I have just received a phone call from my mother. She has a springer spaniel... female...for 13 years now...her name is Tara. My mother lives alone, and what can I say...Tara lives for my visits. I adore her.

There have been countless times when I've walked Tara..we know each other well. I have often said to her 'it's me and you against the world girl', and even felt she understood.

I walked her , mainly at weekends, along the riverbank... ( my mum lives in the country alongside the River Trent) ... down through the village to Spinny Tap Farm. I'm recalling all our walks.

Tara helped me greatly, she was my friend. Through summer, rain , gales, I'd regularly turn up to walk Tara. There was an understanding...you know/ How a human and a dog just know each other. If I felt depressed she wouldn't leave my side.

She has been ill for two weeks. Being physically sick in my mother's house, which is so unlike her. Now she has failed greatly. Her eyes have apparently turned green. and she can't move..



My mother is taking her to the vets tomorrow afternoon...AGAIN..after they promised it was nothing serious.
She is 13 . I am going along too.

If I lose Tara . What will I do?

I love her greatly.

13 is a good age for a Spaniel Chrissy - I lost Timmy when he reached that age.

Losing a beloved pet is as bad as losing a relative and sometimes worse.

I felt terribly sad for friends in prison who left pets behind and knew they would never see them again. Prison Visits should be allowed for pets.

Thoughts are with you Chrissy and glad you could share your rough times with us.
There has never been that much writing about waiting for loss, it does seem to be very bottled up in the human makeup and much better let out as you have done here.
All I can say, is, think of all the good things that you can have as well as all the nice things you have experienced and treasure everybody and everything nice around you.
And, I send you my very best wishes at this time.

My condolences and sympathies to Chrissy, JK and everybody who have lost pets, family and friends this year.

November, and 2007 is turning out to be an unbelievably bad month and year for many. I was very sad to read here of Johnny Arthey's passing when I came here last night to catch up on all the happenings.

I've just returned from a fortnight at my Mums. I got there in time to see my Grandad enter the final days of his life. He was in terrible pain and barely conscious but as sad as it was to witness, I was pleased to be there for him. There was nothing any of us could do for him but to simply be there and ensure he was surrounded by the people who loved him. He passed away in the early morning of 12th November. We later paid a visit to see him in the funeral home and that was actually very comforting to see him at peace after so much suffering.

This Tuesday was his funeral. A beautiful poignant service. 2 hours after that following the family reception, we got phone calls informing us my Mums house was on fire. Completely gutted her living room, destroyed most of her personal things and worse, the smoke fumes killed her beloved dog. Very cruel timing. My Mum totally flipped and broke down - she was real close to her Father (as I was to him as my Grandfather) - and her pets always mean the world to her. To lose the dog just 2 hours after sending her Dad off... horrible.

I had taken my cat along with me... always do because our pets are all part of the family. He managed to escape and is safe and well with me. When a pet goes it is identical to losing a dearly loved one. I think its fair to say that many of us experience grief for the first time in life through the death of a pet. So, I can and do feel your pain Chrissy.

I'm still reeling from the shock. My Mums being cared for by her boyfriend whilst I am back at home to deal with the after effects of this horror on my own.Its fair to say that Christmas has become completely irrelevent this year for my family... but then again the last few years we have stopped "celebrating" Christmas altogether - we don't exchange cards or gifts - but we do all get together and spend Christmas Day together and this year, 2 dear members are going to be absent in body, but will be with us in spirit and in our hearts.

It is a particularly horrible thing to go through and I know people that say it is actually worse than losing a close relative so I feel for your predicament. Our dog has the early stages of untreatable cancer. He is fine at the moment, but one day he will show signs and that is a horrible thought. I have found that we came to terms with the worry that he might have had something wrong with him back in May, and then we had to come to terms with the news that he did actually have something wrong with him. It is the next stage we will have to come to prepare ourselves to come to terms with.

The only consolation is that it is generally known that dogs have no concept of death and dying like humans do. It's the owners that have to deal with the loss.

Thanks to everyone. Will keep you posted.

Nothing is impossible Chrissy,our thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of deep sadness.

Sorry to hear that news, Chrissy.

Sometimes, you know, our ability to cope with the fear of loss can be worse than the innate strength we draw on to defend ourselves from the effects of bereavement.

Like everyone else who has posted I greatly emphasize
with your predicament. Losing a pet is like losing a member of the family...a best friend, never replaceable, and truly one of a kind.
Unfortunately for us, dogs never live as long as we
do, so we are forced every decade or so to make the decision if we can go through the pain and sadness of
starting again. I've found for me that the option is obvious, I cannot live without a dog...and although I
still mourn each one and remember their individuality
I have always gone out (usually a few weeks later) and
adopted a new animal to love.
For me the last one was the hardest, not only was she
my dog she belonged to my parents, so when she passed
it was like losing them all over again. I wish I could
tell you this is an easy process. But you and your
mother need to talk about this and decide if another
dog makes sense. You seem to have much love to give
I hope if she doesn't make it you make the decision
to give this love to another sweet and loving recipient.
When you're ready, of course.
In the meantime, I pray that this beloved friend
makes it through.

Again, thanks to all...very moved by all the messages. Arrived at the vet's yesterday evening with mum, which was an horrendous experience, as the traffice was chaos, and the vets surgery was pandemonium. Tara was to say the least extremely anxious and unnerved.

The vet we saw, bluntly told us that it didn't look good for Tara. Her lymphoid glands are up, which may be sign of two things, a temporary infection,unlikely due to her age, or maybe a sign of something more serious. Something to do with her lymph nodes? She said there was a chance it could be the start of lymphoma. Thankfully no restraint at all from the vet, which we were thankful for. As with people, you dont want cushioning from the reality.

She had three injections and 7 days worth of pills. We have to take her back in next Friday. But it would seem that maybe further tests may have to be carried out. Thankfully last night Tara picked up a little after her trauma at the vets, enough to follow me about my mother's place and play with her squeaky tiger. I couldn't resist but allow her to sleep on my bed.

The support here has been overwhelming, and I can't thank JK and all the members enough.

We all know how you feel Chrissy - check out the picture of my Spaniel Timmy in the photo section - he was a birthday present as a tiny puppy when I was 14.
I still dream about him.

Thanks so much JK.

Eventually found the photo of Timmy, in that wonderful photo of you, your mum and your brothers in the 1960s.

I am sure you can remember what a geat dog he was, as spaniels are the best dogs in the world. Hugely intelligent, gentle, but Tara knew how to stalk and sometimes kill our feathered friends and was quite ruthless in that department. She often terrorised the ducks and their offspring along the riverbank. A terrific breed, horribly underrated by those whom have never owned one.