God Bless you and dear Phil .... so very sad, but as others have said, seems he had a wonderful, loving life with you. It reminded me of when we brought our dear girl Maggie on her last ride a few months back ... needless to say, tears are streaming. Someone said to me at that time that it's so hard to do the last loving thing you can for your best friend. It's true. You obviously are a beautiful person and Phil was so lucky to have had you. You gave him a wonderful life and he knew it. I am picturing him running and playing with my Maggie and all the other well loved dogs gone before over the Rainbow Bridge. Your tears will subside, but the piece of your heart that he took with you will remain always .... but also with the precious memories. To know loss is also to know the best of love. My heart goes out to you and your pain ... take care and God Bless.
Thank you all.. .this has been so, so hard. I loved that old boy more than anything. He was such a huge part of my life for those 18 months - always stepping over him, sweeping up his hair, cleaning up his accidents. I feel guilty because the past week before he died, he was in bad shape and didn't do well in the house, so he spent a few hours at a time in his pool. He loved it I'm sure, but I wish I would have spent more time loving on him. For anyone new who is reading - On January 28, 2014, I went to my local shelter looking for a puppy and left with the oldest dog in the kennels. We guess he was about 14 at the time. He was deaf, heartworm positive, and had very, very bad hips. They were so loose he could barely walk, but our vet said he wasn't in pain. He also had the worst ear infections I've ever seen and it took us about 3 months to fully clear them up. He had very few teeth, and the teeth he had were very worn down from chewing on rocks or something. I imagine that Phil (aka Dr. Old) was quite the naughty boy in his youth. He had a big rumbling bark that always ended in a deep growly-snort that sounded like a lion. Someone loved him at some point in his life, because he knew many hand signals and for the most part had excellent house manners (or maybe he was just too old to get himself in too much trouble.) But that's not to say he was perfect - he was like an old man in a nursing home, mostly sleeping but sometimes getting into trouble. One day, I heard a commotion in the other room and walked in to find Phil shoulders deep in the covered cat litter pan. I gently touched his back and accidentally surprised him. He lifted his head and was trying to turn towards me but the litter pan was stuck on his head. I tried so hard not to laugh at him. I got the pan off and interestingly, he never got in the cat litter again... an old dog can, indeed, learn new tricks (or at least new manners.) Phil's name and nickname came from my friend Phil. Human Phil has Down Syndrome and names everything after himself. When we brought DOg Phil home, his name was Tanner. Human Phil fell in love with Dog Phil, and wanted to name him Phil... so we did. Human Phil's nephew is a big Dr. Who fan, so he decided Dog Phil should be called Dr. Old. Luckily, Dog Phil was deaf, so he didn't much care what you called him. Here are some pictures of my amazing old man. WIth the new forum changes, I'm not sure how to upload these - please let me know if they aren't working properly. These are links to the images which are hosted on the safe file sharing site tinypic.com Also you can search my username on the forum for more pics. Phil when I first brought him home: Phil with one of our board/train clients - his mini-me! Phil's last day:
It's lovely to hear a bit more about your sweet boy, and to see some pictures of him. RIP, handsome man x
I love the photo of Phil and his mini me. I hope these lovely memories can help you through the sadness and that very soon when you think of him it will just be the lovely memories you think of. Thank you for sharing them with us and for sharing Phil with us. Puppies are gorgeous but there's nothing quite like an old lab.
What a character he was , such lovely photos too . Your memories will help you to cope with your loss , he had a wonderful, albeit short time with you but quality time , and that's what matters .
I read this while at the dentist. I'm sitting with my phone trying to hide the tears. If only when I die someone can write an epitaph about me like the one you have written for Phil. Not many of us humans deserve it but our dogs most certainly do. I lost my old boy 2 years ago and time does help. The memories these dogs give to us, are very precious. " it came to me that everytime I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them, and every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will be as generous and loving as they are" Anon
Thank you for sharing this as well as the pictures. I know how difficult this is .... God Bless you and cherish every one of those beautiful memories! He was a sweet, sweet boy to be sure and I really think he knew just how much he was loved. Hugs!!
I am so very sad to hear about Phil, he was a true gentleman that brought you and us much joy Hope you enjoyed your burger and fries Phil, you deserved them. Sleep tight sweet boy. Hugs Helen, Hattie & Charlie xxx
So sorry for you and poor little Nightmare, he sounds such a lovely boy and stole such a large part of your heart - RIP lovely boy
