Woody Options

[Steve K.]

I was here ten years ago for my Beauregard. Now I am here for my Woody. Woody was a dog that nobody wanted so me and the wife took him in. He was a handful at first and he made us wonder if we made the right decision but he turned out to be a wonderful dog. He was a retriever mix and a beautiful red color.

Well, on Sunday 09/21/08, I went out for the day and the wife took the dogs (we have another shelter dog) for a walk. They were both on a leash but Woody pulled away from my wife and ran into the street. He was hit by a car and the wife got animal control to take him to the emergency clinic where the vet said it didn't look good. The wife made the decision to let Woody go and when I got home, my heart was broken. My poor wife had to watch him get hit by the car and then make the decision to let him go. We are both heartbroken. I can't sleep, I can't eat, and all I do is cry at the drop of a hat. Our other dog (Smokey Joe) is 9 years old but Woody was only four. I expected him to be around for many years. Why did God take our dog from us? I don't think that we are bad people. We took in both dogs and two stray cats. We love our animals like children. Why was he taken from us?

[LoveThem]

when I got home Woody's box was on the table. I picked it up and hugged it and the tears and feelings were there just like it was the first day. At least my Woody Boy is home.

I'm glad your boy is home. Your reaction is very normal. It takes time and even then at times the pain and tears will hit us again..unexpectedly. Again...all normal.

Whatever helps you to feel better is the okay thing to do. Sometimes in my topic, I write a post to my boy...that helps me to get out my words somewhere since he is not here for me to tell him in person. Others here do the same. I guess it is one way of feeling a "contact" again with them.

Everyone has the same pain but sometimes we cope in different ways and surprisingly, we find sometimes we cope the same way. So one may ask...am I crazy? And the answer is always...NO you are not. Whatever helps is okay.

Two weeks is such a very short time...the easing of pain usually takes much more time. We take baby steps forward one day at a time and then one day...out of the blue...we feel it all back again, overwhelming and painful and we cry until we are exhausted. And..that is normal. That is okay.

I am glad you have Smokey. I have had 2 dogs and lost one. I have had 1 dog and lost that one. And for me, it really helped so very much to have one still with me vs none.

I wish you and Steph peace and healing and know it takes a lot of time and never truly goes away completely because as long as their memories are with us, we won't forget the good memories and we also won't forget the sad ones because all were a part of our lives. The healing begins when we use the good memories to push away the sad ones. We are so grateful they were part of our lives and we know their souls are with us forever. There are special bonds formed that can never be broken..by any power.