Thanks for the Dance - Tributes/Condolences

[Vicky Trainor]

There are times that we all have or will face with our beloved retrievers that causes our hearts to ache with the pain of loss. Many who have not shared this special bond with a dog won't understand why we grieve as if we have lost a child, a best friend, a dearest companion. But those of us who have experienced this pain do understand.

If you have a favorite tribute or condolence poem that has brought comfort to you, please share it with us.

Vicky

[Vicky Trainor]

A Living Love

If you ever love an animal, there are three days in your life you will
always remember....

The first is a day, blessed with happiness, when you bring home your
young new friend.
You may have spent weeks deciding on a litter. You may have asked
numerous opinions of many vets, or done long research in finding a
breeder. Or, perhaps in a fleeting moment, you may have just chosen
that silly looking mutt in a shelter--simply because something in its
eyes reached your heart. But when you bring that chosen pet home, and
watch it explore, and claim its special place in your hall or front
room--and when you feel it brush against you for the first time--it
instills a feeling of pure love you will carry with you through the
many years to come.

The second day will occur eight or nine or ten years later.
It will be a day like any other.
Routine and unexceptional. But, for a surprising instant, you will
look at your longtime friend and see age where you once saw youth. You
will see slow deliberate steps where you once saw energy. And you will
see sleep when you once saw activity. So you will begin to adjust your
friend's diet--and you may add a pill or two to her food. And you may
feel a growing fear deep within yourself, which bodes of a coming
emptiness. And you will feel this uneasy feeling, on and off, until
the third day finally arrives.

And on this day--if your friend and God have not decided for you, then
you will be faced with making a decision of your own--on behalf of
your lifelong friend, and with the guidance of your own deepest
Spirit. But whichever way your friend eventually leaves you--you will
feel as alone as a single star in the dark night.

If you are wise, you will let the tears flow as freely and as often as
they must. And if you are typical, you will find that not many in your
circle of family or friends will be able to understand your grief, or
comfort you.

But if you are true to the love of the pet you cherished through the
many joy-filled years, you may find that a soul--a bit smaller in size
than your own--seems to walk with you, at times, during the lonely
days to come.

And at moments when you least expect anything out of the ordinary to
happen, you may feel something brush against your leg--very very
lightly.

And looking down at the place where your dear, perhaps dearest, friend
used to lay--you will remember those three significant days. The
memory will most likely to be painful, and leave an ache in your
heart--As time passes the ache will come and go as if it has a life of
its own.
You will both reject it and embrace it, and it may confuse you. If you
reject it, it will depress you. If you embrace it, it will deepen you.
Either way, it will still be an ache.

But there will be, I assure you, a fourth day when--along with the
memory of your pet--and piercing through the heaviness in your
heart--there will come a realization that belongs only to you. It will
be as unique and strong as our relationship with each animal we have
loved, and lost. This realization takes the form of a Living
Love--like the heavenly scent of a rose that remains after the petals
have wilted, this Love will remain and grow--and be there for us to
remember. It is a love we have earned. It is the legacy our pets leave
us when they go. And it is a gift we may keep with us as long as we
live. It is a Love which is ours alone. And until we ourselves leave,
perhaps to join our Beloved Pets--it is a Love we will always possess.

(by Martin Scot Kosins)

Submitted by Aussie

[Vicky Trainor]

THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF AN EXTREMELY DISTINGUISHED DOG

I, Chelsea, because of the burden of my illness and realizing the end of my life is near, do hereby bury my Last Will and Testament in the mind of my Master. She will not know it is there until after I am dead. Then, remembering me in her loneliness, she will suddenly know of this testament, and I ask her to inscribe it as a memorial to me.

I have little in the way of material things to leave. Dogs are wiser than men. They do not set great store upon things. They do not waste their days hoarding property. They do not ruin their sleep worrying about how to keep the objects they have not. There is nothing of value I have to bequeath except my love and my faith. These I leave to all those who have loved me, to my Master, Vicky, who I know will mourn me the most, to my companion, Will, but if I should list all those who have loved me, it would force my Master to write a book. Perhaps it is vain of me to boast when I am so near death, which returns all beasts and vanities to dust, but I have always been an extremely exceptional dog.

I ask my Master to remember me always but not to grieve for me too long. In my life I have tried to be a comfort to her in time of sorrow and a reason for added joy in her happiness. It is painful for me to think that even in death I should cause her pain. Let her remember that, while no dog ever had a happier life, I have now grown ill and pained. I should not want my pride to sink to a bewildered humiliation. It is time for me to say "good-bye". It will sorrow me to leave her but not sorrow me to die. Dogs do not fear death as men do. We accept it as part of life, not as something alien and terrible which destroys life. What will come to me after death? I will be in a place where one is always young; where I will someday be joined by companions I have known in life; where I will romp in lovely fields with those that have gone before me; where every hour is mealtime; where in long evenings there are fireplaces with logs forever burning, and one curls oneself up and remembers the old brave days on earth and the love of one's Master.

This is much to expect but peace, at least, is certain, and a long rest for these weakened limbs. And eternal sleep is perhaps, after all, the best.

One last request I earnestly make. I ask her, for love of me to have another. It would be a poor tribute to my memory never to have another Lab. What I would like to feel is that, having once had me, she cannot live without one! I have never had a narrow spirit. I have always held that most dogs are good. Some dogs are better than others--like me--and so I suggest a Black Lab as my successor. She can hardly be as well bred or as mannered or as distinguished and beautiful as I, but my Master must not ask the impossible. She will do her best, I am sure, and even her inevitable defects will help keep my memory green. To her I bequeath my collar and leash. I leave her my place in the car which I loved so much and wish for her long rides with open windows.

One last word of farewell, dear Master. Whenever you think of me, say to yourself with regret but also with happiness in your heart at the remembrance of my happy life with you, "She is the one who loved us and whom we loved." No matter how deep my sleep, I shall hear you, and not all the power of death can keep my spirit from wagging a grateful tail.

Author Anonymous

[Vicky Trainor]

When tomorrow starts without me,
And I'm not there to see;
If the sun should rise and find your eyes All filled with tears for me;

I wish so much you wouldn't cry
The way you did today,
While thinking of the many things,
You didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me,
As much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me,
I know you'll miss me too;

But when tomorrow starts without me,
Please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name,
And took me in his hand,

And said my place is ready,
In heaven far above,
And that I'd have to leave behind
All those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away,
A tear fell from my eye,
It seemed almost impossible,
That I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays,
The good ones and the bad,
I thought of all the love we shared,
And all the fun we had.

If I could relive yesterday,
Just even for awhile,
I'd wag my tail and lick you,
And maybe see you smile.

But then I fully realized,
That this could never be,
For emptiness and memories,
Would take the place of me.

But when I walked through Heaven's gates, I felt so much at home, When God looked down and smiled at me, He said "Holly is waiting here."

So when tomorrow starts without me,
Don't think we're far apart,
For every time you think of Holly and me, We're right here, in your heart.

[jeff t.]

"We have a secret you and I,
That no one else shall know,
For who but I can see you lie,
Each night, in fireglow?
And who but I can reach my hand
Before I go to bed,
And feel the living warmth of you
And touch your silken head?
And only I walk woodland paths,
And see, ahead of me,
Your small form racing with the wind,
So young again, and free!
And only I can see you swim
In every brook I pass. . .
And, when I call, no one but I
Can see the bending grass". . .

. . . Author Unknown

[jeff t.]

WALK WITH AN OLD DOG

Because you will not be forever,
Hope against time though I may,
Paint your picture in my memory,
Eyes blue with age, muzzle gone gray.

Because you walked with me in Springtime,
Puppy-clumsy, running free.
As you grew, we grew together--
You became a part of me.

Because I shared with you my sorrows,
Not understanding-- simply there.
Often spurring me to laughter--
My friend, you know how much I care.

Because the years have slowed your fleetness,
Though your spirit still is strong.
I promise I will take more time now,
So that you can go along.

Because you do not fear the future,
Living only in the now,
I draw strength from your example--
Yet time keeps slipping by somehow.

Because the day will soon be coming
When I will no longer see
You rise to greet me - but in memory
You will always walk with me.

~ Gayl Jokiel ~

[jeff t.]

IF HE WAKES IN YOUR ARMS

I can hardly see through my tears... today I sent my best friend of years and years
somewhere he had to go, where pain and sickness he won't have to know.
He's been with me ever since he was a pup... today I've had to give him up.
He was sick, we both knew it and I wouldn't put him through it.

Thinking back to the day my wife brought him, I told her then that I didn't want him...
"Noise and mess and bills to pay!" - I can't believe I felt that way.
Didn't know that in the end, he would be my dearest friend.
Didn't know that he would be the greatest gift that came to me.

How did one like me deserve a friend who wanted just to serve?
What was there that made him love me, with nobody else above me?
When I looked into his eyes, never did he criticize,
never did he hold a grudge, never did he try to judge.

Recently, an anxious day. "How come you don't want to play?"
Took him to the vet to see what might be wrong with my "puppy".
Worse by far than I expected, fatal illness was detected.
Nothing much that we could do but keep him comfy til he's through.

Back at home I tried to tell him of the bad luck that befell him
All I could see in his eyes was wondering why his master cries.
I don't think he understood - his eyes just asked "Wasn't I good?"
"How come now I make you sad? Let me kiss and hug you, dad!"

Two last weeks I had to try to find a way to say goodbye.
In that time I told him more than I ever had before
just how much I loved my pup, how it hurt to give him up.
How though gone, he'd always be inside my heart, a part of me.

Then today was no mistaking, I made the decision, my heart was breaking.
I called and asked the vet to come by - I didn't have to tell him why.
He arrived in a while and asked "Are you ready?" I sighed, I nodded, I felt so unsteady.
Got down on the floor by my boy who was dying, and I just didn't care if the vet saw me crying.

As my pup slipped away, the last things he felt were the kisses and hugs of his master who knelt
On that "blankie" beside him to bid him goodbye, who had just one more minute to tell him, to try
to say thanks to his boy for a lifetime of love...."Dear God, let me see him in heaven above!
But for now Lord, please hold him, watch over his rest...
if he wakes in Your arms tell him I love him best."

[Terry Thomas]

I can't read these. It breaks my heart.

[paul young]

i'm right there with you, Terry. and you know why......-paul

[D Osborn]

Most of these come from a web site that deals with dogs and cancer. Goldens tend to die from cancer, 60-80 percent, and this is a very good place to go for help.
http://www.smilingblueskies.com/rainbow_bridge.html
My personal favorite is the one with the dog watching over things-I believe they do.



"Grieve not,
nor speak of me with tears,
but laugh and talk of me
as if I were beside you
I loved you so
'twas Heaven here with you."

Isla Paschal Richardson