Puppies, Veterans and Loss

 The question was asked ... If you only have male puppies what will you do? I think when Jane asked me a month or so ago I said, sell them all and mate her again a year down the line. After time and thought, when the question was asked again my reply was different. Honestly, I can not envisage me having a litter and not keeping a puppy, can you? The last thing I need is another male, but sensibly thinking, Loki is old and Ross is neutered, a young male would, if need be, fit in that pack! If that young male was outstanding and with good health tests, the line could carry on through him as easily as it could through his sister ... Of course my preference is for a female.

It's quite scary having three veteran dogs again. Sammi is the oldest, but as far as I can tell, she continues to be fitter and healthier than the two boys. Loki is still a walking miracle, but I'm not blinkered. Ross does get periods of stiffness, to be honest, when he was younger I didn't think we'd get this far without medication. He's still on glucosamine and chondroitin, and I think they serve him well. I've got that extra bit of weight off him and I think he's better for that. 

It was shocking to hear that a friend had suddenly lost her dog yesterday evening. He had a burst tumour on the spleen and could not be saved. My heart goes out to them, but I cringe at the comments of "We know how you feel." Well hell no, no you don't. I've preached about this before, and of course it is only my opinion. To me, grief is individual to the person dealing with it, and also individual to the particular loss. When I lose an old dog or cat, it breaks me, but in time I find I'm able to deal with it with full knowledge that I gave them everything I could throughout their lives. I suppose you could argue that the longer they are with us the greater the loss, but I see it as, we shared a wonderful life together and they and I had the privilege of their old age. To lose a young animal, who had so much more to live and to give .. that is real heartbreak, that is the one that haunts you!  

Today it was Uncle Merfyn's funeral, he lived down in Ipswich so sadly it was too far for mum to go. She is heartbroken to have lost her big brother and took time out to sit quietly at 10.30am when they had the funeral. Uncle Merfyn's wish was that his ashes came home, and they will be scattered in the land of his youth in due time. I must admit he was a bit of a favourite of mine, he had four sons, so tended to spoil his niece! On Friday it will be the anniversary of losing my dad, so a double whammie of sadness for us all this week. The wheel turns and life goes on as we treasure the memories we are privileged to have and go ahead to make new ones, never forgetting the special ones, human and canine, who have walked this path with us. 

Wow, when I started this post, this is not where I thought we'd end up. My apologise!