How to handle the quiet

Thanks. It is slowly settling in to the new normal, Lily and Justus are being nicer to each other, and we miss Bobby, but we know he is free from a diseased body and we celebrate with laughter and love the time he was here. He hasn't really gone anywhere, he is right here in my heart and memories. It was good to go to the dog show this weekend and talk with acquaintances that remembered what a good boy he was, and how happy we were together.

Sigh, losing them is so hard. Once they are gone, I'm better, I know that they are with me in spirit. {{{{Sasha, Willie, Erin and Bobby}}}}

Suzanne Clothier asked me at one of her seminars, "how many dogs old are you" -I didn't get it then, because I was only 1 dog old... now I'm three dogs old and someday, four, five, maybe seven dogs old...
 
2GoodDogs said:
Thanks. It is slowly settling in to the new normal, Lily and Justus are being nicer to each other, and we miss Bobby, but we know he is free from a diseased body and we celebrate with laughter and love the time he was here. He hasn't really gone anywhere, he is right here in my heart and memories. It was good to go to the dog show this weekend and talk with acquaintances that remembered what a good boy he was, and how happy we were together.

Sigh, losing them is so hard. Once they are gone, I'm better, I know that they are with me in spirit. {{{{Sasha, Willie, Erin and Bobby}}}}

Suzanne Clothier asked me at one of her seminars, "how many dogs old are you" -I didn't get it then, because I was only 1 dog old... now I'm three dogs old and someday, four, five, maybe seven dogs old...
Click to expand...

Watching their health go downhill is so hard and worrying about their wellbeing is so taxing that sometimes their passing onto a better place can be a "relief" of sorts. So bittersweet it just about breaks you. Day after day of the void helps it become familiar and life falls into a new rhythem. Love enters the dimension of timelessness. I am 6 dogs old and I think it gets harder the older I get- not very encouraging. I can still feel each of their happy, wiggly bodies under my hand and the gentle nudge of their muzzles just like it was yesterday...:hugs
 
Tagg said:
When Vanna died our Phoebe walked around the house crying for her. The last few months of her life Phoebe had been her protector and comforter and so now she was lost. She is the first westie I have ever owned that bonds so strongly to another dog, now Tinsel is her charge. I just held her a lot, took her for walks on her own, and talked to her. After a couple of weeks she must have accepted the loss and she went back to being herself. When Tinsel came she went back to nursemaid and protector role, snuggling up with him on the bed, even though he smelled like a sewer, making sure Gem didn't bother him when she came for a visit and going outside with him every time so that she could stay by his side which seemed to lend him a little courage.
Time does heal the hole in your heart and busying yourself with the other dogs helps a lot. For me, working with Tinsel helped me get through the loss of my beloved mare Kassy which totally devastated me like no other. I still have her as my screen saver on my computer and I still say goodnight to her like I did for so many years.
They are never completely gone as long as we hold the memories dear.
Click to expand...

Amen to that. Love and happiness sent to you from F-kap, Jody, and Ida. :hugs
 
Yes, silence is heartbreaking, as is the sudden stoppage of daily "Sheltie chores".

For fifteen years, every day started with happy (it's breakfast time!) Sheltie barks. Then, there was only silence...

Grief is different for everyone, so there is no telling when you will find a better "new normal". Time doesn't heal all wounds, but the passage of time makes the pain less intense. Unfortunately, even then, grief has a nasty habit of returning in intense, unexpected, waves. At least, that has been my experience.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top