Melissakins
New member
I wrote this as I'd mentioned in General Discussion for Grady, our pup we lost three weeks ago Monday.
We know their time with us is short lived, yet we accept this and nurture and love them just the same. The joys they give us far surpass what we lose when they go away. It will take a lot of time to forget what it felt like when you said ‘goodbye’. In time though, it may come to be that it will only feel like a scratch instead of the hole you’re left with in your heart.
We had to say goodbye not too long ago to a very dear boy who spent a very short time with us. Too short it seems. We became his guardians and keepers when he suddenly became a homeless pup. He just fit right in with our pack. He was home.
If you’ve ever felt a place inside yourself that was filled with the satisfaction of knowing that those doubts you once held of a decision you’d made, even the whimsical ones were now gone, that’s how we felt. Six and a half months, almost seven erased the “OMG what have we done?” question we had after we said we’d go pick him up three and a half hours away, sight unseen. Well, okay, those doubts were erased pretty much the first week we had him.
He was a joy; full of life, spunk, happiness and energy that was palpable. He held his head high as he’d grin wide mouthed and thrust his feet forward when we’d go on walks around the neighborhood just as happy as could be that he was outside and with people who he trusted. He never asked for much; a touch, a kind word, a hidden snack in the hands that would rub over his sides and head. Those were always accepted even if all he did was to hold the snacks in his mouth politely until your back was turned.
He was our Grady, a big boy with a big kind heart. He came to us as a seemingly lost fellow at what should have been his golden years and to grow old gracefully. Unfortunately another plan was in place for him and for us.
There’s a time to be brave and strong in situations and a time to doubt and wonder in others. Sometimes these emotions, these actions come to you all at once and you know what needs to be done even if you’re scared and don’t want to. For us, it was Memorial Day.
Rescues, unwanted’s, homeless, throw-aways, the ones folks don’t have time for or the ones people don’t know what in the world to do with once they get over that honeymoon phase, whatever you call them need people to take a second look. They need us to peer into their eyes and see beyond that scruffy exterior and see their potential. They mostly all have something to fulfill in each one of us.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat, even if it’s for a short time. The gift of a home and people who love them is something that can never be taken away. A hand to soothe and comfort can create miracles in even the most unwanted animal.
We know their time with us is short lived, yet we accept this and nurture and love them just the same. The joys they give us far surpass what we lose when they go away. It will take a lot of time to forget what it felt like when you said ‘goodbye’. In time though, it may come to be that it will only feel like a scratch instead of the hole you’re left with in your heart.
We had to say goodbye not too long ago to a very dear boy who spent a very short time with us. Too short it seems. We became his guardians and keepers when he suddenly became a homeless pup. He just fit right in with our pack. He was home.
If you’ve ever felt a place inside yourself that was filled with the satisfaction of knowing that those doubts you once held of a decision you’d made, even the whimsical ones were now gone, that’s how we felt. Six and a half months, almost seven erased the “OMG what have we done?” question we had after we said we’d go pick him up three and a half hours away, sight unseen. Well, okay, those doubts were erased pretty much the first week we had him.
He was a joy; full of life, spunk, happiness and energy that was palpable. He held his head high as he’d grin wide mouthed and thrust his feet forward when we’d go on walks around the neighborhood just as happy as could be that he was outside and with people who he trusted. He never asked for much; a touch, a kind word, a hidden snack in the hands that would rub over his sides and head. Those were always accepted even if all he did was to hold the snacks in his mouth politely until your back was turned.
He was our Grady, a big boy with a big kind heart. He came to us as a seemingly lost fellow at what should have been his golden years and to grow old gracefully. Unfortunately another plan was in place for him and for us.
There’s a time to be brave and strong in situations and a time to doubt and wonder in others. Sometimes these emotions, these actions come to you all at once and you know what needs to be done even if you’re scared and don’t want to. For us, it was Memorial Day.
Rescues, unwanted’s, homeless, throw-aways, the ones folks don’t have time for or the ones people don’t know what in the world to do with once they get over that honeymoon phase, whatever you call them need people to take a second look. They need us to peer into their eyes and see beyond that scruffy exterior and see their potential. They mostly all have something to fulfill in each one of us.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat, even if it’s for a short time. The gift of a home and people who love them is something that can never be taken away. A hand to soothe and comfort can create miracles in even the most unwanted animal.
.......So touching, Grady was lucky to have met you. Mike and I made a pact quite a few years ago. That we would always take a rescue and that it would always be a difficult to place problem rescue. But what these "put to sleep" dogs have given us in return has just been unmeasurable. Even the devotion is second to none. But they. each and everyone have also taught us so many things. Especially our last two, Zacky and Annabelle.