Rainbow Bridge

[Subdeacon Joe]

Or...Why is doing the right thing so hard?

We just had our Toy Poodle, April sent over the Rainbow bridge.  She had been coughing a lot for the past month.  Today she was wheezing, gasping, and stretching her neck up to breathe.  At 13 1/2 she was about in the middle of the range of lifespan for Toy Poodles.  She was such a joy, and such a joyful and joyous dog for the past nine years.   

Thanks for all the good times, Little Miss.  You will be greatly missed.
 

 

 

 

[DocWard]

My deepest condolences. 

[Rip Snorter]

Mine as well!  I remember and cherish every one of my boys.

[Subdeacon Joe]

 

This is what I came home to almost every day since late 2012:
 

 

[Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022]

I am so sorry for your loss.

[Pat Riot]

So sorry Joe. I have enjoyed your videos of your little dog that you have posted here. 

[Buckshot Bear]

so sorry for your loss Joe.

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Damn, Joe.  That is heartbreaking news, and we share your loss.  Your mentions of the li'l pup over the years have made her a part of our Saloon family.  

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

My sincerest condolences Joe.

[Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428]

Joe, hardest thing is always doing the right thing when it has to be done. My deepest condolences. 

[Subdeacon Joe]

41 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

So sorry Joe. I have enjoyed your videos of your little dog that you have posted here. 

 

13 minutes ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

Damn, Joe.  That is heartbreaking news, and we share your loss.  Your mentions of the li'l pup over the years have made her a part of our Saloon family.  

 

She was a hoot and a half.  

Since she came with the mobile home when we sort of inherited it this is the first night here without her.  

 

But she had three years of learning that it was okay for her to be a dog and learning to be a dog, then six years of really enjoying being a dog... learning to play with other dogs, going into water (sort of, never quite got the hang of it), climbing rocks in the park, and ALWAYS chasing tennis balls.

[Buckshot Bear]

Joe the loss of a dog is almost unbearable. They are truly a mans (and a lady's) best friend. Honestly loving and loyal creatures. 

[Blackwater 53393]

Sorry for your loss.  The memories will overtake the sadness in a little while.  You will catch yourself laughing at some happy episode long after the pain subsides!!

[Subdeacon Joe]

6 minutes ago, Blackwater 53393 said:

Sorry for your loss.  The memories will overtake the sadness in a little while.  You will catch yourself laughing at some happy episode long after the pain subsides!!

 

Fortunately we have a dozen or so videos on YouTube that we can enjoy.   Knowing that it was time and we did the right thing...and having the veterinarian confirm it ...helps.

 

So does the support from the fine people here in the Saloon.

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

Sorry for your loss Subdeacon.

I know what it's like lose your fur buddies. 

[Sedalia Dave]

My Deepest condolences to you and your wife. 

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

11 hours ago, Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 said:

Joe, hardest thing is always doing the right thing when it has to be done. My deepest condolences. 

Amen.  Some of my hardest challenges over the years was helping my dogs cross over.

[Ozark Huckleberry]

Truly sorry for your loss. April looks like she was a special pup.

[Calamity Kris]

So sorry to hear this, SDJ.  You have many memories to keep you going, and your pards here for support.

[Dusty Wyatt]

I am very sorry Joe. It is a hard thing to deal with.

[Eyesa Horg]

Our sincere condolences Joe, I find as well that it's the hardest thing we do. She will wait for you at the bridge.

 

Eyesa & Ellie

[Subdeacon Joe]

1 hour ago, Ozark Huckleberry said:

Truly sorry for your loss. April looks like she was a special pup.

 

 

Thanks.  She was special.  Her first owner, an elderly lady, wanted a "purse dog."  So for four years or so she was carried, not allowed to socialize with people or other dogs.   When the lady passed and we inherited April she still had "puppy paws," so soft that running ten feet on the sidewalk caused her feet to bleed.   No muscle tone to speak of, shaking, running around the house.  We spent time teaching her that it was OK for her to be a dog...make that DAWG...and she blossomed.   That video of me using a cane to snag tennis balls - she had been afraid of canes and such, but after about six months of me using one to snag and hit tennis balls she would hold the crook with one paw and snag the ball out of it with another.  

In all the time that we had her, though, she was never brave enough to come right up to me if I was sitting in a chair or standing.  She wanted to, her body language said that, but she could never quite make it.  If I  Lay down on the floor and pat my chest and she came right up to me.  Crawl onto me when I was stretched out on the couch.  Curl up to me in bed.  But not when I was upright.

[Old Man Graybeard]

My condolences. Always hard to go through

[Shotgun-Gibbs]

My thoughts and prayers go out to you. 

[Dawg Hair, SASS #29557]

I'm very sorry for your loss, Joe.  I've had to send too many over the rainbow bridge and they all hurt terribly.  They are all unique creatures.

[Capt. R. Hugh Kidnme]

SDJ,

 

Tough loss. You have my condolences. Hopefully, those 6 yrs of her "being" a dog created some terrific memories.

[LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L]

So very sorry.  Fur babies are special.  Prayers offered.

[Wrangler Bob]

My condolences. I say this is the hardest part of having pets. In the last six years I've lost a horse, a cat, and a dog. I expect to see all of the others from my 83 years around here at the Rainbow Bridge.

This is a picture of my current companion.

 

Wrangler Bob

[Father Kit Cool Gun Garth]

Ann and I send our sincerest condolences on the loss of April.

Like many here in the SALOON, we too have had to bear the loss of a beloved pet.

[Subdeacon Joe]

1 hour ago, Father Kit Cool Gun Garth said:

Ann and I send our sincerest condolences on the loss of April.

Like many here in the SALOON, we too have had to bear the loss of a beloved pet.

 

WOW!

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

We lost a furry family member last week. While thats devastating, watching our 9 year old granddaughter deal with loosing her friend was the worst. It was he first experience with grief.

Rainbow Bridge

 

[J.D. Daily]

I am so sorry for your loss.  This thread reminded me of the many special canine & feline companions I have had over the last 55 years.  Remembering them has brought tears to my eyes.

[Subdeacon Joe]

 

 

 

[Subdeacon Joe]

Please indulge me.  Over the next few days I'll be posting several videos of April.  

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

A little French Poodle, expressing pure joie de vivre....

 

Dangit, now I have a bit o' dust in my eyes.