Our Weimaraner, Gus, was a great friend and companion to our whole family. He loved company as long as they came in the front door, but didn’t like anyone in the back yard. He loved howling at bugle calls, sirens, and when greeting guests. I wrote this poem when he started getting old in hopes of making his passing a little easier on my daughters. It was originally titled Ole Blackie, but I changed it after he died.

Ole Gray Gussy

Ole Gussy lived a happy life, roaming with his master;
They explored ten thousand mountain sides, in search of game and treasure.

He slept at night on soft warm sheets, with pillows too, in piles;
He was treated well and spoken to as if he were a child.

The years went by and he got old, gray hairs were on his muzzle;
His legs were weak, his eyes were dim, skin wrinkled like a puzzle.

One night while he lay sleeping, he dreamp’t of being young;
Running through the fields at dawn, dew sparkling in the sun.

Ole Gussy’s life has ended now, for from the dream he did not waken;
Chasing Rabbits in the fields again, their cottontails a wav’in.

— Christopher from McChord AFB, WA

Eight years ago, a young beagle dumped in the woods about 2 miles from our home.  She stayed in the same area of the road, hiding in the woods. She was a skeleton, and very skittish.  I started leaving her food, as did some of our neighbors. No one could catch her.  With winter coming on, I decided to get this dog.  It took me three months of going there every day armed with cut-up hot dogs that I tossed to her.  She would run up, snatch the hot dog and run away, then come back and wait for more.,  I called her Walela, which means Hummingbird – she was that fast! After 3 months of this, every day, she sat next to me one day, looked into my eyes and sighed.  I knew she wanted to come with me but didn’t know how.  The next day,  I got a large crate, put it on the side of the road, and put the hot dogs in the crate.  I think she was ready to be captured – she went into the crate and I shut the door.  She was alone in the woods for 5 months.  Today, I can’t imagine what she went through. She still hides when strangers come, but otherwise  is the boss of our other 3 dogs. And she still loves hot dogs, cut up and tossed, please.

— Laura from Burnside, KY

I am a spaniel lover, have always had them, have lost 5 so far in my life. Have loved them all so very much and remembering them still brings tears to my eyes , no matter how long they have been gone. It always hurts, thank G-d time has made it a bit easier to deal with. My Springer, William is nearly 12 now, suffering with severe arthritis in all 4 legs, the eyes turning grey more and more these days, he sleeps long and heavy now. I miss his playfulness, his expressive nature always kept me on my toes. He can not hear me any longer either. going thru this process is still so hard, even though i have done it many times. Watching his health deteriorate brings the tears more often again. I appreciate this forum and thank you Mark for being able to express the grief. It helps a great deal

— Nancy from Laytonville, CA

Buddie, was a golden retriever rescue, I got him when he was about 6 mos. old, He was the best dog I ever had. He was with me 24-7 everyday. He just loved to go to work with me. I will miss him forever!!!! I just don’t know if I can get another dog or not. it hurts too much! He was 3yrs. when hit by a car & died….THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME TELL MY STORY!

— Lou from Shelbyville, TN

Max and Drummer were both ‘rescued dogs’. Max had been confined to a life of abuse and torment, and until he came to live with us, had spent a majority of his first three years around little kids that kicked and hit on him. The owner openly admitted that Max had been locked in a ‘shoe box’ sized caged much of his 1st three years of life. As wild and tormented as that precise Yorkie was, I knew that in the loving care of a good mommy and daddy, he would come to know love and joy in our home. Shortly after we got Max, we decided to get him a brother. It took three years of prayer to find my wife’s little ‘Drummer Boy’. It was Christmas of ’06, and a friend called to tell us about a gal who raised Dachshunds but had rescued a Yorkie she just couldn’t keep under control (what it is with some people?). We called her to explain that we were Yorkie parents of the highest grade, and would she like to be freed of her burden…Drummer came to live with us the week before Christmas…and what is so unbelievable and remarkable, both Max and Drummer took to each other like long lost brothers. As the attached picture shows, both boys are always neatly groomed, and close together. we have a nice sized back yard for them to run in (a literal forest of scrubs to search, sniff and run among. But their biggest joy, as is ours, is at night when they cuddle up next to mommy and me, to sleep in the security of their loving parents.

— Jack from Buda, TX

Back in 2000, we drove an hour out of town to look at what was left of a liter of Golden Retriever puppies. The mother’s name was Sweetie.  When we arrived, all four of the puppies ran to us but only one remained focused on us for the duration of our stay.  I told the family that we should come back the next day to observe the puppies again.  The next day when we came back, again the same puppy was the only one to stay focused on and plays with us.  For smell association,  the owners cut a piece of cloth cut off of the larger cloth from where the mother always would lay with the puppies and sent it with Andy for the trip home with us.
Andy, now 12 year old was put to sleep yesterday afternoon (8/10/2012) at around 5:00 – 5:10pm  as my wife, youngest son and myself stood around him looking into his eyes and petting him. I know that my oldest son who was away at college wanted to be there too.
This has been one of the hardest things to go through.  No words really describe watching my wife Pam and my youngest son Evan cry at Andy’s side after the decision was made to put him to sleep. Pam once said that it would just kill her if anything happened to Andy.  Andy was always her safe place when the world seemed to not like her.  I find myself constantly looking over my shoulder to see if Andy is looking at me as he always was, only to see an empty place.  When we all had come back from the Avalon Animal Clinic where Andy was put to sleep, I immediately cleaned up and packed away Andy’s dog dishes, leftover food and toys because it was too painful to see them. Through the night I would keep opening my eyes and roll over to look at and sometimes pet Andy.  Again, he is not there anymore.  Looking at this and the empty corner where all of Andy’s stuff would sit makes me tear up.  Andy was a very interactive dog that had a real personality.  I love dogs but Andy was really one in a million.  He seemed very different than any dog that I have ever known.
My wife could let out the slightest cry (not even audible from the next room) and Andy would leap off of a bed occupied by noisy teenagers from the other side of a second story house, run downstairs, up to my Wife’s lap and anxiously try to comfort her.
My wife and I would take Andy to the park where sometimes we walked with him. Andy would get distracted with something on the ground and just to see Andy’s reaction; we would hide around the back side of a big tree and watch to see what he would do when he looked up.  When Andy looked up, he would franticly start looking around for us and we would step out with our arms open and he would come running wagging his tail and bury his head into us. This park was our favorite place to go because of Andy.  We
Andy had a few toys that would usually lie around the house untouched for very long periods of time.  When someone would come by for a visit, he would look around and quickly locate the toy so that he could run up to the visitor and show them the toy.
Andy would play Hide and Seek and he always got excited when he would find the person who was doing the hiding.
Andy displayed many amazing things that I never knew a dog was capable of.  I could never mention them all.
I looked forward to coming home every night because Andy would always be right there wagging his tail in anticipation.  I would drop to one knee and Andy would bury his head in between my shoulder and cheek. I would rub him and his tail would never stop wagging. He would stay until I would stand back up.
We never thought this day would come.  We all love and miss Andy so much.  Things will never be the same without Andy at our sides.
This last part is being added very unexpectedly.  My wife read what I had written so far and reminded me of how she had asked me to carefully seal up the blanket in which Andy had been laying on for the last few weeks of his life because we could still smell Andy on the blanket. This is an ironic twist because much like the beginning of Andy’s journey with us; his owners gave him a piece of the blanket that his mother and siblings had laid on for the same comforting reason!

— Jeff from Indianapolis, IN