i lost my best bud last night.

[davidg]

lost my best companion last night. I let Hooch and Beau out for their nightly run around the back yard after they ate. about 10 minutes later, WAY sooner than normal, Beau comes up to the back door. Usually Hooch was the one to come up wanting in and i would have to force Beau to come back in the house. i looked out back and could not find Hooch anywhere, so i figured he must have got out and in the front yard. This has never been a big deal, he would not go near the street unless he was on a leash. sure, he would head that direction, but never get closer than 20 feet to it.

We called my mom to come stay at the house with our daughter while we were gone since she was already asleep. For more than 2 hours my wife and i looked all over for him to no avail. I figured he was in the horse pasture and had been kicked and was hurt and hiding. Although he was a very brave dog when it came to protecting us, if something scared him he would always go hide, so i figured maybe he had just been kicked again. Last time the horse kicked him he hid in the corner of the pasture until i found him.

Anyway it was too dark to really be able to see so i told my wife we were going to just have to wait until this morning to find him. My mom offered to drive me down the road the other way just to make sure he was not down there. we drove down to the end of the road and then back towards the house. I found him laying there about 150 yards from the house. he must have been standing right at the edge of the road sniffing something. i figure he did not hear the car until it was right up on him, and it startled him. he then spun around and right into the path of the car. At least it was instantaneous.

Hooch's favorite thing in the world to do was to play catch. I got home early from work yesterday and was unloading some stuff in my shop. he walks in and tossed the ball down on the floor trying to get me to play. He did this a couple times before i told no i did not have time. If i had known it would be my last chance to play with him, i would have thrown that ball until we both passed out from exhaustion.

I have no one to keep my feet warm in the bed now. I will miss having your 85 pounds curl up in the recliner with me. I will miss you cleaning my fingers after i eat cheetos. I will miss having to step over you to get in the shower because you always wanted to keep the water off me. I will miss you being the lifeguard of the pool, no one could swim for you pulling us back to safety. I will miss the way you would lay there and act as a pillow to get Hailey to sleep.

The hardest part was explaining why Hooch was gone to a 3 year old. I let her give him a goodbye kiss before i buried him, but she just wanted to hold him. My 16 year old son took it the worst, when he is at our house they were inseperable.

Good bye old friend, you will be missed very much.

[Edward]

Thats sad. dont know what else to say...

[wanna_be_farmer]

Sorry for your loss. Your living one of my worst fears, we have a 70 lb foot warmer 3 year old grandtwins who love her and a 15 yr old. I get a rock the size of Saturn in my stomach whenever she gets loose.

Please don't be too hard about playing catch. We all pass up oppurtunities every day. One way or another.

[mbkerk]

Very sorry to hear this David.

Whenever someone posts a thread like this, I point them here...

Rainbow Bridge (http://www.petloss.com/poems/maingrp/rainbowb.htm)

I have found comfort reading that verse, and have buried copies of it with pets I have lost. I hope you find some comfort in it as well.

[simple_john]

sorry to hear about your pup david...


Missing your last chance to play catch is even more sad... its not your fault though... you never know when the time comes... im sure you played more than enough catch with him to make him ever happy...

very sorry for your loss...

[Steve (Magnolia, TX)]

Very well written.

It's hard to loose a pet. I still miss Jake... and he's been gone 4 years, this Thanksgiving.

[lt230s]

Sorry for your loss. Be conmforted with the fact that he is playing catch with the Lord.

[davidg]

he was the bes tdog you could ask for. in the 6.5 years he owned us, he never once acted like other labs. he never went thru a chewing stage. we could give him a stuffed animal and it would never tear up. he would tote it around in his mouth, but not chew on it. if it had a squeaky, he would chew until the sqeaky would bust, then quit. he had this stuffed duck from the time we got him until last year when we got Beau and Beau chewed it up. i really wish i could have buried it with him. every time my mom would come over, he would run aroudn the house to find it, then grab that duck and go up to her and give it to her.

the weird thing is tha tno one ever comes to our house after dark. last night, my mom came by to drop off soem stuff, and my wife's young cousin came by to visit for a minute. other than my son who was at his mom's, Hooch got to see all teh people he loved the most on his last night with us.

[Jim_WV]

I'm so sorry to hear this David, likewise, I don't know what to say, but I listen and understand, all we can do is cherish the time and the moments we had.

[Barbosa]

Thats a shame. Very sorry for your loss.

[mark777]

So Sorry for your loss. It's never enough to send condolences...but honestly We have been where you are now. I have two golden retrievers now, twin sisters who are 10 years old and we've had them since 8 weeks...

I fear for them every time they don't immediately respond to my call. But they always show up. May your friend rest in peace.

Mark

[davidg]

we got Hooch when we firs tmoved to a house from living in apartments. the next day we got his brother. at about 3 months of age, his brother got parvo and died, Hooch never even got sick, even though they were kenneled together. He has always been a very lucky and smart dog. my wife is taking this extremely hard. when we lost Buddy a couple years ago, she swore that she would not be able to handle losing Hooch, and she almost cannot.

thanks to all of you for your support, you can never know what it means to me.

[gravely_hillbilly]

David my heart goes out to you, i lost my best friend earlier this year and he was heading into his 8th year. this forum was great in helping me get over the guilt i had in not getting heartworm shots for him. the poem MBKERK posted i have in my wallet to this day and look at it weekly.when the picture of Hoss shows up on the top of the page here from time to time,i still get misty eyed and imagine i will for a long time.sounds like he was in dog heaven here on earth sharing a bed etc,so you did well my friend. lots of dogs never get off a chain.Bless you in this time of sorrow.

[dumaspup]

Sorry to hear about Hooch

[Rodster]

I am sorry to hear of your loss.
Rod

[illinilefttackle]

Sorry to hear of your loss- we lost our dog "sierra" a few days ago-she was best bud to us all-especially my grandsons- I firmly believe the LORD calls us- pets too- home when he needs us. Hooch is in a good place-as is our Sierra.
But all these words do not stop the hurt- you have wonderful memories-Hooch is never really gone as long as you think of him regularly-You have our prayers-AL

[Rodney in VA]

davidg:

I'm sorry for the loss of your good friend. I'm sure he will always have a place in your heart. Having a pet can be very painful but we must cherish what they give to us and what we give to them. It is the cycle of life.

[Dad0850]

So sorry to hear of your loss, David. I know what you are going through. We lost our best friend of 13 years over year ago and we are still, on occasion, calling our new best friend the wrong name. All the advice I can give is to remember and talk about the good times. Grieving is a necessary part of the process. We put together a little memorial collage of pics of our dog. It seemed to help a little. May the lord comfort you and your family.

[JMC]

Sorry for your loss. Dogs tend to become one with you. It's tough on everybody, especially the kids. I still have not had the courage to get another after losing mine to old age 20 years ago.

[Team_Green]

David sorry to hear of your loss.. Hooch is just resting so he can play ball with you when you meet again. God Bless you and your family in this time.
Gerald

[HydroHarold]

I'm a cat guy but it really doesn't matter what kind of animal you have and lose... They take such a special place in our hearts it truly becomes a painful loss and emptyness. I have my cat Marmalade as my desktop photo... All pets are a special gift to mankind.

[davidg]

thanks guys, your comments help a lot.

it is better this morning, though it was hard to watch my 3 year old go stand by his grave and talk to him to tell him bye before school. that was the first thing she did when she woke, and the last thing she did before she left for school each morning, "give Hooch and Beau bye sugars and a hugs."

[munderhill]

Your last post was very touching.
Very sorry for your loss.

MU

[davidg]

my wife sen tme this in an email a while back. jsut ran across it again it really struck home.


For all of us who have had dogs, known dogs, and said goodbye to a dog:
**The Purpose of a Dog **

** ****from a 4 yr. old**** **


Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle.
I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year old Shane to observe the procedure.
They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.
Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.

Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life
- - like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?"

The four- year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

[simple_john]

http://www.mytractorforum.com/gallery/files/8/0/7/DCP007541.JPG

RIP Hooch