As I sit here relaxed on a Sunday afternoon, browsing through the various threads I stumbled upon one... not a very long thread, not a game or a joke. Not funny, not silly.... but a very serious and sincere thread. This thread has reached out of the screen, grabbed at me, and has left me with such an indescribable feeling.

As we all know this is a very special place for us. We can visit as little or as often as we choose. We can drop in and just browse through the posts (as I was doing when I found this one), or we can jump into an rp'ing thread, or browse through pictures or videos, we can enter the chat room, and much more.

We are all unique, each one of us different .... some quite different and others have quite a bit in common. We all share a few common bonds; one being is our love for animals. Another is that each an every one of us is special. We share laughter, tears, smiles and frowns. We argue, we love, we forgive and make up. But each night when we put our heads on our pillows and close our eyes to fall asleep, we know how truly special each of us are. We all know deep down in our heart that we can always come here and find a special friend. Someone to talk to, it could be someone we are very close too and have known for quite a long time, or or could be someone new.

It brings me such sorrow to read this thread about the passing of such wonderful people. Those who have been memorialized here will live on forever in each one of our hearts & minds who take the time to read these posts. I know those that have passed on into eternity are free of illness, pain, sorrow and sadness. They are looking down upon us with a smile on their face watching over us, keeping us safe.

So if you wondered why they are no longer here with us, now you know, they were the special ones chosen to do a job much tougher than their lives here on earth. Thank you to each of them for making heaven and earth a better place.

Rest in peace, forever and for always! :heart:

Thank you FoxiLady13. It was very well put and I am speechless. I am saddened that I never met any of these lovely people before passing on but their memories will remain with us through the people they touched so deeply. A well deserved 10+++ to you.

This the most touching and amazing thread that I have come across....thankyou to those who started it and for sharing their lives with us.

jac

:( Our beloved 16 year old black cat Dillion was diagnosed with liver damage and he has stopped eating and drinking. We tried medicine and hydrating him but to no success, so I called an in home hospice service to euthenize him a home with us and his familiar surroundings. It is the compassionate act to do to end his terminal illness. We both cried out hearts out and will continue to do so. He brought so much joy into our lives and he was raised as a kitten. Our hearts are heavy and sad, but I know he is going to the rainbow bridge in our hearts and will be there forever. Rest in peace Dillion, we will always love you :heart:

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:mellow: loss is never a easy thing , it does not matter what it is. From childhood we are
taught this, but seldom prepared for the eventual .Those close to us often never told in
in passing how they make us smile, laugh and learn and love .the pain of loss as all know varies as in ratio of the times shared. Ever on we go as we age sorrow intensifies ,but
often we lose track of the things we learn. As children death is confusing to see often
A child will ask why ? of an adult , and through tear filled eyes and trembling lips from above in a broken voice a child would hear a Litany of things not knowing how to act or why has this happened to come to grips with it understand and the eventual that
awaits us all

Friends, loved ones and to any one,whom has been there in the final moments to comfort and reassure or embrace that final time is often left with the realization of above and so i offer this to those who may read this heed the following ,


reach out as often and with resolve always always tell them just how much they mean to you waste not one opportunity to love even for the shortest of time live and share in the moment as much as you can as deeply and completely as is in your power .
once a moment an opportunity has passed it most likely will not avail itself again

my condolences to those who knew this people these sons and daughters of someone they where loved and now gone . Most probably not told enough the above
known here and to others i tell you now i feel your pain anguish and sorrow .

in our day to day lives we fail often to to take the opportunity to do this
the above my wish for all is that you do start those touched by your words thoughts and deeds will be changed and to take the moment to pay it forward so when you
are faced with your final moment you can look back and say that you made a small difference and will be remembered in kind by others

:(

Each life lost is a memory gained. I firmly believe that we are all placed on this earth to accomplish one thing. None of us know what that task is, yet when it's completed, we are called to move on.

Life is precious and those of us that have the gift of being able to deeply experience the love of inter-species relationships know all too well, that life is also very short. There are times when people do not attempt to understand or accept those that they deem somewhat different than they are. This has gone down through history and unfortunately, it seems that it is meant to continue, probably well past my time here on this planet.

My heartfelt condolences go out to any one of our member’s families that have lost their battle to a disease or lost their life to tragedy or maybe those that have won the war and all the battles along the way. I also grieve for the partners of our members that have passed on, be it human or animal. They too, suffer an inconsolable loss!

There is no such thing as closure for a family that has lost a loved one, only the fact that the present grief, will eventually turn into happy and sweet memories. Time heals all wounds; yet we never forget.

When someone is forgotten, their life and the way they lived, no longer has any value. Don't ever let the happy or even the sad memories slip away. Once memories dissolve, so does the meaning of the persons life!

Love each other unconditionally and care about your partner and neighbor, no matter what he or she believes personally! Do an act of kindness for someone that you don't even know as a way to honor someone that you have lost. They will just think you are a great person!

Challenge each other to be better people and tell your loved ones how much they mean to you each and every day; for tomorrow, they may not be here!

wolfhound you couldn't have said it better..I know, I have lost my dad in last Aug. and it's hard, seeing all his stuff and remembering the things he did for everyone makes it even harder to accept that he's gone..to everyone else my heart and prayers go out to each and everyone of you. take care and be strong, for there's others around you that need you.. :heart: :angel: an if anyone needs to talk I'll be here for you..horny in so cal..

Thinking about DBW these last few days...I miss you, my Friend.

:o needs to be on the top..bump..

Although our bodies may fade and our spirits pass I know that we will always live on in the hearts and memories of those we loved and were loved by.Through our dear friends we find life, for true death is the complete loss of the memory of the people who were loved.


As long as we keep our dearly departed friends alive inside our hearts and our memories we will never lose them and never be alone for they will always watch over us and guide us whenever they are needed.


They are our friend, our guides, our mentors and teachers, they were there for us when we needed a helping hand, they brought us laughter, they are our best friends and we will never lose them as long as we keep their memories alive inside ourselves.



To all those who have passed from this world and our lives. You will be missed but never forgotten.

I never knew any of the members who have passed on... but this is what makes BF so special to me

I hope that this is one thread that doesnt get used very often....

ODE TO MY DEAF DALMATIAN, SUTRA!

Back in 1996 I used to manage a rescue kenels in Sussex, England, which specialised in rescuing Dalmatians who were unwanted by Dalmatian breeders for the most pathetic of reasons. If puppies were too heavily patched, or if they were not evenly spotted, if they had odd coloured eyes, if they had lemon coloured spots (yes.. black, liver AND lemon spotted - check it up on your prefered search engine).

During this time we had a rescue come in to the kennels who was named Megan, a beautiful young liver spotted girl who was unwanted because of a family split and divorce. She was heavily pregnant at the time. After a week to 10 days of being with us, she started labour. Now i hadn't been in the kennels all that long, and as this was the first bitch I had ever know who was about to give birth, i paid special attention to her. I wanted to see a birth with my own eyes, as well as i wanted to make a good impression with the management. I stayed awake all through the night, spending as much time with her as possible, chatting and stroking her to make her feel as comfortable as I possibly could.. And at approx.. 4 am she decided it was going to happen there and then.

She had stood up squatted with one leg slightly up when I noticed the bag appear at her vulva.. and then she lay down and gave a few pushes which slowly pushed out the nose of the puppy within. The bag was full with water and not broken up to that point, so I couldn't really see anything. I just sat by and watched not really knowing what to expect. Anyway, she turned to sniff and lick the little it of bag that had protruded and then nipped it to break it.. that done, she settled back down for another push.. which is when I first took a glimpse at a little nose popping out through her vulva.. It was half pink, and half black.. An absolutely awesome sight i never forgot.. Needless to say, she continued to push until there lay a puppy in its busted bag, being massaged and cleaned by it's mother tongue. As she gently washed and nudged it about I noticed it was a male pup.. The very first one i had seen born with my own eyes.. Also the only one in the litter with a half pink nose.. Easy to spot from the others.. (all were born pure white, with occasional ones having dark patches beneath the white fur).

After 8 weeks, i noticed that this puppy, who I nicknamed "spot" (I know its unoriginal) didn't seem to react to thing as the others did. He'd stay sleeping while others would come running at the sound of me shouting "PUP PUP PUPPIESSS" to give them their feed. it turned out that 'spot' was deaf. I was slightly dismayed onto the point of being Devastated.. but there we go.. life goes on.. I learned to live with it and compromise by poking him or throwing soft toys or a ball at him to wake him up. He was my "favorite" without doubt so I didn't care if he was deaf. So long as he was healthy. I had heard that a large amount of Dalmatians (and any other mammal from cats to rats to mice born with pure white fur) was born deaf. With Dalmatians it is reckoned that 1i14 were unilateral (partial hearing or deaf in one ear) whilst 1i20 were totally deaf.

When Spot was 14 weeks old, he was the last in the litter. Others had been re-homed. I was gutted for him thinking no-one would want a deaf Dalmatian, but in a way I was also happy as I had made a decision and promptly went and told the Management that he was now my own to which there was no objections. I spent a few weeks training him up to sign language for which he was a very acute little pup. He loved to please me by doing his best to learn and follow my simple commands to earn his little bit of kitty kibble. I loved my Spot very much as he was such a cheeky little bugger. for example.. one day i was talking to some people who ad come to take on a rescue Dalmatian whilst I was cleaning the shavings in his run, with him jumping up at my legs to get my attention. Now picture me standing and facing this couple with a shovel in one hand balancing some shavings and little turds, and a bucket in the other help p to stop Spot from umping at it.. next thing i knew I felt my loose fitting tracksuit bottoms slip down to my ankles with the help of a little set of teething teeth.. Everythng i had ons how as i never have and never will wear underwear. Imagine my horror at seeing this couple staring at me - the feller non too impressed and the woman looking at my swinging tackle- and I dont refer to the bucket or shovel as tackle.. I could only look at them and mutter "Dont you just hate it when stuff like tis happens!". I waddled to the edge of the pen and put the bucket and shovel over the fence by this couple and then pulled my trousers back up then walked out and looked for a nice big rock to crawl under and hide. I had several weeks of piss taken out of me from management and staff, and the woman and guy had a lifetime memory of a poor young welsh git embarrassed to hell and back by a little deaf puppy.. Damn I was so embarrassed I cant convey it here in words.

Anyway.. few weeks later, when Spot was approx 4 or 5 mnths old a volunteer worker, Louise (veterinary nurse) come to help us out as she loved dalmatians. She and i got together for a while and when she left the kennels she wanted to take Sot with ehr.. and as i was going to be in touch with her often, I let her have him. Anyway, our relationship failed and i had Spot back who was now named Sutra karma (no joke). And ever since then he has lived with me in sussex, brighton, northwales, dyfed, east grinstead and pembrokeshire..

In spring 2007 he had a few big lumps appear, one of which was in his thigh making him walk funny. I had the vet remove that one to keep his mobility, but alas it went the other way as the rot of the lump was buried deep in his thigh muscle and a lot of damage was caused removing it. It turned out through a biopsy of the lump that it was cancer, and i was told by the vet that it had most likely travelled around his whole body. Further tests were carried out and in may 2007 the last test showed that the cancer had indeed spread throughout his whole body and was spreading fiercely. Nothing could be done with the exception of chemotherapy or radiotherapy, but I refused them due to his age and the high possibility of it not working. In sept 2008 he started to become incontinent and would start peeing if he didn't go out every few hours. This was OK by me as I knew it wasn't his fault, although he did look ever so guilty when it did happen.. but because I so loved him he never once got scolded for it. In Jan 2008 he started to loose full use of his back legs and found it difficult to get off the floor without a lift. End of Feb I started preparing myself for what lay ahead and made the vow to myself that I would not let him suffer, and the first signs of him suffering I wold have to let him go.

That day came 2 days ago.. on 20th March 2008 at 1500hrs.. Hee was in back garden when I heard him screaming loudly. I run out with my crossbow expecting to have too spear my next door neighbour's out of control gsd-x dog as it had often scaled the fence and attacked my dogs (although my beautiful Malamute did kick his arse not so long ago). But my Sutra was lying underneath the window and couldn't get up after an apparent fall down the little bank in my garden. I lifted him up and tried to put him on his feet, but his back leg's movement was gone altogether and he couldn't control it at all to support himself, and crying in severe pain all the time. I made a phone call and my friend James who immediately come and picked up Sutra and I and had us in our vets within 10mins of arriving whereas it was usually a 20min journey.

As I got into the vets I knew what was gonna have to happen... so asked them to give him some local anesthetic to kill his pain in his legs for some relief while I run to the shop and bought a huge minced beef and onion pie, a Galaxy chocolate bar, two whisper bars and a small toblerone (was all I could afford). On my return to the vets within 5mins he was more settled but still trying to get up onto his feet with no avail as his back legs were totally numb. I lifted him onto the floor on his side and lay down with him and fed him the pie bit by bit, then the galaxy bar bit by bit, followed by the whisper. I had my vet give him the injection as he was finishing off the last few triangles of his toblerone, where he then laid his head on my arm and went off to sleep. . . .

My vet and the nurse left the room on my request and I just sat there for 15mins cuddling my perfectly still dog whilst crying my eyes out as would any other and whispering sweet words in the hope he may hear.....





As Sheppherd1 said in the prior post,
"I hope that this is one thread that doesnt get used very often...."..
I also hope it doesn't ... because i know how much it hurts to have to be here using it.. and wouldn't wish it upon anyone.. however.. its usually the price you have to pay for a much loved k9 friendship (a bargain price for years of loyalty unknown from many humans)

"I love you my deaf spotted friend... and I always will.. Thank-you for sharing your life with me!" :-* sad.gif(

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:crying: thanks for shareing that with us, it was a beautiful tribute to Sutra... my heart and prayers go out to you my friend, for I know how much it hurts to lose a loved one..horny in so cal.. :beer: for our fallen ones and cheers for our new friends..take care.. :heart: :angel:

:( Heart breaking stuff, by the grace of god go I, R.I.P our friends :unsure: