So it was a summer evening in August of 2009...

[Jag_Warrior]

I guess it was about 7:30 or close to 8PM, as it was just beginning to get dark. It was a pleasant evening, so I was walking around the yard. As I walked over near my car, I noticed this little black lump laying next to it... curled up. It was some sort of animal. Understand that I built my house in a remote area, near a mountain range. So I have had most everything from bears to coyotes to foxes to skunks and everything in between come up here at one time or another. To me, at dusk, this looked like a bear cub. I would never worry about a bear cub... but I know that if a big man is seen as a threat to a cub by even a small mama bear, always put your money on the small mama bear. I slowly got closer to it and saw that it wasn't a bear, it was a dog! A rather skinny Black Lab. She (found that out later) was just laying there, scared and pitiful looking. I didn't know if she was sick or maybe had rabies or what. But I got some water, set it down and then found a piece of pizza and left that by the water. She slowly got up and drank some water. Then she ate the pizza. Then she looked cautiously at me and waited to see what my next move was. I went inside and got my last slice of pizza and held it out for her. She took it from my hand. Then she looked at me with a kind of, "so, you're OK and won't hurt me, right?" look about her.

In the midst of the Great Recession - watching the value of my assets crash & burn (right along with most everybody else in the world), working for a company that was closely tied to GM and Chrysler (which had just declared Chapter 11 and looking like Chapter 7 liquidation), having recently lost my father (the most powerful force in my life) some time before that, dealing with an uncle/friend who was fighting a losing battle with cancer, around the time when I was being told by a doctor that I might have colon cancer (thanks for the death sentence there, Doc!), here was a dog... which refused to leave my side, no matter what. "You've had food and something to drink, now leave. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here!" Didn't budge. I needed a dog to take care of like I needed another hole in my head. The year before, my cat, who had been with me for 16 years, had died - and my dad and my dog the year before that. No more dogs! No more cats! No more things or people to get attached to! I tried to find out where she came from, so I could give her back (she was very friendly - must have been some family's pet). I tried giving her away to some new family, as I was looking at possibly selling out and moving away - or maybe dying. No go. No one was looking to add mouths to feed to their homes back then.

My home is one of the most isolated properties in this area - by design! I bought this land and built this house with the expressed purpose of being left alone when I wanted to be left alone. But somehow, this dog had found me. Way up here! Bypassing so many other homes and places to go. How??? Why??? Don't know, but from that day forward, she stuck to me like glue. And rather than me taking care of the dog, the dog seemed to lift my spirits and take care of me. Hell, how is a man supposed to stay focused on being depressed or worry about dying when there's a crazy, 100mph dog chasing a squirrel around the yard?! And anyone who knows Black Labs knows that their dial to 10 is set on 11 at all times. Goofy, funny, energetic, annoying... sweet, loyal and loveable. After I finally let her start coming in the house (I've never been a "dog in the house" kind of person), I found out that she had an incontinence issue. But we dealt with it: medicine and doggy diapers (yeah, they actually make those!).

Anyway, last night we had a small gathering to celebrate the New Year. My dog attended (of course) and she wished everyone a Happy New Year by laying the love on anyone and everyone in the room. Even people who didn't like dogs laying and rubbing on them liked her.

About 2 hours ago, after I had laid out some tenderloin cutlets so she could have a special New Year's dinner, she didn't come bouncing up the steps, as she normally did when there was good food in the air. I figured she was out patrolling the property, enjoying this pretty Fall-like day, and would be back soon enough. But as I was on the phone, walking around the deck, I saw her laying by the deck on the ground - at first I figured she was napping (she loved to "sunbathe" in the yard). But when I called her name, she didn't respond by wagging her tail as she ALWAYS did (even if asleep). As I stared at her, I noticed that she wasn't breathing. I dropped the phone as I jumped off the deck, but she was already dead. I suppose she'd had a heart attack. So she went quick and didn't suffer. I don't even know how old she was. She'd been with me for 4 years and change. And she was clearly not young when she showed up here. The vet guessed she was at least 10-12 years old by now... maybe more. But she said Labs are like puppies right up until the day they die. And she was right.

Over the years, human friends have come & gone. Jobs have come & gone. Money has come & gone. Dreams have come & gone. Girls have come & gone (usually after they figured out that describing me as a "good catch" to their friends just made me see them as gold-diggers). But dogs take you as you are. You can be broke as a church mouse or rich as a king... you treat them right and they'll treat you right. They don't come & go. Even when they're gone, they didn't (willingly) go.

What is this about? Why did I write this? I've been here for going on 14 years. Especially in the early days, we shared a lot about ourselves. I've met a small handful of the people who post (or posted) here. We've shared stories about births, deaths, weddings... pretty much the whole shooting match. We've seen members move on. We've seen members die. So oddly enough, even for those who don't know me as anything but an avatar or as prickly (long-winded ) guy who has an obsession with cars and racing, I was more prepared to say what I needed to say about my (true) friend here, rather than to someone who knows me in real life... but probably doesn't know me at all (because I generally don't share much about myself in real life with people).

On New Years Day, as we looked forward to a healthy, happy, prosperous new year, my pal left... I think, had to leave. I think she had one last lesson to teach me, then she had to move on. I had one of the best years financially in 2013 that I have had in a couple of decades. I expected 2014 to be even better. But I sensed that I might be reverting back to my old ways, forgetting what really matters and focusing too much on finances. I used to be very bad about that (you just couldn't imagine). Believe what you choose to believe. But I believe that my friend came to me with the purpose of lifting my spirits in a time of darkness and then help me to be at least a little bit better of a person. It took a stray dog to teach me how to be a better human - and hopefully I've made a tad bit of progress. And maybe she left just now, so that I would be sure to remember that it's not how much money you have and not how successful you are with real estate or stocks or anything else. What matters is whether or not you appreciate the people (whether they have 2 legs or 4 legs) who make your life better. What matters is whether or not you do right by the people (2 or 4 legs) who do right by you.

So I wish each and every one of you a healthy, happy and prosperous 2014. I might have forgotten to say that... but someone reminded me a couple of hours ago. Appreciate your friends. Appreciate your families. Do it now... it may be later than you realize.

[Firstgear]

Sorry to hear that Jag. You never know when the end is - definitely a good life lesson.
Hope the rest of your 2014 is better than the start, and that someone new (2 or 4 legs) wanders into your life to fill the void.

[Jag_Warrior]

Thank you. I very much appreciate that. I really do.

[Starter]

Dogs don't ask much. Some food, some water, the occasional scratch behind the ears ... and maybe a thrown ball or two. They give so much more.

Sorry for your loss.

[Bagwan]

A year ago , my family had four animals in the household .
Three black cats and a black dog .

First , we lost Brownie McGee , one of two sister black cats , at 15 years old . She laid down on the back porch , and never awoke again .
Then , our wee corgi/cocker spaniel cross , Zipper , who was a rescue from a broken home , and horribly neglected by former owners , but happy as a clam with us , didn't make it through the night halfway through the summer .
And , finally , Sonny Terry , Brownie's sister , at 16 , left us a few days before Christmas .

It was a rough year around here for our pets , and for us .

So , we're left with one animal , a very animated little black cat named Dizzy Gillespie .

Sonny awaits burial with her other two buddies along the side of the driveway at our new home that I'm building outside town , for a time when the ground is soft enough to dig .


All four of our four-legged friends had just shown up , out of the blue , like your friend , Jag .

I'm glad we still have one of them around to smother with affection .


You can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat their animal friends .

When the potential "gold-diggers" arrive , ask to meet their dog .
Being a "good catch" might actually mean you are a "good throw" , as in "able to toss a good stick" .

[D-Type]

You have my sympathies - I know what it's like to lose a four legged friend. In my first week at university, my mum wrote to say the spaniel we'd had for 9 years had died.

On the bright side, you have had four years of good companionship.

[airshifter]

As much as we people sometimes don't openly accept it until after the fact, dogs are part of our families. And they are missed in the same ways, for the interaction they had with us, and in many ways interaction more intense than humans due to the lack of verbal communication.

Sorry for your loss Jag. I can't imagine what is worse, finding a loved pet already gone, or having to do the right thing and take them to end the pain when that time comes. Having had to do only one of the two I can't imagine the other option being any better.

[AAReagles]

.... Over the years, human friends have come & gone. Jobs have come & gone. Money has come & gone. Dreams have come & gone. Girls have come & gone (usually after they figured out that describing me as a "good catch" to their friends just made me see them as gold-diggers). But dogs take you as you are. You can be broke as a church mouse or rich as a king... you treat them right and they'll treat you right. They don't come & go. Even when they're gone, they didn't (willingly) go.

What is this about? Why did I write this? I've been here for going on 14 years. Especially in the early days, we shared a lot about ourselves. I've met a small handful of the people who post (or posted) here. We've shared stories about births, deaths, weddings... pretty much the whole shooting match. We've seen members move on. We've seen members die. So oddly enough, even for those who don't know me as anything but an avatar or as prickly (long-winded ) guy who has an obsession with cars and racing, I was more prepared to say what I needed to say about my (true) friend here, rather than to someone who knows me in real life... but probably doesn't know me at all (because I generally don't share much about myself in real life with people).

.... It took a stray dog to teach me how to be a better human - and hopefully I've made a tad bit of progress. And maybe she left just now, so that I would be sure to remember that it's not how much money you have and not how successful you are with real estate or stocks or anything else. What matters is whether or not you appreciate the people (whether they have 2 legs or 4 legs) who make your life better. What matters is whether or not you do right by the people (2 or 4 legs) who do right by you.

... Appreciate your friends. Appreciate your families. Do it now... it may be later than you realize.[/url]

This was a damn good read. I might be overreacting since I don't read a lot of forums these days, to see what's being said/expressed, much less milling around on social sites too much only to find the customary exchanges of insults on some of them, but it has been a while since I read anything solid and well balanced with what matters: the simple stuff in life.

Unfortunately I can relate to most of what was said, economics, loss of family member, loss of others, and of course the characters (I call bottom feeders) that come and go in life, along with those who are strung-out-on-stupid and can't get with the program of letting go of obsessions of money, status or some personal retribution agenda.

This reminded me of what an old man I worked for as a kid told me once, when he noticed how I was gaining a desire to associate with the wrong folks in life and head down a not so productive path. Told me, "When you die, you can count how many friends you got in life and still have fingers left over." Thought he was off his rocker at the time on that one, as it turns out I was, for believing otherwise. Man was he right.

Yeah, critters been a supporting cast in life for me as well. Especially since they don't talk... asking for money or saying things they shouldn't.

Good thread man.

[Storm]

I am sorry to hear that, but you should cherish the time that she was with you as she definitely seems to have been a very positive thing for you.
Imagine that she came into your life even after you had decided on not having a dog or a cat again, so perhaps that cycle will continue and another one will be calling you family in the near future.

[Jag_Warrior]

I thank you all so much for your kind words. I took her to the pet mortuary yesterday. So in a way, today is the first day she hasn't been here. There is an odd sense of emptiness here.

My uncle, who was my closest (human) friend, died about six months ago. But upon his death I felt a sense of joy for him, because he no longer had to suffer from the cancer that had been slowly and cruelly killing him for years. I still miss him, but it was not a cliche when I said that he was (had to be) in a better place. I had to make the decision to discontinue my father's life support in 2007. I was devastated, but I knew what he wanted and how he wanted to live (and die), so I granted his final wish. About 5 months after that, I had to do the same thing for my Border Collie - a friend of ten years+. When there is suffering, although it's hard to say goodbye, somehow, it's easier to accept (for me anyway). I hope that someone will do the same for me if/when the time comes.

I don't know... I guess when you can see death coming or it ends suffering, it's easier to accept and deal with. My ability to rationalize is very weak right now. So I don't know. But I clearly made the right decision in maintaining my membership on this board. What was true years ago is still true today: there are good, humane people on this board... people who "get it". Though death is something that every one of us has or will have to deal with, it's not a subject that you want to discuss with everyone when you are feeling a bit off-center, as I am now. I can't see your faces, but I can see into your hearts. Thank you all so much.