Hi! I have just recently found this forum, and not sure if i should be posting on it! I lost my beloved pet and guide dog Harley 3 years ago come 25th June, and its as though it was only yesterday! I just can't seem to get over his loss! People keep saying (he was only a dog) but he wasn't that to me! is there anyone out there prepared to listen? its as if part of my life has gone! Val.
oh sweet heart i understand totaly just thinking about loosing my dog makes me cryand there only pets ,but harley was your support as well hun .
dogs get in to your heart and become part of us .so when we loose them its like loosing a child .
a lot of people think that dogs dont have souls, but i truely believe that they do and i am sure at troubled times you will sense him near .
i am sure its going to be a painful time for you ,will you be getting another dog i know it will never be the same , but it will help you to heal .
you can talk to me hear as much as you like hun .
Hello Valerie ~
I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your family member, Harley. We lost ours around the same time as you. We had her for many years and even though I know it was time, we still feel the loss. No one can put a time on how people react and come back from a loss so close to you.
However, I will agree with Tis that perhaps if you're on the list for another dog, it may help you through your rough times. And also I agree that they are sensitive and know when we are hurting and they "tend" to us like we do them. Odd thing happened a while back, my daughter's dog is a mans dog, don't get me wrong, she's sweet to everyone but she usually hangs around the guys. One day we were over her home for dinner and all the sudden I was feeling strange. Joy (the dogs name) would NOT move from my feet. Everyone noticed and when I told them I wasn't feeling well, they were in awe...me too!
So my dear, they are the unconditional loves that our good Lord put in this world to help us!
I hope you feel better soon. And, while I come on as much as I can, I do get notification if you've written me. I will definitely answer.
Feel better,
Frustrated
Oh Sweetheart! I just can't bring myself to get another dog! Sitting here crying for my beloved Harley! Found one of his toys today, and have been crying over him since! Although its been nearly 3 years, there's not a day goes by, but i don't cry for him! he used to sing me a song if i'd left him for any time when i came home again! He was such a gentle and such a mum's dog! I'm so glad that i can talk about him to someone, and hope you will keep in touch with me. Thank you so much for being there for me. Val.
Hello Val,
you are not only right but welcome to come on this forum. All of us on this forum are hurting. Not all are bereaved but some most definately are. Some feel the loss of a loved one, others a limb, many a way of life it may be from a disease like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or ME, or MS, Arthritis, Cancer and many other conditions that utterly change the direction of their lives. You too are bereaved, you have lost your sight and now a dear companion who became your lost vision. Of course you feel your bereavement and are as welcome here as any of us.
I do hope that you will find solace from sharing experiences and gaining advice from others who have suffered in similar ways to you. I remember what bitter tears I shed when our young pug died of a heart attack. He was but two years old. We were just setting out in the harsh school of suffering. My mother had died of MS a few years earlier. Two years earlier we had lost our first and only daughter. We were rejoicing and totally exhausted with our infant twin boys. Then our pug died. I did not count my bitter tears wasted nor my anguished cries inappropriate. We have had other dogs and I have wept at their departure too. So come among us. I pray that you will find comfort. Also, look around, for it may well be that you will comfort and guide us in your turn.
Frustrated calls me Doc, it is an old joke for I am no medic. Please do so too if that pleases you,
Doc
Hi Frustrated! Thanks so much for replying and sharing that lovely story about your daughter's dog! I have just replied to Tiswas telling her that i can't bring myself to get another dog! I sometimes feel that my beloved Harley is still with me! (I wish) Its so good to know that there are people out there who understand and don't say (he was only a dog!) Thanks again. Val.
Hi Doc! Thanks so much. My grief is nothing compared to what you have been through! I hope god gives you the strength as i'm sure he is doing so that you can cope as well as you seem to be doing! Thank you for your prayers keep them up as i need as many as i can get to help me cope with the loss of my beloved Harley! People say i should be over him after nearly 3 years, but i can't seem to shake off my grief! Thanks again for replying, and God bless. Val.
no problem hun .
put your self down for another dog ,harvey still loves you hun even in spirit and he will send the right dog to look after you trust me .
spirit is strong between man and dog theres a bond that can t be broke even after death. he will always be near you . hold him in your heart and when your quite you will proberly sense him near you .
,i am such a numbty hun i love dogs so much iv got tears in my eyes as i write this and i didnt even no harvey . but i know the bond you have lost and i really feel for you .
Hi Tiswas! That was such a comforting reply. Sometimes i think i can feel Harley beside me. My best friend sent me through the post a toy dog which just feels like Harley. Infact, that's what i've decided to name him. She knew it was near to harley's anniversary and thought it would be a comfort. It was so good of her, and I cried when i received it about half an hour ago. he's on my lap at the moment. Thanks again. Val.
Yes to some people he might have been just a dog, but to dog lovers like myself, my wife and you they are a lot more than just that.
They are like little people with great endearing characters and personalities, who become important members of our family through the selfless love they give us.
When they are no longer with us we do miss them very much, and their loss to us creates a huge hole in our lives which is difficult to fill.
So yes valarie I do fully understand what you are saying and I empathise, because I have been in your position, and I understand only too well what it feels like.
Hi Archemedes! Thanks so much for understanding. Its so good to be able to come on this forum and talk about Harley knowing that people aren't going to come out with comments like "He was only a Dog." Thanks again for taking time to reply it was much appreciated. Val.
Val, do you feel you would like to tell me more about Harley, because I am very interested in all sorts of dogs?
Sometimes it does help to talk about important things in our lives that are no longer with us for one reason or another.
I will undersatnd if you find the topic to painful to discuss.
Arch x
Hi! I'd love to talk about my Harley! First of all, he used to get the nickname of Puppy! This was because when i got him and was married to my first husband, he had a dog who was much older. Harley was such a gentle and sensative dog. He was very much a mum's boy. If i left him to go out with my friend without him, when i came home, he used to greet me with a toy in his mouth, and as i used to say, "Sing me a Harley Song!" All he wanted to do in life, was please me. In all the years i had him (and he lived till he was 12 and a half) i never knew him to growel or go for any other dogs. He never groweled at any human either. I got him when he was 18 months old. Unfortunately, his back legs were going, and he kept falling over. I could go on and on about him, but i don't want to bore you! He was put to sleep in the house, as i couldn't get him into a car because we couldn't lift him. The vet was very good and i was with him when he died. Everyone who knew him loved him! Hope i haven't bored you by talking about him so much! Thanks so much for allowing me to do so. Val.
Not at all, I enjoy hearing about other people's family dogs, particularly their foibles and idiosyncrasies (the dogs I mean).
You don't say what breed he was, as some dogs warm to people more than others.
We have a mad 7 year old Westie, and believe me he is 'mad', but such a loving and caring little creature that I really don't know how we would go on without him.
I am fully retired, and often when he sees me plonk myself down in a lounge chair at the end of the day will leap up carefully avoiding me, squeeze in beside me and rest his head on my knee, as if to say 'I know how hard it can be old man'. Absolutely precious.
Valerie you can speak as much as you want to me about your Harley or any other dog that you have or are considering getting, as I do understand.
R x
Hi Archemedes! Harley was a Golden lab retriever! He was Guide dog no. 5, and after he retired i kept him as a pet, because i just couldn't give him up. I loved all of my dogs, but he and my 3rd dog Prince whom i also kept after his working life were something special! Harley and Prince were very similar in nature and temprament. Like Harley, Prince was very much a mum's dog. When Prince was a puppy, he'd been very badly treated, and at first, they didn't think he was going to make it as a guide. One of the instructors didn't give up on him however, and said that if they could find the right type of person for him he was sure he'd make a good dog. Luckily i came along, and what a faithful dog he was! Hope I haven't bored you by telling you all this! I can just see your little ball of fluff! What do you call her-him? Val.
dogs are our soul mates ,we take care of them and love them and they love us back .
cant always say the same for humans .
Hi Tiswas! Quite agree with what you said about dogs. You could scold them as much or as many times, and they'll still come back for love! They give you undying love and affection! Val.
are what a lovely thought . you will feel him hun dogs go to spirit to and will stay around you until they know your safe and cared for . thats why i am pretty sure you should put your self down for another. harvey would have wanted you to .he wouldnt want you to be alone.
i have two terriers what a handful ,not by choice we had our layla a patterdale cross such a lovely house dog no yapping no destruction ever we got her from rescue kennals in 2006 . i like to get rescue dogs because they need love more because they have all ready rejected .
we had a boxer from rescue to she was a big old softie .
then we get landed with nutty loopey dog , my daughter split from her partner and couldnt take dog to hostel , so we said we would look after him till she got a flat ,
and we still have him a year on .
his a holey little sh*t but he makes you laugh , his a border terrier who my daughter rescued from face book someone brought him couldnt cope with him and put him on face book for sale [some people]
his cost us a fortune getting thru fences , we have had to redo the whole back garden , he even squeesed thru plastic chain linked fence .but he sits there with one ear flipped back with who me! look on his face , and you just got to laugh .
god i only mentioned a certain media social site as it was to do with the story i was telling you about how we came to have my daughters dog .
i write it again if the moderator dosent pass it .
i am to shattered to write it again at the moment
our patterdale cross terrier gets up and sits back in our arms like a little person she has always done it she likes her belly rubbed and then she doses of . then its thanks iv had enough and she gets down .
she was rescue iv got something about rescue dogs i think its because they have already been rejected i some how feel they need more love i am a bit like paul o'grady want to rescue all of them and love them better
loved him in that dog show. made me laugh but you could see geniue concern which you only get from a true dog lover . we also rescued a boxer she was a old softie to .
we also have my daughters dog his name is scruffy puppy he is a border terrier and a holey little sh*t , she rescued him from a social media site , then split with her partner went into hostel so we said we would have him till she got a flat over a yr on we still have him .
his cost us a fortune in the garden we had plastic coated chain link fence he squeesed thru and then we couldnt reach to get him and he would just sit with the flowers barking at them ,
so we have had to replace it with wooden fencing and a gate but his still trying to find a way in . but when he sits there looking at you with that who me ! look with his ear flipped back you just cant stay cross .
he also hides bits of food all over the house behind curtains and under sofas and in your shoes ,its a nigth mare we are trying to sell our house at moment .