MISSING LIBBY

Libby, our Scottie dog, died last Thursday.

The wound is still very fresh, so let’s quickly skip over the “crying and dying” part. When Libby was first diagnosed with bladder cancer, she was ten years old. At that time, we were told that her life expectancy was from nine months to one-year. Libby beat the odds by living thirty more months and all but the last couple of weeks was super-quality time.

Her last day was a tough one. In the morning, she would not eat and that was a bad sign. We only got her pain pills down her by burying them in peanut butter. She was breathing fast and shallow, indicating that her cancer was restricting her ability to breathe. We called the vet.

Lib always loved riding in the truck, so that morning we went for a long, long, long ride. Normally, she would have gone to sleep within a few minutes, but on that last outing she stayed wide awake for all of it. Karen and I were in the front seats and Little Miss Bobblehead had the entire back seat to herself. She totally loved her ride.

Late that afternoon, our veterinarian and friend, Dr. Kristen Shaw and a Vet Tech, Sarah, came to our home. Nobody was in a hurry. We spent an hour crying and hugging and laughing at old dog stories. Then, it was time.

Libby spent her last ten minutes on Karen and my laps with all four of us petting her. She was on our laps and safe within our loving arms as she left this life.

No more cancer, no more pain, no more suffering … Go With God, Our Little Scottie Girl. Go With God.

Missing Libby

The population of Timm’s Base Camp is now down to a 71-year old lady, a 72-year old man and tuxedo cat who is eighteen. Oh yeah, there are also a few fish and about thirty stuffed big game animal heads. It’s amazing how quiet our home is now.

Libby very seldom barked, but she I could always feel her presence. She wasn’t clingy or underfoot; she was simply always close. Whenever we left home without Lib, upon returning, we’d always find her by sleeping by the door, just waiting for her human Mom and Dad to return.

During the last week, I cannot tell you how many times I’ve looked at her sleeping place by that door. Lib is gone, of course, but I still look.

And her other sleeping place was on top of her favorite Scottie-print fleece blanket that her Aunt Joan gave her. Every time we washed the blanket, we’d always place it in front of the love seat in our living room. Immediately, Libby would scramble it up into a proper dog bed. Then, she’d thump her fat little body on top of it and promptly fall fast asleep.

I still look for Libby on top of her blanket, in front of the love seat, and it still surprises me that she is gone.

Every morning, at breakfast, I’d automatically save several cereal flakes for Lib. After I started eating, she’d silently show up and carefully take each flake from my hand. She wasn’t begging … we were simply enjoying breakfast together.

This morning, I saved out a bunch of “Libby’s flakes” and she didn’t come. Hey, Libby, the physical Libby, is no more and it will take time for me to adjust.

I think that’s the key to it … It will take time us to understand that the physical part of Libby is no longer here.

Right now, Libby’s Love is still here with us, but we’re also dealing with a great deal of pain. Eventually, the pain will diminish and the only thing left will be the love that Libby gave us so very freely.

I’m not trying to be facetious, but I truly wish we humans were capable of loving as well as our dogs do. Karen and I were absolutely the center of Libby’s life … well, there was food, but you get my drift

Libby left a legacy of love in our home, in our lives and in our hearts. I can truly say that love was returned by both Karen and myself.

And, unlike mortal bodies, love never dies; it just keeps getting better and better.

Blessings,

Steve

Sorry about Libby, Steve. We lost our lab last winter, too. They get a piece of your heart.

Libby was truly a wonder dog Steve. I am so sorry that you and Karen have lost her, and especially at this time.
Elvie and I lost our last Scotty, Knockando McTavish in September 2007. Things around the house have never been the same.

Sorry to hear of this DZ. Take care.

I'm sorry, Steve. Recently went through that with mine. Miss her as you do yours.
Best wishes.

Scottie's are kick azz dogs! Sorry you and yours lost your buddy.

Condolences to all and God Speed to ya Libby!

Steve, I sorry for the pain and sorrow you and your wife are feeling. Prayers for comfort are on the way.

Bob

Lovely explanation, and description of a beautiful dog. I am sorry you have lost her.

Steve, your story just brought tears to my eyes, as I remembered the last days of my beloved Lab Heidi.
God gave us these wonderful creatures- I just wish I understood why He didn't make them last a bit longer.....

Steve,

One of my favorite breeds of all time.

Sorry for your loss

Ed

You have my deepest sympathy... for dog lovers there is no pain as great as loosing our pet.. Their love knows no bounds.. Our pets never leave us they are always in our hearts.. We never get over the loss we only adjust.. My best wishes..

Sorry for your loss.. Its hard losing a family member especially ones that are so loyal. My daughter has a lab pup right now and seeing the pictures of her and that pup make me smile. We have a Chihuahua he is something else still young guy for a dog but dread the day he leaves us. That little guy been everywhere with us two trips to Alaska to and from. Been on couple moose hunting trips great guard dog for bears have no idea what he thinks he was going to do if one actually came into camp... I hope you get another pup everyone needs a good dog!

Sorry to hear this Steve. We all get our turn at it, and it never gets easier.

Brings tears to my eyes just thinking about having to do that again. My Brittany is 11 now and you start thinking of the finish line. Best way to deal with it is to think of the love you gave and got in return- it is as pure as it gets. You were lucky to have each other.

A beautiful tribute to a wonderful dog. Nicely done.
She, and your family in return, loved well and deeply. No more can be asked.

Thanks for sharing your memories.

Chas

+1 ^^^^

My buddy has one. Sometimes I just drop by to visit with the dog.

RIP Libby

Steve,
You and Karen are very much in our prayers right now. The only time pups ever let you down is when they die. They should live forever, damn it. The local district judge, is a good friend and whenever he stopped by our office he would get down on his hands and knees and chase our mini-doxie, Penny, around the office and they would bark at each other. When Penny died the Judge sent us a card that said, "Dogs leave tracks on the kitchen floor when they are with us and on our hearts when they are gone."

Sorry that you lost Libby.

Sorry for your loss

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Yeah, Lib was a really cool dog. We'll get another, but we have to get Karen rehabilitated from this brain thing first.

And, like Libby, she or he will be an ex-champion show dog and we'll give the Scot both a real life and a Forever Home.

Blessings to All,

Steve

My condolences, sir. Someone once told me that God sends us his dogs as a token of love, but eventually he misses them so much and calls them back. But he soon sees our grief, and sends us another. Not another Libby, because she was one of a kind, but one filled with as much love as Libby. Jorge

I'm sorry to hear about Libby. She is no longer suffering and she gave you many years of unconditional love. Even with that, I know it hurts to not have her presence in your life.

Ed

Sorry to hear that, Steve. You and your lovely wife have my sympathy.

Really good dogs who are loved, and who give love and devotion in return, may be gone but are never forgotten.

Libby was a grand dog. I pray the Lord comforts you and Karen and sends another grand dog your way.

I wish I had your word skills. You wrote what I felt with the loss of every dog throughout my lifetime.
My four year Lab is the last dog I ever own and I dread the time when she will go away.
All who love dogs will grieve with you.

My condolences to you and your wife.

Good girl Libby, good girl.

Dear Steve,

Sorry for your loss. Libby sounds like a champ. Good dogs have a lot more sense than a lot of folks.

I hope you find a new pup.

Sincerely,
Thomas

Steve I lost Ingwedog 3 years ago. I hate to tell you, but I grieve for her every day.

Sorry to hear of you and Karen's loss Steve.

I've got a 13 year old German Shorthair that I'll be taking down that same path in the near future.

Steve, my heart goes out to you and Karen. Have been in your shoes too many times, and it's never any easier. Unconditional love, indeed.
Peace, my friend.
Mike

So terribly sorry to hear that Steve, they leave a big hole in our hearts as their time with us is so short. But THANK GOD we get that time, it is wonderful.

Wonderful tribute Steve....

in the distant future, when the time comes, I sure hope you and Karen are united with your loving friend....and get to enjoy her company for All Time...

best regards
seafire

RIP Libby...thank you for sharing that beautiful story

Most of us have been there. Terribly painful. I'm still traumatized at losing my schnauzer Squirtt about 10 years ago. But it gets easier.

Friend Seafire,

My blog last week was entitled "Do Dogs Go To Heaven?" Frankly, I believe they do and lots of other folks do too.

I hope that Libby is at the Pearly Gates and will lead Karen and me in ... Little Miss Puddy-Butt leading the way, tail just a'swishing.

Dang, I love that dog ... no past tense to it.

God Bless,

Your buddy Steve

Steve,

From the telling of your story I miss Libby too, even with never having met her. My condolences to you and yours.

We are all truly blessed to have these "critters" in our lives.

Having been through it so many times, my heart goes out to you.

Thank you for sharing with us.

Geno

Friend Stave, I am sorry for your loss. Prayers for you and Karen. Libby is playing with High Brass and his little brother Matt.

Sorry for your loss.

I can appreciate what you are feeling. Tough to beat the friendship/loyalty of a good dog. Losing them is painful.

I believe the best medicine is to get anther one. The new dog will never replace the lost one, but it will be another loyal companion and make life better in so many ways.

I can't add much to what Shane posted, other than good dogs are such a wonderful part of our time on earth, it's a shame we're only given the chance to be friends with relatively few in our lifetimes. Time without at least one dog in my life is wasted time I can't get back.

In reading your story, I can tell you truly loved your companion. My wife and I lost our "Beech Nut" two years ago. Last April, still miss her like it was yesterday.

Thanks my friends,

We will surely get a new dog and probably a relation of Lib's. By the way, we owned Libby's grandfather, Stuart, and he was a wonderful Scot.

First, however, I have to nursemaid Karen completely through her recovery from brain surgery. She's doing really well, but I am the chief cook and bottle washer and will be for the foreseeable future ... and that is fine because that is what I pledged fifty-one years ago; "In sickness and in Health."

Kinda quiet around here and I still almost see Libby where she usually hung out.

Darn it, I miss that little cuss. She was such a great buddy.

May God Bless You All,

Steve

Just saw this thread brother. Very sorry to hear the news. I said a special prayer the other night like i said i would and yes, dogs go to heaven as you well know.

Steve,I'm so sorry for your loss. Most of us have probably been through it and over and over we say "never again" but then one day there's that little ball of fur with the big eyes and there we go. I like to think that it means that we have a heart and not completely self-centered.
Myself I lost three last year in less than a month and a half AND my Mother a few months earlier.Wham,Wham,Wham,Wham but this spring this feral tortoise shell kitten found me and hello Bella...here I go again.

You'll never forget your Libby and you gave her a good life and as my Wife says about my dogs and cats "she won the dog lottery".

Read the "Rainbow Bridge",the tears will fall but it's been a comfort to many.

Friends,

There's no doubt that the amount of hurting when a dog dies is directly proportional to the amount of love involved ... and the love goes both ways.

The hurt eventually passes ... at least, most of it. And the love and memories of the GREAT TIMES lasts for as long as we live.

Yeah, we are truly missing Lib, but she totally brightened our lives for many years.

Oh, I ran into a "beauty photo" of our little girl. I'll post it below. Actually, she enjoyed running on the beach and finding disgusting things to roll in way more than posing for a beauty photo

Blessings,

Steve

I'm saddened by this news, even though we knew this day was coming, it doesn't make it less painful. It's part of the commitment we make when they enter our lives. We give them the best life we are able to and when they leave we make it as pain free as possible. They give so much, ask for so little and leave us so soon.

Godspeed, Rick

Steve ,
Thank you for a glimpse of life with Libby. What a sweet little girl. I'm so sorry to hear you and Karen and lost her, but happy she was such a blessing in your lives for the time she was here. Just keep your memories of Libby alive and her spirit will live on in your hearts. She's at rest now. May God grant you peace during this difficult time.

So sorry to hear Steve, I lost my Boxer dog and best buddy Rocky last year. I liked your eulogy and have included Rocky's along with some words of Gene Hill.
I hope you find some peace in them.

With much sorrow and an aching heart I share sad news, we have said our final goodbye to Rocky. I share this with you because you all have had your own "special moments" with him.

He fought cushings disease and old age valiantly and without a whimper. But as we all will someday he tired of all the discomfort and confusion that come with old age.



As I have shared with many, if not all of you I have tried to prepare myself for this day for over a year. I am hear today, tears in my eyes and a void in my heart as proof the preparation didn't help.

He is not gone but will live for ever in my heart and my memories (with a mouthful of white feathers) as the best dog that ever owned me. Born 10/16/03 - Died 10/02/14 5 PM

I will leave you now with the words of Gene Hill below, I can recomend reading "A Listening Walk" and a few of my favorite pictures as attachments.







Below are eight Gene Hill dog quotes. Hill is the author of several books about life with dogs, including Tears and Laughter, Sunlight and Shadows and A Listening Walk... and Other Stories.


He is my other eyes that can see above the clouds; my other ears that hear above the winds. He is the part of me that can reach out into the sea. He has told me a thousand times over that I am his reason for being; by the way he rests against my leg; by the way he thumps his tail at my smallest smile; by the way he shows his hurt when I leave without taking him. (I think it makes him sick with worry when he is not along to care for me.)

When I am wrong, he is delighted to forgive. When I am angry, he clowns to make me smile. When I am happy, he is joy unbounded. When I am a fool, he ignores it. When I succeed, he brags. Without him, I am only another man. With him, I am all-powerful. He is loyalty itself.

He has taught me the meaning of devotion. With him, I know a secret comfort and a private peace. He has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant.

His head on my knee can heal my human hurts. His presence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and unknown things. He has promised to wait for me... whenever... wherever—in case I need him. And I expect I will—as I always have. He is just my dog.

Tears and Laughter

Uncle Joe,

Gene Hill was the MASTER of putting into words what we all feel but cannot articulate.

Indeed, some dogs are so close to being human that we can only hope to imitate them. Especially in love.

Speaking of eulogies: About three years ago, my wife and I did the "readings" at the funeral of a good friend of ours. After we'd sat down, the priest announced, "And now, Steve Timm will do the Eulogy for our brother Jim."

The problem was ... nobody had asked me to do the eulogy.

It was truly one of those "Holy Crap" moments.

So, I sloooooowly approached the ambo and talked about Jim for ten minutes or so.

The crazy part was that I had four or five requests for print-outs of the eulogy.

Life can be crazy.

Rocky was a good one, my friend ... I will pray for him when I daily pray for Libby. Count on it.

Blessings,

Steve

A real bummer dude. Went through the same about a year ago.

Thanks for the prayers for my friend. And if you would, add me to the list that I may live to be as good a person as Rocky thought I was.

One of the toughest things to go through. My thoughts and prayers your way.

Joe,

Absolutely, my friend. You have my prayers.

Steve