Hang in there Corky. Give yourself time to cry.

You did the right thing Corky. We've all seen the lengths that you went through to get Buddy the best care, and sometimes the best thing you can do it just let go. I've been there several times before, and you'll get through it. Just think of all of the happy memories wity Buddy and it'll get a little easier everyday. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Corky, it is better to have let him go than to keep him here unhappy. Although harder for you to have to make the decision, it comes down to quality of life for all of our loved ones. Be it a human or a special animal. They become our children, our families, and our comfort. You can take comfort in the love he gave and got, and that you did the right thing. My thoughts are with you, I know how hard it can be. When I was a teenager my parents told me my dog had to be put down, I slept outside in his kennel for 2 nights.

Thank you all - I have only one thing to say today - - I WANT MY DOG BACK!!!!!!!! Having said that outloud, I know it's just grief but I miss him soooooooooooooo much. My hubbie and I have not slept well for 5 nights now, I miss that warm furry body above my head or between my feet. Got up in the middle of the night last night to take come pain meds (sore hip) and found myself looking for him to make sure I wouldn't step on him

When we had to put our last dog Homer down 10 years ago we had two cats also (one of them really thought he was a dog instead of a cat) so there were warm bodies in the house when I came home from work to greet me. Some day I won't look to the left to see if he is getting out of the crate to greet me but for now I just can't seem to not look.

My youngest son and his wife visited on Sunday and their dog Wrigley spent most of the time trying to find Buddy. Would not play with the one toy we saved or the bone cause she could not tease Buddy with it and would then crawl into my daughter-in-laws lap to give me funny looks. I swear she was asking where her friend was!!

corky, maybe you're one of those people who shouldn't wait to get another dog. Maybe you need to transfer all that love so it doesn't keep you sad and eat away at you. There's no set period of morning or time you must wait and it's certainly doesn't mean you love Buddy less if you fill the hole he's left in your life sooner rather than later. You know Buddy wouldn't want you to suffer.

When we lost one of our cats years ago, the other cat walked around calling to him. That lasted about a week, and he got over it. It took me LOTS longer to get over it!
Then, when the other cat died, MOML and I couldn't stand to be in the empty house. We went to Ma and Dad's for a few days just so we wouldn't be looking for Kittens all the time. We had our two current cats within a month of Kittens' passing.

I agree with Truffle. Don't wait and prolong the agony. A new pet will not take all the pain away, and will never take your memories away, but it will give you something happier to focus on and help you through.

If it were me, I wouldn't wait to get another pet. My heart would be too empty without a furry face to kiss. Just think of the joy you could bring to a dog sitting at a shelter.

We have decided to wait, seems to be the best thing for us right now. We are going on a week long cruise early May and have a very busy winter with both our jobs so it seems best to wait until after the cruise. I'd hate to adopt a new "friend" now with the winter I think we'll have. We'll look to adopt a young dog, but not a puppy.

It gets better each day, now we can remind each other of the cute and funny things Buddy did and not cry

Our vet sent a beautiful card which we received this weekend, make me cry but good tears to read how the staff and vets care that we lost Buddy.

Sounds like you have a good plan, Corky. I always love it when I see someone willing to adopt an adult animal. Puppies and kittens have a much better chance of being adopted and the adult animals need love, too.

Sorry for your loss Corky. I have lived thru deaths of dogs and it is brutal. Not sure what is worse - when I got divorced years ago, I had to make a decision about my dog (who I kept after the divorce). I was never home and it just seemed so unfair to my dog, because even when I was home, I couldn;t give him the love he deserved. I finally decide to find a new home for him and found a great family with other dogs and tons of yard to play, etc. When they came and got him, I was crushed, saying goodbye to him when he was still alive. I did go visit him once a few weeks later, but could never bring myself to visit again.

I hope your pain goes away soon.

And btw - must be a Chicago thing, but I have a dog named Wrigley too! (go figure)

Corky it sounds like you have a good plan, waiting until you have the time to spend with a new dog. We had our 14 year old cocker spaniel put down a month before my son was born. As badly as we missed him and as much as we love dogs we knew that it was not the right time to adopt. A little over a year later we got a call from a relative that volunteers at a shelter telling us about a 9 month old cocker spaniel that they had. We adopted her and she, for the most part , has been a great dog. It's been four years now and I still miss our old dog, but the pain is not so bad.

My friend's daughter adopted a five year old cat. Seems the cat's owner was gong into a nursing home which would not allow her to keep it. This cat was used to an old woman's constant love and attention. I commend my friend's daughter for realizing this, and giving Ellie the Cat as much love and attention she can to help her in her transition to a new home.

I told her that Ellie was lucky to find such a home.

Sorry to "vent" again but my hubbie picked up Buddy's ashes at the vet last night, poor man had to stand in line with all the dogs. Nearly broke his heart, good thing his sister called at that time - God does send love when he needs it.

The pet cemetery did a really great job, sent a really nice letter, put his ashes in a nice container in a velvet bag with a saying with something about the rainbow bridge, with a certificate to assure us it is Buddy and a copy of the Rainbow Bridge poem. It is all very nice, and - - put me in tears off and on all night. Another step in the grief process I suppose.

Again, thanks for listening,I find that lots of people don't understand but yous guys do

Hang in there Corky! You're welcome to vent whenever you need to, it's all part of the healing process. Some people just aren't "animal people" so they don't understand that our pets are part of our family. Take care and keep us posted.

Corkygirl, I thought of you yesterday. I was taking my donation to the humane society and was in the lobby when a family came in with a young black labrador mix. Cute, friendly dog. The people were crying they had to move to a small apt that would not allow pets. That dog will have no problem getting adopted, but my heart broke for that family.

This morning, as I laid in bed, waiting for the alarm to go off, sandwiched between two cats, I realized that I will never be without pets in my life and in my house. Although, maybe I would be able to snuggle closer to MOML if they weren't there!

My huband has learned to just move over, he knew it was a package deal. LOL

I've always had a pet since about the age of 5. Birds, Cats, Hamsters, Dogs, Fish, Turtles, Horses...we had them all! Right how we have 2 hamsters and 3 dogs, and we're thinking about getting some fish again.

Corky you'll know when you're ready to invited another furry friend into your home. Trust your instincts, and you'll be just fine. I already feel better knowing that you will give some lucky pet a GREAT home.

Corky I have been following your thread because our dog has been sick since August. Last week he went into kidney failure and this time we couldn't get him out of it so we put him down last night. My husband was at the oncologist with his father who is sick and almost didn't make it to be with us. Rusty was 14 and I am devistated that he is gone.

I was looking for the rainbow bridge poem to give my grandchildren with his picture and found a website that I thought was interesting. It is rainbowsbridge.com There is grief support, sympathy cards, etc. It looks like and interesting site. You can even join and set up a resident area for your pet.

I hope you are doing better.

KAT~

So sorry to hear about your dog. I also hope you father-in-law gets better soon.

KAT, I'm so sorry!!! I know how you feel, a part of your family is gone and it's sooooo hard to handle at first. Prayers for you all, your father-in-law being ill gives you even more to handle.

I'll check out that website, I looked at it once but it was too close to losing Buddy and I just couldn't read much of it then.

Thank you Cheeky and Corky for your kind words. I know its not the end of the world but for now it is for me. It does make me appreciate my family's health. My father in law is 82 and he is competant enough to make good informed decisions so I think everything will go okay for him.

You are in my thoughts KAT.

Kat-my thoughts are with you.