Or two! 
Posted on 01/24/2010 12:29:06 PM PST by Slings and Arrows
1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.
3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don’t be angry with me for long and don’t lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainments. But I have only you.
5. Talk to me. Even if I don’t understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I have teeth that could easily crush the bones in your hand, and yet I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I’m not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long or my heart might be getting old or weak.
9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too will grow old.
10. On the difficult journey, on the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can’t bear to watch. Don’t make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there. Because I love you so.
Take a moment today to thank God for your pets. Enjoy and take good care of them.
Life would be a much duller, less joyful thing without God’s critters. Please pass this on to other pet owners.
(Excerpt) Read more at websleuths.com ...
LOL!
Aww crap.. I have this dog, a young American Bulldog, she drives me crazy, but these commandments are absolutely right.. that dog could kill me at the drop of a hat, and yet she loves me.. I will think of this post every time I get mad at her..
Thanks Slings & Arrows. Pets are really like that; totally amazing friends every day, not just on the days they feel like it. I am so grateful for my animal friends.
I’m so sorry. God will give you the strength and be with you through it; I know you will be there for your friend. I’ve been through it with my first dog and I had to be happy that my friend wasn’t suffering any more, even though I missed her so much.
Or two!
I think it is a way of communicating.
My female lab used to save up and spritz in about 15 different locations on her daily walks. She would also lick weeds or drag them through her mouth to leave saliva.
I’m so sorry about what you are facing, but you are doing the right thing. FWIW at one time we struggled with this decision re: a pet that was obviously in his last days. The vet said, “He wants to go, but he’s hanging on — not because he wants to, but because you want him to.”
Prayers up for you in this really hard time.
bumping the baaawwwww
Cat too, provided you let the cat pick you.
Cats are the best....I bond the some of them so quick....I see right inside their souls.....and I know they see mine.
Oh Gosh. Number 10 makes me cry. I had to put my cat down several months ago and I couldn’t stay in the room with her because I couldn’t bare to watch. Now I feel aweful!
Thanks for posting this beautiful piece of work. I’m going to print and frame it.
My wife and I recently lost our beloved German Shepard, “Buddy.”
He was a stray who showed up on the door steps of our farm house one Friday night in May 2006. He was either left at the bridge near our home or came upstream from somewhere, either lost or abandoned; we don’t know.
It appeared that he had “wintered-out” because he weighed 20 lbs, had noncontagious mange on his underbelly, paws, legs and head. His vertibrae and pelvis were protruding from under his skin and he had nearly 100 ticks on his body. “Buddy” was UNRECOGNIZABLE as a German Shepard and was near death the night I opened my front door and found him sitting there looking up at me.
We kept him for the weekend to decide whether to turn him over to the County Animal Control for destruction or to try to save him. We decided to give him a chance for life.
The veteranarian determined that “Buddy” was about a nine-month old Standard Black and Tan German Shepard. His growth, we would later determine, was stunted by his time as a stray. “Buddy” did recover and grew to become an absolutely beautiful Shepard and extremely loving companion for my wife and me.
“Buddy” disappeared from our home near the Tar River at NC Highway 96 on November 28, 2009 sometime around 3:30 in the afternoon as we recall last seeing him. We only pray that someone may have picked him up and has given him a good home.
Our hearts are broken.
The vet doesn't care if you cry. When we had to put my Finny down, the vet, my husband, our two children and I held it together for Finny, stroking him and talking to him gently, til he peacefully breathed his last -- then we all bawled our eyes out. The vet too.
Prayers for you and for Toby. And especially for you on the loss of your mother.
Our 17 yr old poodle disappeared one night. We never saw him again. People tell me he went off to die, but he was in good health. The last time I saw him, he was messing around in the flower bed. The very worst is not knowing what happened to him. We live in a neighborhood where everyone knows everyone and no one saw him. He just disappeared. That was 5 yrs ago and not a day goes by that I don’t think about him. I just hope someone kind picked him up and gave him a good home. He had been with us since he was a puppy. He was blind and deaf. I only wish I had gone out and got him instead of waiting for him to come back to the door. I think he may have lost his way in the dark because he was blind. But he should have died with us.
Amen to all of them.
Now, don’t make me cry darn it!
My prayers are with you.
Help needed here.
I am so sorry to hear about this, kalee. I will be praying for you as you go through whatever will be, it is never easy to say goodbye, but it is part of life, unfortunately. We love them the best we can and cherish their memories forever. May the Lord help you through this and comfort you.
Please don’t feel bad. When we had to put down our 15 yr. old Emily who had cancer, I stayed until right until the vet gave the shot. My husband stayed with her through the end and said she went very quickly and peacefully. I stayed outside the room bawling my eyes out.
We do what we think we can, but I am sure your baby knew you were “there”. My husband and I cried together afterwards some more. But it was a relief that she wasn’t suffering anymore. Don’t kick yourself, sweetie, forgive yourself.
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