intelligent, easy to train, cuddly, fun. Also lots of hair on the floor twice a year, but well worth the hoovering. Ours is 6 now, she’s a diamond.
You put forward a very good case!
Kids can be awful sometimes. They don’t fully develop empathy till they’re adults, and that’s the best you can say for them. So sorry about your dog – of course you’ll miss her, she was a good friend. You can’t replace a friend that easily.
Very well said.