How to handle the death of my border collie today?

The pain will fade, but the love and memories will forever live with you.

The pain is there every time you think about it, but lessens with time. I’m sorry for your pain.

I’m sorry for your loss. I have no advice at all, other than to not “do” anything right away… just grieve for now.

Really sorry. I understand the sadness you’re feeling. My border collie was only 10 and I still miss her. What a presence in our lives she was. Soon the good memories take place of so much pain.

Oh John. I’m so sorry. You handle it like your doing. Talk about him, reach out to friends and allow yourself to grieve. You’re in my thoughts this evening. My molly is 15 and I don’t look forward to that day. :-(

Sigh, It was a naked feeling for us. Ol Moonie was always out in front of the house for so long it never crossed my mind that day would come. She kept an eye on things. It was a bigger hole in my life than I thought it would be. I think more time will make things easier, but I have no idea how much.

My Condolences @john65pennington to you & your family.

I wish I could tell you that the pain will subside, and everything will be almost normal again.
But I don’t know…
All I can tell you is, that it’s rough.
The last couple weeks, since Asher died have been brutal. But I’m getting through. You can get through too. <3

I am so sorry.
I had to put down my Cocker Spaniel a few years back, and it hurt so much I haven’t gotten another dog. She was a part of my family, and my wife and I still talk about how much we miss her.

Damn… so sorry for your loss. I still miss my great pyrenees, Osso. She was a best friend and like my only child really. I know that she is no longer in pain but I still remember her smell, her sweet eyes, and her love she gave me. It will take months but the sharpness of the pain will fade and you will be left with the sweetness of his memory. hugs to you both

As most of us pet owners know, your pet is not just fur with four paws attached. Mikey was my second son. When he was sick, we would feed him with a spoon. He would love to pull my shorts off, exposing my underwear. To Mikey, that was the highlight of playtime. You can never ignore a border collie. Playtime is everyday for them. We would take Mikey walking in the park. He knew when that time was near. He would grab his leash and place it in my hands. He loved to ride in the car. He knew when the golden arches were near and he waited for me to hit the turn signal and the green flashing light on the dash of my car. He knew it was icy cream for him and we never let him down.

Mikey was always kept on a chain in the backyard. He loved to run away, when he had the chance. The chain is what eventually killed Mikey. He would run after the squirrels so hard and so fast, that he pinched a nerve in his neck. The vet could not do much for him, other than pain pills and muscle relaxers and hoping he would improve on his own.

This morning, Mikey could barely breath. Just to touch him would give him grea pain. We decided that Mikey had had enough suffering and no improvement in sight. This is one of the toughest decisions my wife and I have had to make. We located a 24 hour emergency vet and called to tell them we were on the way with Mikey. This was a long trip for us, to watch the tears in his eyes from his pain. He wanted to get in my lap, so I could comfort him, but this interfered with my driving. He wanted to lick my arm, out of his love for me, but the pinched nerve made him cry in pain. I reached out for him and he laid his head on my hand and I knew the end was very near for him. I fought back my tears, until I reached the vets office. It all hit me at once and my wife and I cried on each others shoulder.

In my lifetime, there will never be another Mikey. He stole our hearts as a puppy and he still has them in heaven.

Tears and hugs to you John.

First of all, I’m really sorry to hear that. That is so sad. I’ve owned numerous animal friends throughout my life——dogs and cats——and I’ve had to put down a few.

It is the most painful thing to experience. To have to make that decision, to put down your most beloved and devoted friend, is terribly difficult.

I can say it will hurt for a long time. It took me about a year before things got better, but even after many years, you will stop and reminisce, and you will feel sad again. I don’t think the missing really goes away. You go on and normality resumes, but every so often you will be reminded.

What comforted me was knowing I gave my furry friend a good, happy life. All my dogs and cats were either adopted from the humane shelter or adopted as strays. I knew I gave them a much better and happier life than if I didn’t have them to share my life with. Knowing that and having the good memories was a real comfort to me in my sorrow, and it helped me get over the difficult first while.

I’m glad you shared your story with us about your border collie john. I loved it! But your story is evidence that you were really close to your animal friend, and that you gave him the best life possible. I’m sure that if he was looking down from heaven, he’d say “THANK YOU MY BEST BUDDY FOR ALL THE LOVE YOU GAVE ME THROUGHOUT MY LIFE WITH YOU. IT WAS THE BEST 12 YEARS OF ANY DOG’S LIFE!!” Actually, I know he’d think that. That’s how loyal he was, right?

So keep that in mind. Time is a great healer. Best wishes my friend. ;)

My dog of 11 years passed away 6 years ago and I wasn’t there when it happened. There’s no easy way to deal with it. But the pain will go away with time. For the meantime, I suggest display a nice photo of your dog where you could always see it. Preferably a picture of him smiling.

Oh Honey, I’m so sorry about the loss of your doggy. My best friend lost his doggy about 3 months ago and it is still resonating deeply with him.

For some people, creating some type of memorial can be helpful. The fellow that I house sit for, had a kitty for over 20 years, when the kitty eventually passed, I actually put together a little shrine for her. Believe it or not, he still has the shrine, in the exact same spot in his home where I put it, and it has been untouched for almost 8 years, including the bouquet of flowers (which are now dry). He had the kitty cremated and we were going to scatter her ashes in the canyon behind his house, but he couldn’t do it and I’m actually looking at the box that holds her remains right now. He put the box on his coffee table and that’s where they’ve stayed. I figure that when he passes, he can have his remains mixed with hers. He still has bad days, when he thinks about her, but he also has wonderful memories of her too. I took a bunch of pictures of her during her life, that I gave to him, that he has in frames. After 2 years of grieving, a stray cat wandered into his life. That’s why I’m here right now, taking care of the new kitty (and a backyard full of skunks, possums, racoons and a one eyed feral cat) while he’s out of town on a business trip.I think the new kitty gave him a new lease on life.

My best friend, who’s doggy passed 3 months ago, went through a very deep dark mourning period. He wouldn’t even see me (which caused me a lot of pain, but I knew he needed to mourn on his own, and didn’t want me to see him cry) He got this doggy from a rescue organization and the woman who runs the organization just asked him if he would foster a dog, until they could find him a home. He reluctantly agreed. Guess what, he fell in love with the dog, and now the dog is his. He still cries and feels pain over the loss of the first doggy, but this new doggy gives him something other than his grief to think about.

Over my lifetime I have lost several long time pets. Each loss was a terrible blow to me. I don’t have children (never wanted them) so my animals have always been like children or family members to me. For me, the best thing to do was to acknowlege the loss, but then try to do the best I could in my life to be a good person and to be helpful and kind, especially to animals. Other stray animals have wandered into my life, seemingly out of the blue, at just the right time. For me, nurturing another animal in need is the best antidote.

Right now, I have a big giant Himalayan kitty, who has diabetes. His mother came to me on New Year’s eve, pregnant about 14 years ago. We had her for about 3 years, before she and his sister were killed by a coyote, his brother, who was adopted by a family friend, passed of cancer this year. This kitty is the love of my life and he’s survived a bout of a rare heart lung disease and he was used as a guinea pig to test a human drug, that had the side effect of curing this rare disease in felines. To me he’s not only a hero, but just my little boy.

So give yourself a few weeks or a couple of months to grieve (with all your heart) and then consider going down to the pound or contacting a rescue organization and opening your heart and home to an animal in need. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

I’m sorry for your loss JP. Keep all of the momentos you can. I know the pain is bad now, but in time it goes down to a dull ache. The more special the dog, the more it hurts.Eventually it gets down to where the good memories outweigh the pain. I wouldn’t rush out to get another dog, but that’s just me. If you feel the need to replace them go ahead. You’ll know in your heart what the best path is.

I’m saddened to hear of your loss. Just know that in time the pain will lessen and the fond memories will remain.

I have placed a picture of Mikey on my pc. He was a camera hog and loved to have his photo taken.

My wife loves the pix I chose for our screensaver. We both can look at our beloved Mikey anytime we desire. I never knew I would feel this way about Mikey. He was a great companion and loved oatmeal cookies. They were his favorite.

Rest in Peace Mikey, I shall make oatmeal cookies in his honor.

Hugs. So sorry to hear about Mikey. He sounds like he was a wonderful dog. I’m not sure there is any great way to handle death. All you can do is just do what feels right and remember all the good times you guys shared together. It sounds like you guys had a lot of them.

I am sorry for your loss.

Take time to grief. And remember that all of us grief in different ways. You need to find your own way and I’m sure you had to deal with a lot of losses since you’r much older than us :P

We are here if you need us.

I know I’m late but I am so sorry to here about your beloved Collie.