Michelle, that is such a touching story! Your brother is one in a million. Your pawprint is way more elaborate than mine. It's one of the hardest things to have to say goodby to your very heart, and I couldn't think about things like that, either. My hubby (of only two months at that time) and my mom ended up answering all those questions for me, and my mom knew I wanted his ashes. It was even harder than making arrangements for my grandmother, I'm sorry to say. I had to be almost carried out of the ER vet's office afterwards. It was so hard to just leave him there.
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Pawprint Ideas?
- Thread starter Jaynie
- Start date
Michelle, that is such a touching story! Your brother is one in a million. Your pawprint is way more elaborate than mine. It's one of the hardest things to have to say goodby to your very heart, and I couldn't think about things like that, either. My hubby (of only two months at that time) and my mom ended up answering all those questions for me, and my mom knew I wanted his ashes. It was even harder than making arrangements for my grandmother, I'm sorry to say. I had to be almost carried out of the ER vet's office afterwards. It was so hard to just leave him there.
PreciousSheltie
Forums Enthusiast
Michelle, that is such a touching story! Your brother is one in a million. Your pawprint is way more elaborate than mine. It's one of the hardest things to have to say goodby to your very heart, and I couldn't think about things like that, either. My hubby (of only two months at that time) and my mom ended up answering all those questions for me, and my mom knew I wanted his ashes. It was even harder than making arrangements for my grandmother, I'm sorry to say. I had to be almost carried out of the ER vet's office afterwards. It was so hard to just leave him there.
Thank you <3 I tell him that every day. Without him, I wouldn't have been able to move forward.... Pudding was my dog and my dog alone and so everytime the vet and technians tried asking my parents and my brother what they wanted us to do.. in the end they had to ask me.. and I was just a mess I couldn't really think straight, couldnt talk straight, couldnt do anything. It's not easy letting go of someone in a matter of minutes. She was perfectly fine the day before, waking up to your best friend, companion, soul mate, sister, baby dying in your arms is horrific. Its even harder making their after-death arrangements just as quickly. It validates their passing so much more. I was so angry they were talking about what they should do after she passed... When they hadn't euthanized Pudding yet... =/
I wish I had kept Puddings ashes like most of you, but we didn't have a back yard or anywhere special bury it.. I wish I had thought to keep it with me till I passed...... To have her and other heart dogs along the way buried with me... I wanted to bury her some place nice here but t's hard finding somewhere in the city for something like that... So I settled to have her cremated and buried with other doggies she could play with at the Rainbow bridge while waiting for me, pain free <3. Also, I wish they had cut a piece of Puddings fur. I wasn't given that option. It's hard and very weird to think about those after-death arrangements. I wouldn't have thought to get her paw print but realized it meant so much to me after I had missed Pudding for so long after her passing. I atleast remembered before heading out the door to leave her life less body, as I was blubbering away, to ask if I could take her collar with me. I took the metal tags off her lifeless head. It made it so much real when I had to walk away from her and leave her on the table of the cold depressing room.... I just didn't think and just gave out quick answers in hopes to just be left alone. Pudding was dying, dying fast. I hated the fact that they were wasting my time with such trivial things when I could be spending the 2, 3 extra minutes with Pudding. She was still seizing and paddling as I was talking to her... I wanted to end her pain as soon as I could. I couldn't imagine the broken ribs, the permanent brain damage, the seizing she was suffering from this.... =/ This thread really made these memories come back up.... Can't help but cry because I miss her..
Keep every piece of memoir you can. You may not think much of it then. But trust me, they're life savers when the time comes when you miss them so much it hurts your heart to breathe.... Seeing their photo. Looking at their collar. Seeing their paw print. They're small things but they do big wonders <3 Sorry I got so in to my story..... It's been a while I've talked about it.. Again, I'd love to see your final frame up. Thank you for listening <3
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Oh, Michelle, you don't have to apologize! It helps so much to share. Poor Pudding's seizing sounds so much like Neechee's final hours. It wasn't so much that I agonized over what to do - I knew he had to go. It was the grieving that overwhelmed me. He was in so much pain, and I wanted to end it as quickly as possible.
We had been through so much together over all those years - bad years for me with an accident, many surgeries, an unfaithful spouse and nasty divorce. I'd lost my independence and had to move back home with my parents. Neechee and I grew closer and closer during those last years. He knew I needed him to survive, and I will always believe that he hung on until he knew I would be able to go on without him. He knew he could trust lmy new husband, the love of my life, to carry on his mission.
Even so, I've cried a river of tears, missing my little guy. I had a very hard time going on. After a year of feeling miserably like I'd had a part of my body cut off, I adopted Bela. She couldn't be more unlike Neechee, but she needs me, and that has helped the healing process. Before now, I haven't been able to even think about how to memorialize my angel-dog. Now that we are back in my own house, and unpacking all the things I had in storage, I keep coming across stuff from Neechee's puppy days. I began to think about putting it all together as a little memorial. Actually, my dear hubby suggested it as a way to further my healing. And it's been a good thing, but I couldn't have done it any sooner.
I've collected photos, ribbons and awards from Neechee's obedience trial days, old collars (including his first, incredibly tiny one), collar tags, and a couple of toys he loved. The pawprint is going to be a focal point, I know. It's going to have to be an entire wall arrangement, instead of just a couple of framed items.
Most people would find this morbid - but I come from a rural, close-knit extended family, where we have our own burial grounds covering seven generations. I picked out and marked my plot years ago when my week-old son died. There are explicit directions on including the pet urns in my casket, and in my family, those kind of wishes are respected. It never hurts to put these things down in writing, and a copy was given to my cousin who owns the only funeral home in the area.
I'll be sure and post my memorial wall when I get it planned out. I am so glad I invested in professional photos with my boys!
We had been through so much together over all those years - bad years for me with an accident, many surgeries, an unfaithful spouse and nasty divorce. I'd lost my independence and had to move back home with my parents. Neechee and I grew closer and closer during those last years. He knew I needed him to survive, and I will always believe that he hung on until he knew I would be able to go on without him. He knew he could trust lmy new husband, the love of my life, to carry on his mission.
Even so, I've cried a river of tears, missing my little guy. I had a very hard time going on. After a year of feeling miserably like I'd had a part of my body cut off, I adopted Bela. She couldn't be more unlike Neechee, but she needs me, and that has helped the healing process. Before now, I haven't been able to even think about how to memorialize my angel-dog. Now that we are back in my own house, and unpacking all the things I had in storage, I keep coming across stuff from Neechee's puppy days. I began to think about putting it all together as a little memorial. Actually, my dear hubby suggested it as a way to further my healing. And it's been a good thing, but I couldn't have done it any sooner.
I've collected photos, ribbons and awards from Neechee's obedience trial days, old collars (including his first, incredibly tiny one), collar tags, and a couple of toys he loved. The pawprint is going to be a focal point, I know. It's going to have to be an entire wall arrangement, instead of just a couple of framed items.
Most people would find this morbid - but I come from a rural, close-knit extended family, where we have our own burial grounds covering seven generations. I picked out and marked my plot years ago when my week-old son died. There are explicit directions on including the pet urns in my casket, and in my family, those kind of wishes are respected. It never hurts to put these things down in writing, and a copy was given to my cousin who owns the only funeral home in the area.
I'll be sure and post my memorial wall when I get it planned out. I am so glad I invested in professional photos with my boys!
PreciousSheltie
Forums Enthusiast
xhugs to you Jayniex
At night, my boy slept right next to me, in a special large crate, used soley for that purpose.
I turned that crate into a memorial. It now contains his urn, his paw casting, his frisbee, his favorite treats, and more. I attached his collar to the crate door, like a wreath.
I turned that crate into a memorial. It now contains his urn, his paw casting, his frisbee, his favorite treats, and more. I attached his collar to the crate door, like a wreath.