Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Sad Day For Me Today

Well said, even being in so much pain he made sure that he as was watching over us making sure his family was safe.

smart man.
Saw an Akita pup the other day and the wife had to drag me away.

This + 10 sorry for the loss of your pal.

Sorry for your loss. Some of the best "people" are dogs. RIP Luigi.

Losing a dog is truly one of the most difficult experiences we endure in life. Dogs are family. One day I will write a short story titled "Everything We Need to Know about Love We Can Learn From a Dog" When my lab Dixie died some years ago, I wrote a eulogy. Oddly it was somewhat therapeutic though emotionally difficult. I will share it with you to let you know I really do understand your loss. My heart goes out to you.

I remember very vividly scanning the classified ads looking for a new friend and companion. I found you some 50 miles away, and interestingly enough, just a block or so from where I had lived some 15 years earlier. A quick call to your temporary master and I was on my way to pick you up.

I stirred you and your litter mates from a slumber. I gave you a few minutes to get your wits about you while I had a chat with your mother. Your mother was a sweet girl and seemed very smart. She lifted the lift latch on the chain link fence gate with her nose on command and came over to visit. When I came back to examine the lot of you, you seemed most interested in us and the fact that you had a little yellow toe on your otherwise chocolate body made the choice easy.

On the drive home, I remember getting teary eyed looking at your precious little face with your pure pink nose. I am pouring tears as I type this. I reckoned aloud that you were going to make a fine hunting dog. My two best friends had labs and they were great hunters and great friends to their masters.

You quickly became my best little buddy. Your instinct to retrieve was strong from the onset. It didn't take long at all for you to take great pride in bringing things to me. You learned to get the newspaper for me by the time you were three months old. I recall with a big smile on my face the time I sent you out to get the paper and closed the door behind you. I got distracted and 10 minutes or so later opened the door to find NINE newspapers at my front doorstep. You were tireless and devoted in your dedication to providing for your master and friend.

Oddly, swimming came slowly for you. With crystal clarity I remember placing you on the far bank of the Biloxi river and paddling away from you in the pirogue. It was with reluctance that you finally jumped in to rejoin me. You preformed amazingly well, but it wasn't something you seemed to enjoy. It wasn't until I took you to Horn Island on the boat that you really took to the water. The sparkling clear water where you could see the bottom and splash about endlessly in chest deep water seemed to be just the ticket for getting you to enjoy the water.

Your sense of smell was incredible. I could hide your tennis ball anywhere in the house and you would eventually find it and anxiously return it to me so that we could play again. Everything you did, you did with energy and enthusiasm. When I would come home from work and ask you if you wanted to go for a walk, you would get so excited. yet even in your excitement you did what you were supposed to do. No leash, but you would heel just as if you were on one. You constantly watched for me to say "OK go play!" Then you would tear off full bore, looking for anything to excite your keen senses.

You learned everything I ever tried to teach you. Sit, stay, lay down, stop, shake hands, fetch, get your ball, get your bowl, heel, jump, gimme kisses, no, go swimming, get in the truck, go home, go where I point, get the paper, speak. No problem. You even learned hand signals for most of them so that we could communicate silently in to woods. That made it easier for us to sneak up on stuff in the woods and man was that fun. Of all the things we did together, walks were our favorite. I wore a fixed smile every step of the way. I shared your joy buddy.

You had some good friends along the way too. Your Daschund sister Bratwurst was your closest friend. Rudy and Daisy both passed on earlier this year. You and Daisy were the best buds ever. We had some good hunts together. Between her keen sight and your keen nose, there was nothing you couldn't find. Let's enumerate the things you retrieved for me. Ducks, doves, squirrels, geese, beaver, bullfrogs, turtles, possums, and deer. I'm sure I missed something. You were retriever through and through.

I know things were tough when Melissa and I divorced. I am so sorry we didn't get to spend more time together. It was like summer camp when we did though. We played hard! I could always see the disappointment on your face when I took you back to her. You loved her no doubt. She was a great doggy mom, but I was the master and the buddy and you felt like you belonged with me. For that I am sorry.

You had a great life and we had a great life together. You were a loyal companion and best friend. I will miss you sorely, but at the same time I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude over having such a great friend in my life. My heart is so unbelievably heavy with the news of your passing, yet I can't help but smile when I think about you. I love you buddy. I am blessed and infinitely richer for knowing you and loving you.

Paul, thank you for the beautiful story. I laughed out loud at this part. " I recall with a big smile on my face the time I sent you out to get the paper and closed the door behind you. I got distracted and 10 minutes or so later opened the door to find NINE newspapers at my front doorstep." Smiling here.

sorry man.............feel your pain......

have a 12 yr old Golden Retriever.........

Hate to hear this and am very sorry for your loss gemby58.

Seems like yesterday we had to put down our beloved Chesapeake over 14 years ago. Now our beloved black lab is 13 and she is showing signs that the end is relatively near…

Regards and prayers for you and others here who have gone through this with our dogs.

A good dog is truly better and smarter than most people.

Lost my baby Chloe in January of 2016. Still think about her pretty much every day. It ain't easy.

I am sorry about your buddy.I have one going to be 14 this spring.I got him when he was 2 months old.What kills me is I am too old to buy another puppy.I don`t want my boys to out live me and end up who knows where.I will adopt an older dog that nobody else wants and treat him good.Huntz

I'm thinking of doing the same thing

Happy days are ahead for me, I was givin a 9 month old fox hound/lab mix, she is the sweetest thing. She's going to be a big girl, she's already 65 pounds. Hope she lasts as long as my last one.