Swiss Lick Swissies

Sad Week

Friday, August 14th, 2009 | Dogs, Random Stuff

I’m going to stop dwelling on the sadness after this post. This is part of my grieving process. The slightly weird part of this is that I am grieving for dogs that I have never met, with one exception.

This week, members of the Big Dogs Porch forum lost four dogs. Four of them. Why is that necessary? They weren’t lost to old age or chronic illness. Not that it would make it any better if they were. Susie & Nonnie the Beagles passed on Monday, and I believe both were due to wounds sustained from coyotes or other animals. Buddy the Saint and Levi the Neo both bloated. Very sad.

The non-porch dog was Michelina the Swissy. She was a senior, but that doesn’t make things any easier for her family or those who knew her.

Last night, I was so irrationally sad thinking about this that I could not stand it if the dogs were in a different room from me. Every time Gryffin got up to go lie near the AC vent in the other room, I made him come back in the room with me. Every time I let them outside, I checked first to make sure the gate was closed. And Beowulf seems to be able to sleep so soundly, you can barely see him breathe. But he does. Poor guy gets woken up frequently by me to make sure he’s still alive.

Perhaps this is more a reminder to me than anyone else, as none of the humans who lost their family members this week are guilty of anything. And definitely to those awful people on Craig’s List who constantly try to rehome their dogs without even trying to make things worse. Love your dog. Enjoy your time with them. They offer you love unconditionally, so return it. And when they seem overly demanding of your attention, remember that they only have you. They don’t go to work every day and interact with people. They don’t get to call their mom or dad to say hi whenever they want. So give them attention, exercise, love, and affection. You never know when they’re going to go to the bridge.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Tags: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Swissy

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