My Beautiful Gingy-bear

(I continue to add to this as I find myself coming back to read it. I keep thinking of the special things Ginger did and I want to keep the beautiful memories alive.)

My Beautiful Gingy-Bear

I never realized how empty I would feel without my Ginger. She was our Clown-Face German Shepherd. We got her from a family that didn't want her. They told us she was about a year old. They lied - probably so someone would take her. We would have taken her no matter what. When we met her, we saw she was the sweetest creature we had ever met.

When we brought her home, she was afraid of everything; men, walking around the house, the kitchen, the bathroom. She was only allowed to sit on a bath mat in the kitchen of a 4,000 square foot home. So we let her go everywhere. We encouraged her to sleep on the sofa, if she wanted. She usually liked to sleep on my mini-trampoline so we moved her bed onto it for a while.

She cried when she got up or laid down because her back legs and hips hurt all the time. With healthy food, water and love she healed from that in around 4 months. We moved from the big city to a resort town with lots of trees and a lake. She got so strong after we moved here. She never cried to get up or lie down again. She played and danced outside while barking at squirrels, birds and even clouds. She smiled all the time. We took her to the trails where she happily played and frolicked. She loved the lake and to splash in the water. Our favorite was when she splashed the water then barked at what she had done. She would walk under the dining room table so the table-cloth would drape over her pretty face. It looked like she was wearing a scarf so we would all tell her what a "pretty girl" she was. One time our little chihuahua was showing off his tiny stuffed animal. So Ginger went and got her stuffed animal to show us. Everyone loved her. We normally have guests during the winter weekends. My band-mates, my husband's ski patrol buddies, friends who come to snowboard or ski and everyone loved her. She played outside in the snow with them. She danced in the snow with the snowflakes. She caught snowballs and ate the snow.

She hugged us - all the time. She would come to us while we were sitting, and slowly go up on her back legs while putting her front legs around your waist. Then she would rest her head on our chest or stomach and she would hug. One time my niece and some of her friends were up and one of her very nice friends was sitting in the living room. All of the sudden we heard him call out, "hey, look, Ginger is hugging me!" We looked in to see him hugging her back with a huge smile on his face. She made many, many people smile a lot.

She actually helped us "rescue" the little doggie we have now (his name is Georgie). He was neglected by the people that had him previously. They left him in the back yard with no food or water for days. Ginger let us know he was there and she would try to remove a piece of the fence to bring him over to us. She and my oldest daughter were the actual "first responders" to his rescue. When we finally took custody of George, I was a little worried that Ginger would accidentally hurt him while playing; he was so tiny. But she played so sweetly with him. She let him play from the sofa while she stayed on the floor. Watching how gentle she was brought tears to our eyes.

If Georgie and our other dog, Charlie, played too rough, Ginger got in between them. If my husband tickled our son too much or played too rough, Ginger would literally "tell" (bark at) my husband to settle down. We all knew exactly what she was saying. Some evenings we would all relax together in the living room, all our doggies around us. If someone got up to go into another room, Gingy would put her beautiful arm out to wrap her paw around your leg. When you stopped to look down, you would find her smiling at you. It was as if she just stopped you to say, "I Love You."

I will forever miss my beautiful, sweetest Ginger; Pretty Girl, Gingy-Bear, Mama-Bear, protector. She was the most amazing creature I had ever met in my life. When I first looked into her eyes I knew she was part of our family; that we were the lucky ones. She can never be replaced and our family now has a big hole. We pray that she is playing and happy. My biggest desire is that she is full of joy and knows how much she is loved. I miss you, Ginger. Please know that Mommy loves you, has always loved you and always will love you.

I Lost My Beautiful Ginger

I found this forum out of grief and disbelief of losing our beloved German Shepherd, Ginger. She was the happiest, prettiest soul I had ever met. She was the protector of our other 2 dogs and our children (especially our youngest son who is 8). I couldn't sleep at all because I didn't want to re-awaken to this nightmare. So I tossed and turned all night.

I realized a large problem I have is that I don't know what to think of. I am trying not to think of the last horrible few days when the disease viciously and mercilessly reared its ugly head. But when I think of her, I see how happy she was and how much she loved life. She danced at the waters edge of the lake which only had to be there to make her happy. She danced in circles just to see you walk in the door. She brought her toys to show so we would tell her how cute they were and she would deliberately walk under the table so the cloth would drape her head and we would all tell her what a pretty girl she was. And thinking of this makes me cry so hard I don't think I will ever stop. My children cry with me and I tell them it is okay to let it out. But I have to hide to cry more. Tonight will be unbearable to go to bed without her at our feet. My husband works away during the week and she made us feel safe. (She was a beautiful, sweet soul and made herself very scary when unknowns were outside or close by.)

So what should I think of to stop crying? My heart is broken and things will never be the same without her. I really want to know that she is happy where she is. I guess it hurts knowing how much she loved this earth and all of the sudden she is not here. She was too young to leave. That part hurts just as much as missing her. Please give me any suggestions of what I should be thinking of to stop crying. If anyone knows in their heart for some reason that our beloved animal family-members are happy once they've crossed over, please let me know. I just need comfort. Thank you and thank you for this forum.