A dog's greatest strength

[Pacu]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I've had dogs since i can remember. Always sad when one leaves.


"A person who has never owned a dog has missed a wonderful part of life."

Bob Barker

[theonew]

Dogs don't live long enough

Sorry for your loss.

[82brutus]

Sorry for your loss Grant.   I've had dogs most of my life and I've had to travel this road too many times.  It's a heart breaker every time. 

Here's a toast to a good and faithful dog.



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[MultiMat]

Ahhh hell Def that is terrible news mate  .
14 years is quite the partnership mate  .
Glass raised to you & your good buddy.

[Whoey]

Terrible news. I can attest that Chinook was a great dog, one I sometimes wished I had the joy of owning (and I'm not really much of a dog person) He'll be missed by all. Our hearts go out to you and Kim at what must be an impossibly hard time.

[prime77]

I'm really sorry to hear this Grant. My wife and I send our thoughts your way.

[mvyrmnd]

Bloody hell, when it rains it pours. My Mother-in-law's dog got put down today. She was a scraggy little Maltese that was inherited from the RSPCA, had been neglected and beaten... she was so ugly she was kinda cute.

[Logrus9]

I'm very sorry for you and your family. Pets become such a big part of our lives that losing them is truly devastating.

[Lynn LeFey]

I never feel like there's the right thing to say when someone has lost someone they love. I'm generally cold and cynical, but I have a huge soft spot for dogs. So, if you're not crying about this, I'll do some of it for you.

 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'm pretty numb right now, but I have been crying pretty much since we got to the vet's office yesterday.

Def

[nuphoria]

I'm pretty numb right now, but I have been crying pretty much since we got to the vet's office yesterday.

Def

I'd be worried if you weren't. It's part of a really painful process which some people don't get.

We're all thinking of you and sending our love Boss.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Thanks Chrissy.

Chinook has been a part of my life longer than any other animal, and a longer than most people. 

Def

[Mercury]

I'm pretty numb right now, but I have been crying pretty much since we got to the vet's office yesterday.

Def

It's hard to stop.  I choked up just reading about it.  You gave Chinook an awesome home, and he lived a good long Dog's life with no suffering.  He had love and table scraps, and another puppy pal to play with.  All of that combined is the best gift you ever could have given him.

[chip]

Sorry, I have just seen this thread.

Really sorry for your loss, I lost my buddy of seventeen years in February. And although he has a successor I still miss him everyday.

You have my best wishes.
The pain slowly subsides but your love will always remain.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Thanks guys- this is not the first dog I've lost over the years, but he was with me the longest.  My previous dog Pete died six years ago in May, and I actually adopted Chinook thirteen years ago- also in May. 

Daisy is still here and is somewhat confused- she keeps looking for him.  They didn't play much together as he never really cared for her, she being the young upstart in his world, but he was a fixture in her life.  When we had them at the dog park Daisy would run around playing with other dogs, then stop, look around, find me, find Chinook, sometimes try to find my wife, then go back to playing.

The house seems so empty without him.

Def

[sawman]

I'm just now reading this thread.  I'm very sorry for your loss.  I've been thru similar several times and it never gets any easier.  I know it's most difficult in the beginning but keep their memory alive and even though it's painful, look at photos and keepsakes and think about them often as if they're still with you.  Take'r easy Boss, and I'm raising a glass over here in toast of a great K9 

[Black Rose]

Have been away for a bit and just reading this now.

So sorry to hear about this Grant. 

We lost one of our cats 10 years ago and every time I read a thread like this, the feelings come flooding back.

Animals give so much unconditional love and you wish they would be around forever, but sadly that's not the case.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Thanks guys- it's been a week now and for the last few days I have been too busy at work to think about much else, which I suppose is a bit of a blessing.

He was a stray in Toronto when I got him, wild and full of piss and vinegar, with an independant streak a mile wide as many huskies have.  He was perhaps the most beautiful dog I've ever seen, and just about everyone who saw him was instantly in love with him.  How could you not- he was big, fluffy and always had that big husky smile on his face, and if you weren't paying enough attention to him he started wooing, which is kind of a half assed howl and that made you laugh and you couldn't help yourself but get down on the ground and dig your fingers and face into this super thick and soft fur.

Not mine, but you get the idea:


Kids loved him too for the same reason- he was a giant stuffed animal come to life and he would lick any face that came near his.  I think he liked really young kids because they were always covered in crumbs, but often their parents would yank them away because they thought he was a wolf!  In fact, because he was so wolf like I often called him my house wolf!

I miss him.  He knew he was loved, and he knew he could bend people to his will and get them to do whatever he wanted just by looking adorable and wooing at them, and he was even smart enough to outsmart my other dog Daisy, who surprises me every day with how intelligent she is.  I'm sure any day now I'm going to come home and she'll be reading the Wall Street Journal online.... but you know what they say about old age and treachery!

One day Daisy was happily laying in her bed chewing on a rawhide bone and Chinook decided he wanted it.  He's a tough old guy but Daisy is a fraction of his age and twice his size so he couldn't take it by force, so he went to the door and started wooing to go out.  I got up to take him out, Daisy saw me going to the door and ran to the doort to go out too.  I open the door and she bursts out into the yard while Chinook turns around, goes to her bed, lays down and starts chewing on her bone.  When Daisy came back in she ran back to her bed, saw Chinook there eating her bone and her face just dropped!  It was funny as anything!

Of course she knew her place too- she may be bigger, younger and stronger, and she would win if they ever got into it seriously, but she knows he'd put up a hell of a fight and she wouldn't be in any shape to enjoy the victory, so she just laid down in the middle of the floor and stared at him, waiting until he got bored with the bone and moved on.

She still looks for him.  Not as much as she did at first, but you still see her looking around from time to time.  I started feeding her out of his bowl to help her get the message that he's gone and she's the big dog now, and I think she's figured it out, but like the rest of us she's not happy about it.

Def

[nuphoria]

Well, that made me laugh and cry.... you bugger!

I've always loved those handsome wolves too and would have one if I lived somewhere which suited it. They are just beautiful looking creatures and you can't help but fall in love with them

[Whoey]

It's probably weird but after a week this is still pretty present in my mind. Especially since we both seem to be too busy to catch up.

I guess I also haven't really had time to process, but it's been a very emotional week.

We will truly miss him next time we visit. Maria speaks fondly of him often, and she's not much of a dog person either.

Hang in there buddy,

[ducttapetech]

Oh smurf! That smurfing sucks Grant. I am so sorry for your lose. A dog is the best friend one can have. They are always at your side, no matter what is going on. They are loyal to a fault. A dog can make your darkest day a little brighter. If there is a god, I bet he has a dog.
Again, sorry for your lose.
 

[jerseydevil]

If there is a god, I bet he has a dog.

Saw this today, made me laugh.....

[Mercury]

Hearing you talk(rather, seeing what you've typed  ) about him just shows how much you cared about him.  Dogs do this to people(good people), and I think it's beautiful.  My Uncle is a huge dog person, he has two huskies now, having lost three dogs since I was a kid.  I was crushed when they went, not as much as I was with my dogs but still.  My uncle took forever to recover from all three losses he has had, and we both helped one another through all of them. 

It sounds like you are going through the phases my friend.  Keep strong.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Thanks... I've been doing better, more or less adjusted to life without him.  The sad truth is that over the last few years he really didn't do much other than snooze, howl for food, water or to go out, and mooch for food.  But at his age he'd earned the right to do whatever the hell he wanted, so that was fine with me.

The other things he did, like go to the beack or the dog park we still do with Daisy, so while I don't miss those activities, I miss having him there for them.

Yesterday was my first time out at the job site I had to miss last week when I was at the vet with him and I wasn't prepared for the people I encounter there to come up to me out of the blue and give me a hug.  I just about broke down at work each time, despite my usually impenetrable game face.

I can't remember if I mentioned it earlier or not and I am just getting ready for work so I don't have time to read back through this, but we gave my mechanic (or rather his 11 year old husky) Chinook's bed since he didn't need it any more, and Daisy is too big for it.  When I picked up the Jeep last night (finally got the frame welded) he was saying that she loved the bed and has been sleeping in it all the time.  I was so happy to hear that she took to it so quickly, especially since she has dug a nice mudhole in her pen to sleep in to keep cool, but now she doesn't lay there getting dirty because the bed keeps her cool.

BTW, when Whoey says he's not a dog person, he's absolutely right- ordinarily I don't associate with people who aren't dog people, () but you could tell they both really liked Chinook too.  I don't think I've ever seen non-dog people pay as much attention to a dog as they did to Chinook.  That just gives you an idea of how great he was!

Def

[Mercury]

It's kinda weird how even well intentioned attention can make you break down, sometimes more than you think.  A simple hug with no words can have you crying for awhile. 

During my recent hospital hell with my daughter, every one of my friends who called me made me break down, and they weren't trying to.  Just one of those things that happens.

[Grant Lamontagne]

He's home again, safe and sound.  I know this is dumb but I feel slightly better knowing he's here. I still miss him terribly, and I doubt that will ever change.

Def

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[Steinar]

Good thing he's home again.

Ignore (and hopefully forgive) me if this comes across as insensitive, but do you think you will get another buddy for Daisy in the future?

[Grant Lamontagne]

Eventually, probably. My wife almost brought one home last week.  I think that with all the dogs nearby for Daisy to play with we don't need another one, but my wife doesn't feel the same way.

Def

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[Steinar]

Lots of good dogs out there who need a safe place to sleep and a good pack, so you would be doing that dog a favor, at least.

I love dogs, but can't have dogs myself (my wife is allergic, we live in an apartment, our jobs involve irregular work hours... I could go on), so I always think everybody else should have as many dogs as possible. A dog lover's version of general Sternwood and alcohol in The Big Sleep. 

I would love to work in an office environment where dogs were allowed to roam.

Sorry, I'm rambling. This has been a long week at work.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Daisy has come to work with me a few times. Dogs are welcome in my small office. If I had a second dog they'd both have to stay home.

I agree about having as many dogs as possible, and some day when I have space I'll have a good sized pack. Until then I have to impose limits on myself. Plus I'm just not ready right now.

Def

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