death

Dedicated To Those We Have Loved And Lost - The Loss of
a Pet!

This is a tough subject and running my breed 24 hour hotline
in the past, on many occasions, brought me to tears. There
is nothing worse than a broken heart sobbing over the loss
or a pending loss of a pet whether it be to old age, accident
or a disease that has taken it earlier than expected.
Dealing with the early death of dog is more difficult because
we know that they could of lived longer, and we are never
sure if we could of done more, or even worse, if we are
doing the right thing for them, or have done enough. Been
there, and done that. If we could just go back to that
second and change what happened, but we can't. Dealing
with early deaths brings out an anger, for it is out of our
control. We may be angry at our breeders, the
veterinarian, ourselves..........these feelings are normal.

Having witnessed the loss of many of my pets in the last 20
years of breeding, to old age, and some earlier than
expected, I have learned to deal with these deaths, they
are certainly not easy, but I know we crossed paths for a
reason, and will cross paths sometime, somewhere again, but
for now I must move on with whatever crosses my path now,
and love what is presently in my life, but I will never forget
the ones in the past.

Now I can smile when I think of many of them for what they
gave to me at the time. Death comes to all living things with
time. When we lose a companion, even for breeders, we
must find all the good in the loss, even though the underlying
conditions of the loss were not pleasant. When we look at
what fulfillment and good that was brought into our life with
these companions, we can and MUST then move on to our
next companion for however long they will be with us and
enjoy every minute we share with them.

Whether they be human or canine, there are just no
guarantees when the final day will come. I have learned to
do what I can to check lines or pedigrees for potential early
losses, as I do with any potentially life threatening
conditions that may show up in my human family, and try to
do the best I can with the situation, either to prevent it or
to treat it. Prevention in my eyes is always better than
cure, however we cannot prevent what we cannot see or
predict. Anything that lives may die at any moment, and one
cannot always point the finger at the breeder, for it is truly
as hard on us as it is on the buyer, also knowing that at
somepoint we are also the buyers of new breeding stock and
would not deliberately pay for unhealthy breeding stock.

The mourning process is the hard part. When we mourn we
heal, and with a little time our strength returns and we are
ready to dearly love the next soul that is drawn to us, to
become a part of our life again. Whether it be a single pet,
or for a breeder, any one of their breeding dogs, they are
loved and dearly missed............but when they go they
take a part of hearts, ALWAYS leaving a little room for us
to love the next, and they are always around us in spirit.

So when it is time to say goodbye to a best friend, our pet,
it is always a topic, that always sends our stomachs into a
feeling that it is a bottomless pit, a subject that we never
think about when we bounce home with that wonderful
companion, and little bundle of wrinkles, so young with so
much to live for, and death a long time off. Funny how we as
human beings disregard death as part of life, and then when
faced with it, we really do not know how to face it. Fact is
we all live to die, hopefully at the right time. *So what is
the right time, when or where..* All living things seem to
sense when living is coming to an end and we as their owners,
companions etc. have that sense as well.

As unpleasant as the thought is, or a relief if suffering has
been involved, it is always good to think about that thought
ahead of time so when the time does come, we try and follow
our thoughts through. Death is tragic at any age, and
tragedy is always sad for us. But it is a time when that
inner strength must surface, and for most of us it does.

Our inner strength will surface for us and for others facing
the same. My outlook on death has changed drastically over
the many years. Being a nurse, brought that to my doorstep
many a time. I believe everything on this planet is here for
a reason, whether it be a bird that sung its song to teach
us melody, a hamster that spun its wheel to make us laugh,
a deer that walked majestically through the forest to make
us admire, a snake that slithered to alert us to things that
crawl, people to make us learn who and what we want to be
and who and what we don't want to be, a dog to be *mans
best friend* and companion for their life....to teach us how
to be us. We can tell them everything and anything, they
are THERE to keep our secrets, we can cry, they are
THERE to catch our tears, we can yell, they are THERE to
hear us out, we can laugh, they are THERE to enjoy our joy,
hugs, kisses, cuddles, when no one else is THERE to hold us.
They are there to take whatever we have to dish out. Boy
it seems to me they are almost as close to us as our very
own soul. Soulmates.... a thought. Souls never die, so when
we think about dying we take our thoughts to ~ ~ where do
all these souls go. I believe the body dies but that
wonderful soul .....never dies. They all go off to places like
*Rainbow Bridge* and there they await the arrival of all the
souls they have ever known. So I know when I loose a close
earthly relation, to me they are physically not within our
reach, but are they in soul?... never doubt a will and they
soulfully move on to be with their past parents, their pets,
friends..... us when we arrive, and as such, we will once
again meet. I know....... nice thought..............but this is
truly my belief.

When our purpose has been fulfilled here, we move
on...............but the physical letting go is a heart
wrencher. Especially for those left behind. Once in a while,
I sit watching my gang , and thoughts come to my mind when
I see something familiar in the way of a trait I have seen
before "could that habit that puppy has be genetic, gosh his
grandfather was the only one that ever did that ????? As
time passes, pain fades and that new puppy you just
got................well they say all things that once lived have
the choice of being re-born.......you just never know. When
it is time to say goodbye, my best and only advise is to BE
THERE, hold tight, kiss, hug, cuddle, for it is their time now
and YOU are their strength now, and the last thing they will
see and hear before moving on.

You will know that time, by the look in their weary eyes, for
these eyes have fought the battle of life whether it be long
or short lived one. Many have chosen to have veterinarians
come to their home for the last and final parting of our best
friends, and most vets have no problem doing this. Many also
choose to have the dog cremated and the ashes put in an urn
to sit forever with you. This I wish I had thought of,
because going back to my thoughts then, I was too grief
stricken to even think to request it, only months later, I
wished I had done this, but again this is a personal thing,
and many may choose a different route. Others will send the
ashes windward over their pets favourite stomping grounds.
Whatever ones preference, these are some of the options.
Go with your guts, 9 out of 10 times they are right. No one
can tell anyone when the time is right to euthanize a pet, it
is so hard to make that choice for them, and so much easier
for us to have things we love pass on naturally or in their
sleep, but, it does not usually happen that way. We will
always ask if we did the right thing. It is the right thing to
do, when your heart aches for their pain, and they are no
longer the pet you knew. And again stay close to your
breeder, they are there if you need them. Illness is illness,
accidents happen, and death is the final outcome. When the
time comes to say goodbye, and there is nothing more that
can be done "do onto others as you would have them do onto
you", and with that, you know you have done it the only way
YOU could, would and the way they would of wanted you to.
You will remember that for the rest of your
life.............and if you can be there, BE THERE, it is
their time now.

Many believe, many do not - as I already mentioned I AM A
BELIEVER that we all cross over to the other side, the
spiritual world, and I am an absolute believer that our pets
go too, and are there to meet us when we cross over. Why,
How, Where, When, How Do You Know? Why do so many
want to know, and with so much proof to answer so many
questions, how can one not believe! WHAT DO I CALL
PROOF!

Is there really life after death - YOU BET! We are all here
to make the world a better place, hopefully, and if we are
here to act out our free will, to make the world a worse
place, then WE ARE here to teach this world what to watch
out for and how to work with the good, and fight back
against the bad, and it is called experience.

Pets, the perfect friends, companions, mentors, stress
relievers and a total unconditional love givers to humans.
Small beings of light that I believe travel to the same place
our eternal light travels to once we leave our physical bodies
and *cross over*.

If you have ever believed or questioned your belief in
*dejevu* *ghosts* *familiarity with a certain era* *the
presence of someone who has past* *unexplained phenomena*
*out of body experiences* *near death experiences* *the
power in the healing of prayer*, then you may have
witnessed the proof that so many let go as coincidence.

I love to explore all of these, and have done so for many
years. I have visited psychics that told me things that NO
ONE COULD OF KNOWN, including the telling that a black
dog walks with me always. He was my best friend and the
one that taught much about this breed, the chinese
shar-pei. He was my loyal mentor and he could read my
eyes, as I could his. My readings of many books, have
covered yes of course, John Edwards and his most famous
show of reuniting people with their dead loved ones and pets,
called Crossing Over, plus his many books, but also Sylvia
Browns many books on Life on the Other Side, and of course
Neale Walsh's conversations with God 1, 2 and 3.
INCREDIBLE reading for those that want to know more
about this *Life After Death* Eternal Life, and the fact
that our pets play as much of a role over there, as they do
here.

We must learn to celebrate the passing of life here, with
the returning home of life to the other side, where I truly
believe we will all meet again. After all we were promised
eternal life. If you were ever a doubter of this incredible
possibility, try reading the above and see what you think.
Knowing you pets and family are always around, is so much
more believable to me, after reading the above and the
many, many other books written by so many, that I have
read with such enthusiasm.

When the time comes, to part with our beloved pets in this
lifetime, part knowing, their journey here is finished, and
they are now passing on to the next realm to wait, and
watch, and yes Rainbow Bridge may actually exist. Your
spirit and soul, guide you through this lifetime, and your guts
are the best judge of what to do and when. Follow your
feeling, that feels best, and know you are making the right
decision.

All of the above sheds a little different perspective on the
subject of death. The old saying that all our pets will be
waiting at Rainbow Bridge, brings a smile to my face. My
family and myself are very close, and my mother always
comes over for tea always to be greeted by a swarm of
shar-pei when she gets in the door. Many times I joke and I
ask what she will do when we all cross over, and she is
greeted with ALL my dogs that I ever owned awaiting my
arrival at Rainbow Bridge..............well I just could not
even begin to imagine tea time......besides I will deal with
that celebration then.

My best and final advice to anyone that loses a beloved pet
is to take the time to accept the loss, but don't take too
long. Take a friend and go visit a breeder or your breeder
and spend a little time with some puppies and other adult
shar-pei, adopt or rescue another. Talk about it, cry about
it, reminisce about it......and before you know it, another
will have moved into that empty space paving way for yet
another hopefully beautiful relationship and bond with a
one-of-a kind breed.

With my final comment and that pending decision of having to
put a pet to sleep, I always tell everyone - when your pet
is no longer the dog you knew, and you know their pain
outways their quality of life and they are no longer enjoying
their life, and there is now more pain than not, the time is
right, in most cases our guts tell us what to do, and know in
your heart you have made the right decision, be there with
them to comfort them through their last moments and tell
them it is okay for them to go, and you will know, as hard
as it is, you have done them right.

For all the ones living - give them lots of hugs.

A DOG'S PRAYER

Treat me kindly, my beloved master, for no heart in all the
world is more
grateful for kindness than the loving heart of me.
Do not break my spirit with a stick, for though I should lick
your hand
between the blows, your patience and understanding will more
quickly
teach me the things you would have me do.
Speak to me often, for your voice is the world's sweetest
music,
as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail when your
footsteps falls upon my waiting ear.

When it is cold and wet, please take me inside, for I am now
a
domesticated animal, no longer used to bitter elements.
And I ask no greater glory than the privilege of sitting at
your
feet beside the hearth.
Though had you no home, I would rather follow you through
ice and
snow than rest upon the softest pillow in the warmest home
in all
the land, for you are my god and I am your devoted
worshiper.
Keep my pan filled with fresh water, for although I should
not reproach
you were it dry, I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst.

Feed me clean food, that I may stay well, to romp and play
and do
your bidding, to walk by your side, and stand ready, willing
and able
to protect you with my life should your life be in danger.
And, beloved master, should the great Master see fit to
deprive me of
my health or sight, do not turn me away from you.
Rather hold me gently in your arms as skilled hands grant me
the
merciful boon of eternal rest -- and I will leave you knowing
with the
last breath I drew, my fate was ever safest in your hands.

These pages are copyright 2009
of Shar-Pei Canadiana.
Original Web Site opened October 25, 1997.
Web pages and art designed by Vicky McBeth.

Email me if you need to talk!