Post your remembrances of pets who are gone.

[Bertha Venation]

It's going to be a sad day here. I'd like to read happy memories.

[AirmensMom]

1. Sundance, our Golden Retriever,

LOVED to share his dinner with Satchmo. Those boys were bosom buddies. :loveya:

[driver8]

24. What a sweet photo...

Goldens are so awesome -- he looks like a real sweetheart.

[AirmensMom]

31. He was.

I totally miss him. Satchmo's still with us. That pic was taken in 1998. Sundance was 10 then.

The only time he wasn't a sweetheart was once when I was walking him on his leash and a man came from the other direction. We walked on that sidewalk all the time and he happily greeted strangers day after day. But something about that man made him growl a very low growl and bare his teeth. The man saw and heard him and then crossed the road. I have no idea what Sundance was sensing, but it must have been something bad for him to behave like that. :shrug:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

36. Golden Retrievers are really one of the nicest breeds of dogs.

They typically are just very well tempered and loving.

[Droopy]

2. Binky, our 5 pound silky terrier, once attacked a black lab

Binky lost, but the lab took it easy on him. He just picked him up in his mouth and flung him aside, uninjured. Binky always thought he was a much larger dog. :)

[TZ]

3. My sweet Turtle

The only cat I ever met who NEVER EVER scractched or bit me. Everybody loved her...when she had to have an ultrasound she thought it was a belly rub and just lay there relaxed..even if I wasn't around....

[malta blue]

4. My beloved Luna

I still remember how she used to run down the hill when we got to the park... Her back legs could not keep up and many times she ended up rolling down the hill, smiling, excited to see her puppy friends ..

[wartrace]

13. Luna reminded me of my old guy "Buddy".

Buddy is on the left in this picture, his pup "Moe" is on the right. I remember pictures you posted in the past, she looked like such a sweet old girl.

[Earth_First]

5. Rosie, my Golden

Rest in Peace, sweetheart.

[lizziegrace]

6. My sheltie Adam

Was Lelapin's protector. He would go in and lay by her bed after I got up in the morning. I'd go in and tell him he could go outside and he would look at Lelapin, look at me, sigh, and lay his head back down. He wouldn't leave her until she woke up.

Lelapin had a game when she was younger called Grabbin' Grasshoppers. These wire grasshoppers were stuck to a game board with suction cups and after a minute or two, they'd start popping off. Adam would catch them in mid-air when they jumped, then he'd get so excited he just yank them off the board, do a victory lap and drop it. :)

[hobbit709]

7. Ours who have crossed over the bridge

Bebop-Sweetest dog ever

BB The Moose- my bestest buddy

Hank-he loved to steal chicken, fried or roasted

Boo-The Queen of the household

They were all unique and special in their own way.

[Mad_Dem_X]

8. My rabbit, Paulie

He was a Dwarf Rabbit, white with pretty blue eyes. He was my little buddy for nearly 11 years. He loved when I wore white socks; he's chase me around the room, following my feet in the socks. We'd play a game called Pyramid - I'd lie down, he'd jump on my back, and then I'd get up on all fours. I had a fuzzy pink bathrobe that I referred to as his "girlfriend," because if I held him against the robe, he'd get a little too friendly with it. LOL

He also made all kinds of noise, as if he were speaking. Sometimes he'd get quite loud. I had to have him put to sleep in March of 2001. I had him cremated and threw his ashes on the bushes in the front yard, because that's where he'd always try to go when I had him outside. I had a little memorial service for him and everything. My sister and I both wrote poems in his memory.

I've had two rabbits since then, but I still think of my Little Blue Eyes often.

[nuxvomica]

9. Andy

We had gotten him from a family that raised horses and purebred Shelties. He was a standard tri-color and the runningest, barkingest dog I've ever known. He loved to chase around the house or the yard but nirvana for him was to run around the campus of a nearby elementary school.
One time we were chasing each other around the house and he slid on a slick magazine on the floor and hurt his right front leg. He gave a big shriek when it happened and sat there holding up the injured leg. I, of course, treated him like a baby and comforted him profusely. By the time we got to the vet, he was walking on it but we refrained from chasing for several hours. Every time after that, when he got into mischief, he would sit there with that same woeful expression that only Shelties can conjure and hold up his right front leg, as though it were injured again, to avoid being chastised. One day he had knocked over the trash can and when I discovered it, he assumed the injured position except he was lifting the left front leg now. I laughed and told him he was favoring the wrong leg. At that, he immediately switched to the right front leg.
He would literally bounce of the walls if I mentioned the word "school" because that was his favorite chasing venue. I remember our last weekend. My house had just been built and I took my family and Andy over for a tour. He walked into the house and pranced around happily in the big empty rooms. By this time I hadn't lived with my folks for years but I would often dogsit with Andy when they went away and I always came over on Sundays for the family dinner and some play time with Andy at the schoolyard. It was Easter Sunday and I arrived early. We spent the afternoon running around the schoolyard and were both exhausted by dinner time. He had had this habit of coughing after a lot of exertion. The vet hadn't found any cause for it and he was otherwise very healthy so we weren't too worried. The next morning, he was gone. An autopsy revealed he had had a hole in his heart. The vet said the coughing was probably his way of clearing fluid from his lungs and he probably would wake from sleep to cough at night but that last night he was so tired from our epic chasing that he didn't wake up to cough. I expected a wave of guilt to engulf me but it didn't because I knew Andy had had one of his best days ever.

[AwakeAtLast]

10. Daisy was the most gorgeous Calico

Bright colors all over her body. She was mostly my Mom's cat, but she would tolerate a 5 and 6 year old as best she could. She would let you pet her until she couldn't stand it any longer - she would bite the tip of your nose. We called them "love bites". She got hit by our school bus and survived. She lived until after I went to college.

Cotton was a beautiful miniature American Eskimo dog. He was happiest when he was riding in my dad's truck going out to the pasture fields to count cattle and do a few chores. He tunneled through the snow forts we built in the Blizzard of '78. Great personality. My sister and I taught him to shake hands. His favorite treat was Twinkies! He got tangled up with a bigger dog who almost killed him. Our vet saved his life on a Sunday morning instead of going to church (which was what EVERYONE in town was supposed to do). He lived until I was 18. He was the best dog we've ever had.

Here's an animal-loving hug for you :hug:

[wartrace]

11. Angel.

I adopted Angel, her boyfriend Buddy & a pup from one of their previous litters. She was pregnant at the time and I ended up with three more pups. The home she & the other two had lived at burned down & they were headed to the pound if I didn't take them. The three dogs would come and visit with me while I was working on my house, they were so sweet I couldn't let them go to the pound. Angel was particularly sweet, she would jump up if you knelt down and put her paws on your shoulder and "hug" you. She also would jump up and punch you in the arm if she felt you weren't petting her enough. I miss her very much despite only having her live with me from 2003 until 2007 when she passed away from kidney failure.

She is the white spitz in the above picture, her boyfriend Buddy is to the left and two of the pups are below. The pup on the lower left (Larry) is so much like his momma it isn't funny. Those two pups bring back the memory of Angel often. I didn't name her but the name was appropriate.

[auntAgonist]

12. my beautiful Tarn

only 6.5 years old when we lost him. He loved to play with the cats even when they tormented him.

[fizzgig]

14. i've been blessed with so many good kitties in my life.

marley, a gray longhair, came to us in 1994. he was one of a number of cats abandoned when the people across the street split in the middle of the night. we always had food on the back porch and he started hanging around, although it was months before he'd come into the house and probably more than a year before he'd go further than the kitchen. he was with is for about seven years before we had to put him down and, by the end, he was one of the sweetest, most loving animals. you still had to be quiet and move slowly around him, but i would sit on the kitchen floor and he would climb into my lap and take a nap. he got feline leukemia and we had to put him down on 9/11. one of the few times i've ever seen my dad tear up was when we buried marley.

he was living proof that love can bring someone back to life. i miss him a lot and still catch glimpses of him out of the corner of my eye when i'm at dad's.

then there was mercedes. she was an orange tabby and one of the most intelligent cats i've ever known. i can't remember when she came to us, but i think i was 10 or 11. she used to wake me up right before my alarm went off and would pester me until i got up and would be waiting for me at the top of the stairs when i got home from school everyday. she was such a hunter and once brought me a live baby bunny. she just strolled up to me and dropped it in my lap, completely unharmed. she was the only cat we ever lost to a car.

bokti was a black longhair who showed up as a kitten when i was a baby. he got his name because i couldn't say 'black kitty' and said 'bok kitty' instead. he was such a sweet guy and so patient with me when i dressed him in my doll clothes :rofl:

i'm sorry you're hurting today, bertha :hug:

[seemunkee]

15. My first hedgies

Snorkles, the dark one, was a pet store purchase. He was huffy and spikey never calmed down.
Mollee, the light one, was the sweetest thing ever. I had her shipped from a breeder and picked her up at the cargo terminal at BWI. The first thing she did was poop on the counter at the terminal. I took her to the first hedgehog show on the east coast and she one a ribbon for sweetest disposition.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. We had a Dalmation for many years...

She was my third daughter! She always waited by the door for me when I went out, and when I'd get home, we did this:

I would sit on the floor, and she would run around me and lick my face, and rub on me in her joy!

I would pat her and hold her and just generally laugh at her exuberant love...

Ah, I miss her...

Hugs for you, my dear Bertha...Remember your happy times too, OK? :hug:

[Flaxbee]

17. Tom the Cat, left us February 16 of this year

He was (is) the kitty love of my life. What else can I say? I miss him so much I can hardly stand it. I break into tears at the oddest moments, when something reminds me of him, or I think I've seen him out of the corner of my eye. I have six other wonderful cats, but Tommy and I had a special bond.

He was incredibly affectionate, and was just *mine*, somehow. He loved my husband, who adopted him when Tommy wandered in off the street one day, but Tommy and I had some sort of innate understanding. Every night when I'd shut down the computer, he'd get up (having been asleep near me somewhere) and wander into the bedroom, up onto the bed between my pillows and my husband's. He'd snuggle there, waiting for me to brush my teeth, grab my book, and settle in. He preferred to sleep downstairs at night in his own bed, where he could wander and goof off with the other kitties, but we'd always have an hour or so of reading time together. He'd be right next to me, often reach out an put a paw or arm over my arm, and we'd read.

He was the alpha male of the house, even when he was at his weakest, and down to about 6 lbs. He had authority, some special air about him that really made everyone - cat or human - pay attention. Our huge 20 lb tuxedo male is lost without Tommy; Ivan isn't quite sure how to take the reins of the household. Ivan was happy being beta male, now he doesn't know what to do.

Once when we were living in the woods, where we were surrounded by deer (esp. during hunting season - our side of the mountain was off-limits to hunters) my husband and I looked out the window to see Tommy sitting ON THE BACK of a small doe. It was incredible, and I'm kicking myself to this day that we didn't have a camera handy.


I'm sorry you're so sad today, bertha, but damn if I don't know how you and Mrs.V are feeling. You know from experience that the intense hurt does fade. And while I'm glad my Tommy isn't suffering anymore - because that last day, that Sunday, I know he didn't feel good - but I selfishly still really hurt. I'm happy he's pain free, but I'm so damn sad for my pitiful little self.

[mvd]

18. I'll post some good memories of my dog Reba

She was the most interesting mix of dog breeds - Golden Retriever mixed with Akita, Chow Chow, Shar-Pei, and Miniature Schnauzer. She game me almost 12 years of wonderful companionship. She loved people and wasn't crazy about other dogs. She was a face licker, and I enjoyed those - an acquired taste, I guess. She also loved belly scratches, and her fusses for cookies always brought a smile to my face - when she got older, she'd just lay there and bark until you got her a treat.

[Iggo]

19. Taco, German Shepherd/Siberian Husky mix.

I don't have a picture.

But Taco would run the neighborhood back when I was little. He'd be gone for sometimes like a day at a time. He'd come home beat up, but smiling.

A little later I noticed there were a lot of dogs that looked like my dog running the neighborhood. Taco, you dog!

R.I.P.

[cherish44]

20. Awww these tributes are making me cry

I've lost many animal family members throughout the years and I miss them all.


RIP Sophie (kitty) Fuzzy Wuzzy (kitty) Tigger (kitty) Callie (kitty) Peanut (my bestest kitty bud ever) Gracie (kitty) Puff (kitty) Elsie (Puff's identical daughter) Rufus (lovely mutt and champion pig biter) Rusty (my little cocker spaniel pal) Cinnamon (silly hamster and master escape artist)

[Bertha Venation]

22. RIP all

Bet they're playing with Princess at the Rainbow Bridge

[GCP]

21. Boots - our black and white cat

Brought in a live squirrel once and we were all screaming and running away from it just like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!
We managed to get the little guy out of the house finally, Boots never bothered bringing in anything else again!

[driver8]

23. Two of the greatest dogs in the world...

Burrito the Basset Hound -- he passed away two and a half weeks ago. He belonged to an ex-roommate, but I raised him when he was a pup -- He didn't have a mean bone in his body and loved everyone.




Cody -- he passed away almost four years ago. My wife and I got Cody before we were married:

[skygazer]

25. Dixie, the best friend I ever had

She and I communicated on a level I've never reached with anyone else, human or animal. Though I don't really believe in heaven, I kind of hope I'm wrong just because more than anyone, I want to see Dixie again.

[wartrace]

28. She'll be waiting for you on the other side.

Mine will be, I firmly believe that they will. It may not be heaven, it won't be hell. It may just be in my heart when I close my eyes for the last time they will join me? There are very few first hand reports from the other side of life to know for sure.

P.S.- Beautiful girl.

[Lavender Brown]

26. My sweet kitty.

We adopted her 20 years ago this month; she died last May.



These are the kittens she gave birth to in my dollhouse. They were adopted. I hope they had good lives, because if they were like their mom they must have been wonderful pets.

[distantearlywarning]

27. Little Kitty.

A long-haired tortie calico. I got her when she was only 4 weeks old, small enough to fit into the palm of my hand, and not big enough to get up on the bed without help. I remember that she refused to sleep anywhere but next to my face for the first 2 months of her life. She was taken away from mom cat a bit too early and I think she imprinted on me instead. She was entirely unaggressive, and even if you were doing something to her she didn't like (like clipping her claws), her typical response was to lick your hand gently with a pleading look. She never once scratched or bit me in the entire 8 years I had her. When she was feeling very sweet and happy, she would gently take my fingers in her teeth - giving little gentle love bites.

She was a very small, timid cat who was afraid of strangers and didn't warm up to anyone easily (even my husband, who also adored her and stalked little wild bunnies with her in the back yard), but she was utterly devoted to me. She was my constant shadow every day of her life. And I loved her more than any animal I've ever had before or since.

She was killed by a coyote 2 weeks before the Sept 11th tragedy. My heart broke into a thousand pieces the night she didn't come home, and the week it took my husband and I to find her remains was very very long. It was the worst year of my life (for a variety of reasons, including 9-11), and her death was the central point in my misery. Even now, 7 and a half years later writing this makes me tear up a little bit.

I really loved that cat. She was my feline soulmate. I hope with all my heart that she'll be waiting over the rainbow bridge for me when my time is up. :cry:

[Bertha Venation]

32. distant, I am so sorry you've lost your Little Kitty

I know it hurts. :hug:

We have two cats who were born on 9/11. What a thing to come home to that day: a new litter of kittens. Hard as it is, life goes on.

[annabanana]

29. My dear Hunny. . .the pooch of my youth:

(The Winny-Ther-Pooh spelling of honey)

[hibbing]

30. My Sweet Fergie

Hi,
Sorry for your loss anyone with pets knows how hard it is. My sweet Fergie, named after the Cubs pitcher Ferguson Jenkins used to like to enjoy a potato chip or popcorn. I would never her give her more than one chip or a couple pieces of popcorn, but I thought it was funny. Not as exciting as others, but it is something special I remember about her.

Peace

[Shell Beau]

33. My Hutch's year death anniversary is approaching.

I can't believe he has been gone a year. He was my bully dog. But he had such a huge heart. I miss him so much.



Playing with Hank



Chilling



Still a pup

[SacredCow]

34. My four-legged sister Fritzi....

A harlequin Great Dane that my parents bought not long after I was born:


We grew up together, and my fondest memory is those sunny winter days when she would seek out the sunshine streaming through one of the picture windows, and lay there for hours basking in the warmth. I would nap with her, using her as a living, breathing, gurgling, furry pillow....

[Tommy_Carcetti]

35. I had three great pets growing up.

My golden retriever--I got her from my mom's friend, who had picked up two of them from a divorced couple but had to give one of them away. So there was my dog and my dog's sister. So when I went to go choose one of them to bring home, I played catch with the both of them. My dog's sister would run out after the ball, snatch it up, and immediately bring it back to me and drop it by my feet and race back to get another throw. My dog would mosey on down to wherever I threw the ball, slowly reach down to pick it up, circle, and plop herself down. But because I loved the underdog (literally), I chose her over her more energetic sister. And I don't regret it. She was the nicest dog ever. Never snarled or snapped at anyone. Would rarely bark unless she needed to go out or in. Would always come by to lick my hand if I ever felt down. Just a sweet dog.

My black and white tuxedo cat--We first saw her running wild in my dad's garden out back. For months, she was shy and unapprochable, until we slowly got her to become somewhat more tame to the point where she could eat out of our hand. Then, one day to our surprise, we found her in our garage with three newborn kittens. Although we gave away the three kittens for adoption, she became much more domesticated from that point on. I remember having to console her after we gave her kittens away, and from that point on she really bonded especially with me. She would always run up to me whenever she saw me. I remember she loved eating potato chips, and I would just feed her chip after chip after chip when I was sitting on the bed watching TV. And amazingly, even though she was once a wild cat, she became so tame that she didn't even flinch when I clipped her nails.

My gray tabby cat--This cat used to belong to my Ukrainian grandmother, and she got her when she first ran into the house as a kitten and refused to leave. Of course, my grandmother would pamper her seriously, feed her three cans of food a day, so she became rather large, lazy and was somewhat grouchy. Until my grandmother broke her hip and came to live with us. She moved from my grandmother's house in the middle of the city to our house in the country, and seemed to take to it rather well. And I remember the first day she really bonded with me. I was up late watching Game 6 of the 1993 World Series and all of a sudden she popped up onto my lap and curled up. And we watched Joe Carter hit a home run to win the Series and I remember looking down at her and thinking "You just witnessed a great moment in baseball history and you don't even know it!" From that point on, she became a lot more affectionate and a lot sweeter. I remember after my grandmother passed away this cat being a part of her that lived on, so she became very special in that sense.