We had to say goodbye last night to our 13 year old golden retriever, Chance. We first met Chance when he was a year and a half old. We adopted him from a family going through divorce, and the young boy who had to give him up to move into an apartment that didn’t allow dogs was heartbroken. We let him visit with Chance for a few months to ease the transition for both of them.
Chance adjusted well and enjoyed his new home with us, even our cat Sammy,and we eventually added other pets to the family. We lost Sammy and added new cats Willis and Selena. We adopted a new old dog, Roxie, whose family was moving to Texas. She was thirty pounds overweight and as we took weight off her, would get so hungry she would steal bread off the counter. We added a cute puppy, Darwin, who turned into a wonderful therapy dog. We lost Selena, probably to a coyote, her body was never found. We lost Roxie to cancer, and she died in my arms. We added another cute puppy, Edison, at the suggestion of the breeder we got Darwin from, to keep Darwin company when Chance was gone.
And so last night, be lost Chance, who had ruptured discs in his neck, couldn’t walk, and was in a lot of pain. When the pain became too much for him and for us, we let him go.
And now there are Darwin, and Edison, and our old cat, Willis.
But losing Chance has been the hardest loss of all of our pets. We was a wonderful dog and friend, and I’ll miss him terribly.
10 Responses
I am holding you in my heart.
Thank you…
My condolences, but of course you know he is still always with you.
indeed, Mike, indeed…
Donna, Bob Barker (The Price Is Right) once said, “A person who has never owned a dog has missed a wonderful part of life.” At times like this I wonder if this is true. But I know from experience that he is correct because as the anguish of lost recedes we are left with memories of a soul who was destined to be here for only for a short while and chose to spend that limited time with us. Thinking of you, Chance and my Kate.
My deepest sympathy. Though these inevitable transitions are a given with pets, they never seem to get any easier.
I am so sorry to read this. We have lots several dear furry family members the past couple of years, and it is always painful. Heartfelt condolences to you and your family.
thank you, everyone…
So sad. I’m sorry to hear that-he was such a classic golden. My sympathy and condolences.
Oh I’m so sorry. We lost one of our dogs, an obnoxious little black poodle named Touser who we loved – especially my daughter. She has down syndrome and had a hard time understanding it all. We’d had him for 13 years and our other dogs mourned with us. So hard!