I certainly hope so........<P>I have had the companionship of a dog for 14 years. He was given at the time (1987) to me by my now X. He has slept by my side since the day we met. Yesterday was "the day" to give him the peace he so deserved. The guy got so very sick over the weekend. I spent the day with him, watching the clock tick hour by hour knowing they were the last we would share. He had a female partner for 11 years too. She left us 1-1/2 years ago. Guess I always considered them "The Lady and The Tramp". <P>Anyway this has kicked my behind more than I ever thought it would. So goes the story, just wanted to share how much harder the holidays just got.......whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger right? Thanks for reading this.<P>Ragamuffin

((((((((((Ragaamuffin))))))))))<P>I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Even though your companion was a four-footed fur-covered friend, he was nonetheless a true companion and friend. <P>(I know because I had a dog for almost 14 years. The first puppy I had ever had. She died in the period of time between my x filing for a D and his leaving. Since I threw him out of the bedroom the night I accidentally heard him telling his sister he was filing, he slept in the den with the dog. That was mid-March. She died in late April. I always felt that she chose death over sleeping with him. She knew his character better than I did, I suppose.)<P>I know my story doesn't help in your heartbreak - but perhaps it will express how they know when it's time. My baby had become desparately ill. The vet had told me a few days earlier that she would tell me when it was time for her to go. I asked how and he said "She just will" and she did. Unfortunately, she was at the vet's and I was at home.<P>Again, I'm so sorry. So very sorry.<P>BTW - Read "Dog Heaven" by Cynthia Rylant or "The Rainbow Bridge" or "The Ten Best Things About Freddie" - they are children's books but they deal so beautifully with the loss of one of these special companions.<p>[This message has been edited by cinderella (edited December 12, 2000).]

I'm sorry you lost your friend Ragamuffin. I think my dog is nicer than most people, so I can uderstand your grief at losing him. <P>There is something about the unconditional love they give you.<P>Take care...<P>------------------<BR>nick<P>it's only time that heals the pain and makes the sun come out again

Thank you both very much for your replies.<P>Cinderella,<P>There is always more to the story isn't there? I am so sorry for your loss as well. Finding someone who has "been there" helps me more than you will ever know. Guess this is a total reflection of my marriage as well. Keeping in mind my adult kids were 12 and 10 at the time we got the dog, they showed our dogs in 4-H for years too. Purple ribbons at county fairs, on to the State Fair too. After I filed for a divorce my x used my two dogs to hurt me by keeping them from me. I had to go to court to get them, first asking for "visitation" because I didn't have a home yet at the time, then on to get "custody" after that.<P>I'm bouncing off of the "memory wall" today, yes some may say they are just an animal. Mine kept my sanity when things got so bad during the marriage. As you said c00ker: "There is something about the unconditional love they give you."<P>Ragamuffin<P>P.S. cinderella, when I lost my first dog I found: "www.petloss.com" and I'm going there today. Thanks for the book references also!<p>[This message has been edited by Ragamuffin (edited December 12, 2000).]

I'm so sorry for your loss. <BR>I myself had to put my lab to sleep a few years ago and it was terrible. The death of a pet can be just as hurtful as the death of any loved one. I have three dogs and I love them almost as much as my kids. Feel free to morn.<P>Jill

{{{{{{{{Ragamuffin}}}}}}}}}}<BR>I know how hard it is.... I've been there too. We had to put one of my babies down because someone poisoned her with antifreeze... it's been 2 years now, and I still miss her. <P>My X got custody of our other two babies.... he took them almost 1000 miles away, so I have lost them too. <P>Just know that he loved you, and he knows that you did the best for him, and be thankful for the time you had together. <P>Butterfly

I am also sorry for your loss. I, too, got a dog in '87 and recently had to put her to sleep. Molly was my best friend during some really rough times. Her last days and having to put her to sleep were among the hardest days of my life. It will be a while before I can wash her bandana...I pick it up occasionally to smell her.<P>I hope you keep fond memories of your friend.<P>Peace, LLL

Dear Ragamuffin,<P>The unconditional love that our pets give to us is truely undescribable. I'm so sorry for your loss. <P>My two black labs, Samson and Delilah, are my kids...really. I think I would really loose it if something happened to one of them. Little Delilah is so sensitive, she can feel my pain....there's been more than once that she's licked the tears off my cheeks. And Samson just lays his head on my lap, knowing that I just need him close.<P>I guess some people would think we're crazy for putting so much importance in our pets. But not me. They really are my kids.<P>I am grieving some this week as it's the third week my cat, Earl Gray, hasn't come home. He's an outside cat and usually spent all day roaming the creek.....coming in at night for his food and half-n-half saucer. He was a great lap-cat...just knew how to cuddle up in all the right places. I miss him and am starting to accept that he may be gone for good. I still have pictures and movies of him....I know I will miss him terribly...but I'm still hoping...<P>Take care and know that your dog is romping around heaven with all of our lost buddies as well. I'm convinced that if heaven's all it's cracked up to be, we'll see them again....<P>Aloha,<BR>Mrs.O<P><BR>

(((((crazy or what?))))),<P>"The death of a pet can be just as hurtful as the death of any loved one." <P>You are so right!<P>(((((Butterfly))))),<P>"Just know that he loved you, and he knows that you did the best for him, and be thankful for the time you had together."<P>Thank you so much! Sorry for your heartache too. Losing one "good friend" two years ago, then your x taking two others away. That would have been too much, I needed my two dogs so badly at that time. They were worth the court battle, which alot of people thought I was nuts to go for anyway. By the way you have had some human losses in your life and let me tell you that you have been in my thoughts. This must be a really hard time for you too. Thanks for taking the time to respond!<P>((((LLL,)))))<P>My other dog that I had to put to sleep first 1-1/2 years ago was also a MOLLY!!!! She battled cancer and lost. She was a calming presence even during her darkest hours. I still have "her pillows" that comforted her when she was in the most pain. Yes, they still smell like her too.<P>((((Mrs. O,)))))<P>"I guess some people would think we're crazy for putting so much importance in<BR>our pets. But not me. They really are my kids."<P>I had two kids with two feet and I had 4 kids with four feet. What keeps me going are my two cats, 2-1/2 and 1-1/2. They are so lost today. Went home for lunch and they are looking all over the house for Rusty. What was so hard was to watch what my adult son was going through with me at the vet. He said "I feel like I'm putting my little brother to sleep".<P>I am so sorry Earl Gray is missing. It must be heart wrenching not knowing where he is. I like you had a cuddler and the house just rattles now, along with my heart. I will add you and he to my thoughts today. I'd give you a ((((hug)))) right now in person if I could!!!! Give Samson and Delilah a ((((hug))))) too!<P>Ragamuffin

{{{{{{{{Ragamuffin}}}}}}}}}}<P>So sorry for your loss! My dog Clancy right now is the bright spot in my eye - it amazes me how they know when you need them and their love. I can't imagine coming home to an empty house right now - when I open the door and see him there wagging his tail, I know that somehow this all is going to work out.<P>I really can sympathize with your loss. Take care in this time of grief. I really believe that dogs and cats are angels sent from above. It is so hard to lose them, but know that they are "home" again with their true Father.<P>God Bless and keep you safe in this time of trouble.<P>And maybe, just maybe there is another little lonely soul out there wagging his tail and waiting for you to come get him!<P>Mike

My children were only 2 and 4 when Sunshine died. Their dad left 2 months later. To this day they talk about her fondly.<P>We went without a pet for a while. I couldn't cope with the thought. Then we did fish. Finally, a stray cat walked up to our front door. He stayed with us for 4 weeks (even hung around when we had a neighbor feed him while we were on vacation for one of those weeks). One day he walked off. Six weeks later we were all three still in "kitty grief". At that point I decided we needed a pet. Chose a rescued kitten. She's so gorgeous - solid white with blue eyes and good hearing. Then I heard that cats do better in pairs and I realized that if something happened to Candy, we were back in grief. So we got a green eyed, short tailed, tortoise shell named Cookie. Keeps the children from fighting over who holds the cat. <P>Grief over a pet is as real as if they were human. <P>My children and I will pray for you Ragamuffin tonight. And we will pray that Earl Gray comes home.<P><BR>(((((((((HUGS))))))))) from Jane-Elise, Gillian (the dog lover) and Nate (the cat lover)

Sorry for your loss.<P> I still remember my dog of 13 yrs. She was my sister, she had to be put to sleep in Feb of my Sr yr (73), the vet had been hoping she make it till I went to college, knew she grieve then. I still remember my Mom & i sitting in church crying over her death. Ko-Ko is buried in my parents backyard, I have often said when they sell their home, I want to dig up her bones as I couldn't stand that she wasn't with us anymore. <P>NOw my current cat. I just paid around $1500 to get her to our new home. Poor thing she spent 2 mths in a cage but she is still the best cat I have ever had. She is so loving that I would be lost with Hobbs. <P>When I was very little I use to think my pets went to animal church when I was at church, so I know that they all went to heaven.

When I was a child, we had a gray striped cat who had a white chest. The stripes on his head encircled his eyes and lead to his ears - sort of like glasses. He loved to sit up nice and straight in my father's chair at the dinner table. (Work kept my father away a lot.) Anyway, Boots always left the house with us when we left for church and was always in the yard waiting on us when we returned. We called him 'the preacher.' He loved to sleep at the foot of my bed. He died on the vet's operating table. I still miss that cat and he's been gone more than 25 years.<P>Of course, pets go to heaven.

I very recently read something that comes to mind. Forgive me for butchering it, it went something like this.<P>If you could wake everyday in a joyful mood without help from coffee or any other drugs. Eat the same food every day and be thankful for it. Forgive the ones that you love the most, when they overlook your feelings, treat you badly or take you for granted. Offer kindness to all you meet whether they are rich or poor, clean or dirty, black, white or yellow of skin. Never complain when you are sore, old and sick. If you could you do these things than you would be nearly as good as your dog. <P>So what I’m saying yes indeed, I believe there is special place in heaven for your dog. I certainly would like to be with mine again, if I make it there.<BR>

((((SoTired2000)))), ((((cinderella)))), ((((sing)))), ((((bleubelle)))) and ((((oswald)))),<P>Thank you all so VERY, VERY much! Tuesday night I just could not go home after work. I went driving around for quite some time because I just couldn't walk in the door to deafening silence. Sure the kitty's are there (thank goodness) but for the first time in almost 14 years there were no doggie paws following me from one end of the house to the other. Time will heal I know. I'd consider a Easter puppy maybe, who knows.<P>oswald,<P>I'll keep your reply to read over and over and over again and the sentence "If you could you do these things than you would be nearly as good as your dog" humbles me. Thank you!<P>I am sure both of my critters are rejoycing in each others company along with all of your special friends that have gone on.<P>ALL that have taken the time to reply: You are very dear understanding, compassionate people. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart" doesn't seem enough.<P>Ragamuffin<BR>