Have you grown up with a dog or dogs in your household? Do you have a special dog that is yours to care for? If yes, to either of these questions, how do you cope when you lose your dog?
How old was your dog? Was it an older dog, a young dog, a sick dog or was the loss totally unexpected?
I have experienced all of the above and no matter how old my best mate was or the reason for the loss, it hurts big time.
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For the past seventeen years or so, my dogs have not only been my best friends, but I have also had the joy of sharing a close bond with them as I trained them to be competitors with me in dog sports events. We worked and trained as a team, and built such rapport, it was a joy to be together each day and lots of fun when the day of the events arrived.
I must share, that if the event was not a resounding success, guess who was usually the one who missed the mark? You guessed it, me!
My first competitive dog was a very handsome lad, named Zac. Zac was a truly photogenic dog with a beautiful coat. He was quite large for a Sheltie, but nonetheless quite breathtaking in my eyes.
He was one of those dogs that took to learning very easily and loved learning new challenges. He was very smart.
We did obedience and agility together and travelled many kilometres to participate in competitions. He was mostly a very willing competitor, the only time he was less than ideal was when I introduced another Sheltie to the household. He was quite miffed when he realised this was not a sleepover and this new Sheltie was staying, so he decided he was not as keen to be in the ring competing with me! I used to wonder what he was thinking, however, I persevered, and showed him that he was still special and he eventually came around to being his usual responsive self.
I had no inkling that things were about to change and that I would be asking myself, how do you cope when you lose your dog as this was furthest from my mind.
We were out walking one day when he was about eight years old, and he wanted to rest. I thought, how odd but did not take this to heart until it happened again. Quite soon after this he was very slow competing with me in the sport of agility and seemed to find it difficult to jump. Now I was very concerned.
Off to the vet emergency we went, many tests were done, and because the reason for this lethargy was not apparent, we were sent to a specialist animal hospital some distance from where we lived. This again was inconclusive, so back to my own vet for ongoing tests and xrays.
Because Zac was so stoic when we were at the vet he was bubbly and happy and the vet did not see what I was seeing when we were together. I knew he was deteriorating, I knew my dog!
So off to another vet some distance from us. This vet had the latest xray machine, and warned me that I had a very sick dog. Finally an answer, Zac had cancer in his spine. How on earth he remained on his feet is beyond me, but such is the love of an animal for his best mate, me! He tried so valiantly to hide his distress from me, but I knew in my heart of hearts he was not well.
The question was now not, how do you cope, it was how do I cope? I was devastated beyond measure! My husband had to cope with me in tears day after day. I still shed a tear when I recall the good times we enjoyed together. Time was the only healer, plus I did have another two Shelties in my household that very much needed my care and love. Both of these Shelties were in training, and whilst one of them went on to achieve many titles in agility and obedience, the other one decided being trained for dog sports was not her idea of fun, which made me chuckle.
Out of the blue a friend had given me a present of one of her Sheltie puppies and this lass loved being trained for dog sports.
Little did I realise, the same events that I had experienced with Zac were about to be duplicated. This lass at six years of age also started to show lethargy, I kept thinking, surely not again!
We were at an agility event and she snapped at another dog, this was just not her personality! Once home, I phoned the vet and made an appointment for her. Off to the vet, we went, and to my shock after some tests were carried out, he said you have a very sick dog.
He said he wanted to give her a drip for 24 hours and sent me home. I got to the car in the vet parking lot and burst into tears. Next minute, my phone rang, it was the vet, he said, I am so sorry your girl has just passed away, and I had not even left the parking lot yet!
I raced back inside to the vet, crying uncontrollably, which must have been difficult for the other folk waiting there with their animals to see, and hugged my now deceased lass!
I could not believe I was going through this again, I was so distressed that friend’s offered to meet me halfway home and fill me with coffee at a café, which I did!
Do you ever get over it, not really! I do believe that when you have so much love to give, it is in your best interest to provide that love to another dog who also needs to know that they are loved unconditionally, as they do you.
I break my heart knowing that there are many dogs out there craving company, so how do you cope when you lose your dog? I believe the best remedy is to provide love to another best mate who will hopefully be at your side for many years to come. You will reap the rewards from this unconditional love, and so will your dog from you!
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Until next time…
With Love, Success and Inspiration,
Robin Oliver
www.robinoliveronline.com/blog
