My Gentle Giant

[Eden Cooper]

I had to put down my great dane a week ago. He had loss the use of his back legs and could no longer stand and go to the bathroom. I wasnt his owner but had been taking care of him for the last four years. He was my ex's dog. Over the last four years i had grown very close to him. I fed him, took him out for potty breaks , took him for walks, and most of all i gave him pet whenever he wanted. Sometimes i would pet him for over an hour until he went to sleep. My ex left when we put him down so i was the one who had to watch his final moments. We had a vet come to the house so he could be on his bed when he went to sleep. Looking at him after he was gone with his eyes still open nearly killed me. He was my best friend and i dont know how im ever going to move on. Im empty inside like a tsunami of pain it consumes my every waking moment. A part of me died with him. He was the only being on earth that made me feel loved. I miss him more than words can express. He was my sweet boy. Im lost........

[KayC]

I wonder why this took two days to show up!  I'm so sorry we weren't able to respond sooner, it wasn't showing up.

I am so sorry for the loss of your dog!  BTW, here, if you're not taking care of your dog for a month (say they escape), they belong to the next person who is.  I had that happen to a friend who was on vacation and had hired someone to watch her dog, came back, the dog had escaped and the pet sitter did nothing, so the police said it belonged to the next person, my friend was heartbroken.  Had she known, she'd have come back early!  You were, for all intent and purposes, the dog parent.

I love how you call him your gentle giant, that's how my Arlie was, sweet beautiful wonderful dog.  Got attacked by other dogs ten times, but not once did he bite back!  Still, if someone came on our property he didn't think had business there, he'd scare the heebie jeebies out of them!  But never attacked anyone.  I've no doubt he would to save my life though.

I understand your feelings, it's how I felt when I lost Arlie (cancer), you did the right thing for him, it's no kind of a life when they get that bad.  Everything now becomes a trigger, your usual routine, his bed, dishes, everything.  It takes much time to process their death and to no longer expect him to appear.  Much time.

Comfort for Grieving Animal Lovers