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.........(wiping away tears)so sorry to hear this . President Bush must be heart broken. You can tell from the pictures that he loved Spot very much. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhh..... why do animals have such short life spans? It is so hard when they pass away, or you have to put them down( I think the Rudyard Kipling poem back at post #178 expresses it well).

I just got back from taking one of my two canine seniors for a check up (the 15 year old-the other one is 11) My dog is fine so far, but I know she doesn't have much time left. I dread the thought of her passing on, or my other dog for that matter. I used to have a third dog too (a Whippet)but he passed away from old age 2 years ago. I still miss him . Anyway, The vet's Office sent a pamphlet home titled "Care for the Heart of your Family". I thought that was a great term for a pet= "Heart of the Family".

What a sad, but beautiful thread this has been. Wonderful photos and poems, like "Rainbow Bridge" and Jimmy Stewart's poem about his dog.

With the exception of one idiot poster who shall remain nameless- it's well worth it to go back and see all the posts that are here.

It is kind of cool that Spot was born in the White House and passed on there too. My condolences to President Bush and family on the loss of their beloved dog :-(

I have no idea of the author but someone wrote "pets are the soul of a home".

I believe that's true.

Whenever I go into a home with no pets, it just feels "empty" to me, no matter how many people are there.

( but then again, people call me "Ellie Mae Clampett" so I may be a *bit* prejudiced ).....;)

I almost put this up last night, but it made me teary just to think about my old lab mix that passed away three years ago next month. The vet sent the following to me after it was all over; I haven't seen this posted yet so thought it would address the fact that their lives are more temporary than ours:

"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan...
"The Once Again Prince" from "Separate Life Times" by Irving Towsend