just thinkin'...

[Leslie]

I think that first day when you get a dog there is a little voice in the back of your head that reminds you there is an end to the relationship. 

It's a leap of faith and love to quiet that voice and open your heart.

Isn't it wonderful the gift that dogs give us?? It's a profound level of love that, for me, when I experienced it for the first time, made me feel more complete as human being.

Support of people who have had this experience make all the difference when that day does come.  :heart:  Thanks, everyone.

[Barb]

*sniff*  so well said.   

[Spanish Teckels]

I couldn´t agree more.  The huge pawprint they leave in our hearts and minds is forever and their lives with us never long enough.  Wish I could say that about every human I have ever met...

[Dee Dee and Hallie]

Well put Les. The void they leave can be unbearable at times. But they make our lives so much better while we do have them!
Hope you have been doing OK thinking of you!

[Delia and girls]

I've always thought that but was never able to put it so well. Hope you're doing as well as can be expected. 

[Doxherding Karen]

I got this from a friend who got it at a memorial service for his cousin.  It's long, but it expresses many emotions for both pet lovers and people.

An Affirmation for Those Who Have lost

I believe there is no denying it: it hurts to lose.
It hurts to lose a cherished relationship with another,
or a significant part of one's own self.
It can hurt to lose that which has united one with the past,
or that which has beckoned one into the future.
It is painful to feel diminished or abandoned,
to be left behind or left alone.
Yet, I believe there is more to losing
than just the hurt and the pain,
for there are other experiences that loss can call forth.
I believe that courage often appears
however quietly it is expressed,
however easily it goes unnoticed by others;
the courage to be strong enough to surrender,
the fortitude to be firm enough to be flexible,
the bravery to go where one has not gone before.
I believe a time of loss can be a time of learning unlike any other,
and it can teach some of life's most valuable lessons:
In the act of losing, there is something to be found.
In the act of letting go, there is something to be grasped.
In the act of saying "good-bye," there is a "hello" to be heard.
For I believe living with loss is about beginnings as well as endings,
and grieving a matter of life more than of death,
and growing is a matter of mind and heart more than of body,
and loving is a matter of mind and hear more than of body.
Finally, I believe in the promising paradoxes of loss:
in the midst of darkness, there can come a great Light,
at the bottom of despair, there can appear a great Hope,
and deep within loneliness, there can dwell a great Love.
I believe these things because others have shown the wayâ€"
others who have lost and then have grown through their losing,
others who have suffered and then found new meaning.
So I know I am not alone; I am accompanied
Day after night, night after day.

1995 james E. Miller "What Will Help Me"
Willowgreen Publishing, Fort Wayne Indiana 1995

Karen