Goodbye my faithful friend

[alisonJ]

I have not been on YT for a few years, but I was very active at one time. I attended the YT meetup in Virginia, and I have made some wonderful friends through YT.

I just wanted to say that my baby, Edith, died 2 weeks ago, very suddenly. She was 14 years old. The vet thinks perhaps a blood clot traveled to her brain.

Edie came into my life on Valentine's Day, 2000. I referred to her as my Fuzzy Valentine (one of my favorite songs is My Funny Valentine). I can't believe she is gone. I keep looking for her and expecting her to meet me when I walk in the door.

Edie, I will miss you forever. You were the love of my life. Happy Valentine's Day, sweet girl!

This photo is from her last grooming session.

[_Chrissy_]

I am sorry very sorry for the loss of your baby girl Edith. Sending you prayers for comfort.

[lisaly]

I understand how much it hurts to lose one loved so dearly, and I'm deeply sorry for your loss. Edith was a beautiful little girl. When I lost my last little girl, Ashley, very close to her seventeenth birthday, I found this passage helped me. Ashley had dementia, but she still was fairly active and walking a couple of miles a day. She passed away at home, in my arms. I hope this passage helps you, too.

Living Love

The first is a day, blessed with happiness, when you bring home your young new friend. You may have spent weeks deciding on a breed. You may have asked numerous opinions of many vets, or done long research in finding a breeder. Or, perhaps in a fleeting moment, you may have just chosen that silly looking mutt in a shelter--simply because something in its eyes reached your heart. But when you bring that chosen pet home, and watch it explore, and claim its special place in your hall or front room--and when you feel it brush against you for the first time--it instills a feeling of pure love you will carry with you through the many years to come.

The second day will occur eight or nine or ten years later. It will be a day like any other. Routine and unexceptional. But, for a surprising instant, you will look at your long-time friend and see age where you once saw youth. You will see slow deliberate steps where you once saw energy. And you will see sleep where you once saw activity. So you will begin to adjust your friend's diet--and you may add a pill or two to her food. And you may feel a growing fear deep within yourself, which bodes of a coming emptiness. And you will feel this uneasy feeling, on and off, until the third day finally arrives.

And on this day--if your friend and God have not decided for you, then you will be faced with making a decision of your own--on behalf of your lifelong friend, and with the guidance of your own deepest Spirit. But whichever way your friend eventually leaves you---you will feel as alone as a single star in the dark night. If you are wise, you will let the tears flow as freely and as often as they must. And if you are typical, you will find that not many in your circle of family or friends will be able to understand your grief, or comfort you. But if you are true to the love of the pet you cherished through the many joy-filled years, you may find that a soul--a bit smaller in size than your own---seems to walk with you, at times, during the lonely days to come. And at moments when you least expect anything out of the ordinary to happen, you may feel something brush against your leg--very very lightly. And looking down at the place where your dear, perhaps dearest, friend used to lay---you will remember those three significant days. The memory will most likely be painful, and leave an ache in your heart---As time passes the ache will come and go as it has a life of its own. You will both reject it and embrace it, and it may confuse you. If you reject it, it will depress you. If you embrace it, it will deepen you. Either way, it will still be an ache.

But there will be, I assure you, a fourth day when---along with the memory of your pet---and piercing through the heaviness in your heart---there will come a realization that belongs only to you. It will be as unique and strong as our relationship with each animal we have loved, and lost. This realization takes the form of a Living Love---like the heavenly scent of a rose that remains after the petals have wilted, this love will remain and grow--and be there for us to remember. It is a love we have earned. It is the legacy our pets leave us when they go. And it is a gift we may keep with us as long as we live. It is a love which is ours alone. And until we ourselves leave, perhaps to join our beloved pets--it is a love that we will always possess.

~ Written by Martin Scot Kosins ~
Author of "Maya's First Rose"

[4carolyn]

So sorry for your loss.

[Doodlebug]

I am so sorry.

[Dayswalters]

I'm very sorry to hear about your baby.

[alisonJ]

For Edie

Each human has a journey that must be walked alone,
Through wonder, joy, and sadness, and life’s lessons you must roam.
And then a gentle whisper as you stumble through the fog,
A message just so simple: “I’ll go with you,” says a dog.

The bedroom, kitchen, bathroom—no matter where you are.
Staring right up at you—she’s the gazer, you’re the star!
Each of you the center of the other’s little world.
And life cannot be better as your heart becomes unfurled.

She has no hidden motive, no agenda of her own.
But for the random squeaky toy and tasty marrow bone.
A bond so strong you wonder—Who’s the master? Who’s the pet?
Those wasted years without a dog are something you regret.

Time passes as you share your lives—the adventure and mundane.
And at some point you realize you’ll never be the same.
For you have learned a lesson that you never can forget:
You are a better person for having loved this pet.

The hearing fails and sight grows dim, but still, she knows you’re there.
She’s slower and she sleeps a lot. The walks become more rare.
And then one day she stumbles; before you know it she is gone.
And everything that was so right is now so very wrong.

Dogs’ lives are short. We know this. And never is it fair.
But give your heart to one and change forever if you dare.
You’ll find your way next time you find yourself out in that fog,
For you have known undying love—the joy that is a dog.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Edie was a precious, dear friend and my heart aches for the obvious pain you have gone through and still must face. One day I know the pain will begin to lessen as you heal, your heart will turn more and more to the sweet memories of Edie and I pray you find love again as you had for her.

[TxVicki]

I am so very sorry for your sudden loss of Edith. She was a beautiful girl.

[lisaly]

Your poem is very beautiful and moving. We lose a piece of our hearts when we lose our little ones, but a far greater loss would be not having their love in the first place.

[Dayswalters]

That's a beautiful poem.

[horsnaround]

So sorry for your loss

[yorkiemini]

So sorry to hear about the loss of your Edith. We never have them in our lives long enough it seems. Revel in your memories.

[alisonJ]

thank you for the kind words, everyone. I wanted to let YT know that she was gone. Edie and I were pretty active in this little community for a while. And I knew you all would be able to relate.

[Shelby&Seymour]

So sorry to hear. Rest in Peace little one.