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Saying Goodbye is too hard

3K views 23 replies 18 participants last post by  L.Rocco 
#1 ·
13 days ago I had to let my dearest companion, Kid, go.

I got him for Christmas when I was 6 years old and I had him for 11 years 9 months and 2 weeks.

He was a very healthy dog, everybody mistook him for a puppy, he loved to play, jump and run around. One day he stopped eating, 4 days later he received a cancer diagnosis and 9 days later he died. We decided to let him go, because we felt it was unfair with him for us to keep him alive and suffering for a few more days just because we didn't want to lose him.

I knew he was old, but I really believed I still had a few more years with him. He was a sweetheart, and everybody fell in love with him. My whole family is grieving him. He made people feel special and loved. He was family member #4 in my house, my favorite travelling companion, he would always lay his head on my legs.

I just can't bear to look at the his favorite spots. The house feels incredibly empty without him.
His ashes are in our garden so I say good morning to him every day.

I can't believe he is gone.

I will miss you forever my love.

Kid 07/10/2003- 21/07/2015
Dog Mammal Vertebrate Dog breed Canidae

Dog Mammal Vertebrate Dog breed Canidae

Nose Snout Canidae Dog breed Cat
 
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#2 ·
I am so very sorry for your loss....I have been there and I know how heartbreaking this is. I can also tell you that little by little you will start to feel better and remember your pup with a smile. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
 
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#4 ·
I'm so sorry. The first good-bye is really brutal because it's uncharted territory and you don't know yet that you will get past it...not over it, never that...but it will become easier to remember the good times and smile. But in the meantime, it just kicks your doors in. I know.

Be gentle with yourself. Sending you a hug.
 
#6 ·
We are so sorry to hear about Kid. We all have been there before and we share your pain and sorrow. We found that the house was too quite and life was too empty without a dog. We were only without our first golden 10 days before we settled on another one. God made our hearts too big not to share with another Golden. Bentley was never meant to take the place of Chloe because there will always be a place for her in our heart. The same will be for Kid. We found that another dog was just what we needed and it could be that you do too. Know in your mind that you had many years with Kid and that his life was marvelous because of you. I love my Bentley but I still have a quite time for Chloe as she rests in our yard. Wishing you all the best.
 
#7 ·
So sorry to hear of the loss of you boy Kid. You did the right thing letting him go. Someone once told me "People have to suffer, dogs don't!" Always remember the almost 12 years you had together. My Sarge was just a few weeks shy of his eighth birthday. I didn't have to make the decision to put him down, he went on his own, but I would like to think I would have made the right decision had it come to that.
Buddy
 
#9 ·
What a beautiful dog. He really did look like a much younger dog. I'm so sorry for your loss, they are absolutely family members. I hope this gets easier for you over time. I'm shedding a few tears for you, Kid and your family xxx
 
#12 ·
Thank you all for the kind words.
Here is a picture of my boy as a puppy, too cute for me not to share.
Dog Mammal Vertebrate Dog breed Canidae
 
#16 ·
He was an adorable puppy and a very handsome big boy. I got my first dog, an English Setter puppy for my 11th birthday in 1956 and lost her 6 months later to distemper. I have only been a short time in all those years with at least one dog ( up to 3 goldens at one time) so you can imagine how many times I have been thru the heartbreak of a loss.

Last Aug. 13 we lost our Honey girl, thye last of the 4 goldens we had had together at one point. We had had her almost 12 years, having adopted her fully grown backin 2002, so she was at least 13. One day she was acting the puppy--everyone took her for no more than 4 years old--and then downhill so fast it shocked up. Lymphoma. Made the heart tearing decision to end her suffering when she couldn't get up and didn't want to eat. I held her as she passed and I told my vet that was it for me, I couldn't go thru this again. He said 'You heart will make that decision for you." How right he was.

Two weeks later, after being approved, we adopted a blind Great Pyrenees, 7 years old. Due to me being 69 and hubby being 70, both in not great health, we didn't want to get a young dog and then us die and leave it orphaned. Besides we had talked a few years earlier that when Honey was gone we would adopted "thrown away seniors"

Shaggy was an awesome dog and he moved right into our hearts. But life is not fair and we lost him 3 weeks and 3 days later to hemangiosarcoma. The rescue said we could chose another dog, we did and got our Moose, another 7 year old Great Pyrenees. Long story, but he was being fostered by his previous owners until he was placed or they made their move up to Minn. I talked to them a number of times and met them when brought Moose half way down from Austin to turn him over to us. At their request I sent them updates and pictures, telling of his adventures in the stores, on the beach, his walks, etc. Then in Feb. they asked if we could also take their 11 year old golden. She has arthritis pretty bad in her hips and they didn't know how she would do in the weather up in Minn. we jumped at it and adopted Sophie. So I went from telling my et I would never get another dog to getting another, losing him, and then getting 2 more. If we don't have dug fur and sand and mud everywhere, our house is not a home. I know some people do have to take much longer, and it should always be up the individual to decide what is best. For us, we have to have a dog/dogs in our lives all the time, especially since our children are long grown and out of "the nest.
 
#17 ·
I miss having a dog at home, if it was up to me we would get another one soon- not right now because I would still want Kid to be my one and only for a little longer- but maybe in a month or two
But I live with my parents, and they don't want another dog and I understand them. Kid was mine and my fathers first dog, and the connection we had with him was stronger than both of us could have ever imagined. Just like you my father doesn't go through this again. Maybe he will also have a change of heart, but I don't see it coming anytime soon.

What happened to your Honey was really very similar to Kid, it's scary how fast these cancers can take them, it is sad for us, but I am glad they didn't suffer for long.

Thank you for sharing your story with me. Hope one day I can adopt some dogs too, it is a really great thing you and your husband did, and I am sure you got a lot of love in return from these lovely dogs.
 
#20 ·
I am very sorry for your loss of Kid.
Love his name, cute little puppy blossomed into a handsome boy.
 
#21 ·
Sorry about your buddy, lost my first golden last year and it was one of the worst feelings I had...and I lost a father and brother before I was 22!

Two things will happen, one - you will feel a moment of peace. I can't say when but you'll know when it hits. In my case it was when I had a dream that she was on top of a cloud laying down with 3 little girls petting her. She adored kids (What golden doesn't?) and when I woke up I knew she was at comfort and digging her next life.

Second, when you least expect it you'll be sent a sign they're thinking of you. Again, using myself as an example, when I picked up Sedona's ashes as soon as I walked out of the vet there was a shiny dime in the parking lot with the sun flashing in my face, one of those 'gotta put the hand up so I'm not blind' flash (I still get reminders every now and then and I've kept every dime). A few weeks later I was taking my wife to get dental surgery and she was nervous. As soon as we got out of the car she spotted Sedona's handkerchief hanging out the back door. I would have written it off as an interesting coincidence but I washed the car inside/out the day before, I would have spotted it. Hopefully soon you'll get your sign your buddy still thinks of you.

Hang in there and feel free to share stories about Kid.
 
#22 ·
Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your story!
Losing him really was hard, he was my first major loss, so I am learning how to deal with it.

I loved the image of your girl with the kids petting her. Sure sounds like a golden's dream. My Kid was a great babysitter, he really loved children. And he lived up to his name, he was a big kid himself.

I have been dreaming about him a lot, and he is always happy and healthy (when he was sick, he was also sick in my dreams). I feel like he is visiting me while I sleep.

And those signs are just great, even after they leave our goldens can still make us smile. They are that awesome.

Kid 07/10/2003-21/07/2015
Dog Mammal Vertebrate Dog breed Canidae
 
#23 ·
I totally understand. My darling Booford died of cancer after his diagnosis 4 weeks later.
Can I ever love another dog as much? Hopefully, I will be able to accept that no longer will his face rest on my bedside every morning, tail wagging, and waiting for his pat on the head and a trip to the mailbox for the newspaper. What a joy he was for all of us; unconditional love and happiness every day of his life. Just, gone too soon: 12 years, 1 1/2 months till heartbreak! Goldens are the best.
 
#24 ·
I am sorry for your loss.
It is a hard reality to accept.
I miss my boy dearly, and I think of him often.
Goldens are indeed the best and we were lucky to have them.
Hope you share more about your buddy.
 
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