# "To All The Dogs We've LOVED Before" - In Memoriam



## frogdog (Aug 10, 2011)

I thought it would be heartfelt to have a dedication thread in memory of all our past LOVES....to all our furry children


"Little One" - Heart Dog - Lost to cancer Dec '09





















1996 - 2009

I will see you at the Rainbow Bridge....until we meet again....


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Rhythm...The most wonderful dobe ever. RIP








Alley...RIP


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

Max, my childhood dog who we had to put down due to cancer. He began my love for animals and I'll always regret that he died just as I was finally shedding my ignorance and began to learn about proper food, training methods, exercise, enrichment, etc. But I am grateful that he caused me to love dogs so much or else I would never have wanted to learn, all my current and future pets owe him for that. We got him when I was four, he died on my fifteenth birthday in 2007.

Me and my friend (I promise the skin pulling didn't actually hurt, he has LOADS of extra skin lol)

















With my brothers









In the yard









In his later years, sitting on his picnic table

















Cuddling with his kitties near the end (we got Willie three months before Max died)


















Being Max


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

My 3 that I dont have pictures of are Babe, my Dad's English Springer who he had when I was born...I use to "disappear" into her whelping box, or try to get out side if they were out and try to sleep with her and her litter when I was 2. My first memory is of Porky....a puppy from her that litter who was my first dog....one of my favorite pictures ever is of me, on our deck snuggling with my Puppy, with Babe just looking up at us both with this look of love on her face!! They both ended up living with my Mum's Springer at his and Porky's sire's as we had to move into town quickly before my sister was born. Then there is Sue-Ming....my first dog after Porky, she was a Chow-Chow mix...said to be ACD. She was Chow Red, with a nearly all black mouth, and had the tail with the curl...but her body looked like the mix. I chose her.....she was suppose to be my Dad's dog, was named after the Chow he grew up with...but her and I had a VERY strong connection...and she turned out to be mine. I trained her to climb the wooden ladder up to our tree house....and better yet to bark like MAD when my sister went up there by her self:laugh:, and cried my self to sleep for weeks when we had to find her a home that didnt include living in a RV when we had to move into our first one.

Babe pasted away at 16, so when I was 10 or so....Porky when he was 14, so I was 16 and we dont know when Sue-Ming past...as we lost the lady's number....but she would be 18 this May if she was still alive.

Then there was Beauregard...he was my heart dog, and my Dad's "Im sorry, you will never have to give up your best friend again!"
We met when he was just 5 weeks old, I picked him out....his 3 sisters were out playing in their breeder's living room..and she said "There is a little boy too, he is up with his Dad." Then she called his Sire off the couch, and this little bundle of golden and white fur came prancing down the steps with him.....all 3 sisters attacked him trying to get to play....he circled them wide, dancing around not playing and came over and set at my feet. I was IN LOVE....we picked him up at 8 weeks old....I didnt let ANYONE touch him!LOL My Mum and Dad figured "well we will get bonding time when he wakes up at 3 in the morning and we go out...." to their surprise the first week we had him I would go wake them up saying that Beauregard and I needed one of them to go out side with us....then after that...he didnt need out, and slept on my bed.
He was my best friend, stuck with me while I was growing up while no one other then my family did....and the only friend I had at MANY places that we lived!

Beauregard and me this past May when he came back to live with us....










And my all time favorite picture....my 2 heart dogs together....










And of course Clara Belle...she was truly my brother's dog......but she saw me thru so much...and I her...that she will always be remembered as "one of my dogs"...





















(Sorry for the length...Im a wee bit long winded when it comes to my dogs!!:tongue


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Teija

My heart dog who died much too young. She was a pitbull, sharpei, lab mix. Very dark brown, not quite black but a chocolate brown, She had the softest floppy ears and her eyes were amazing. You can't quite see it in the picture but she had a darker brown around her pupil that came out in points like a star. I called her my "starry eyed girl". She hardly needed any training, she would heel naturally, sit on my toe when I stopped walking. I remember one day we had the back door open. She walked outside, and then came tearing back in as fast as she could. Jumped on the bed COVERED in sticky stinky brackish mud. We lived on a 2600 acre hay and grain ranch and were right next to the water. She was SO pleased with herself, all I could do was make loud unintelligible noises LOL, she just wiggled all over the bed, so happy to be muddy and in bed. 

She died Sunday, September 30 2007. Hit by a car. I dug a hole and buried her beneath a eucalyptus tree behind our house. She was only 13 months old. I wish she had never run out on that road but I know its my fault. I miss her every day.

This is the only picture I have of my starry eyed girl, Teija.


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## IslandPaws4Raw (Sep 7, 2011)

I have three heart dogs that I would like to tell everyone about

SHEBA

Our parents took us to visit our aunt frequently who worked on a cattle ranch. On this day there were a litter of Border Collie pups. We begged and begged for a puppy, but our parents said no. Anyways, there was one pup in particular that our brother and both us girls really liked. She was different from all the other pups....completely white. So we hid her and sneaked her home in the car ( Yup....I started early )

Here we are with our little prize. My dad had to go back to the farm the next day and pay for her, haha
She was the smartest, sweetest dog any kid would hope to have. She had an accident when she was little and got hit by a car, so as she got older she got really fat. But she always went to the beach with us. She would hang out in the water perched on someone's arm in deep water, then she would pull us kids in to shore when it was time to get out. When she was 11 and couldn't climb the steep sand banks anymore we would spread a sheet for her and she would lay down on it so we could carry her up the bank.


CHEWEY

Chewey showed up in our yard when she was about six months old with a huge scar on her face, and a back leg that was broken and dislocated that had already healed. So her back leg was shorter and the muscles were atrophied. You would think that this would be a dog that would have serious fear issues or not trusting of people at first. But she was the happiest soul, and there was nothing she loved more than getting attention from us kids. If I knew then what I know now, she would have been the easiest dog to trick train. She loved to dress up and play along with any of the silly games we would involve her in.
This is her and Pokey the cat who was just as happy to cooperate with us



NIKKI

Nene Bean Bean was my truest heart dog. It still brings tears to my eyes when I look at her photos or talk about her. She was a great advocate in changing people's opinion of Chi's. She loved everyone and all dogs, but most of all we were inseparable. She had an incredible maternal instinct. She took the best care of the one litter of pups she had, and then took over the mothering duties of my other Chi's pups ( She was afraid of her pups....I had to force her to feed them for a couple of days before she would accept them) She kept them clean, played with them and taught them good social behavior.




I tragically lost her when she was ten years old in 2007.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Love this thread! It's gonna make me cry...
I miss my Kodi Bear so much. He was my heart dog. Think about him all the time. I lost him a little over 2 years ago at age 9 to bone cancer. He was one of the best Rottweilers out there. He and I spent his life showing people how amazing Rottweilers are. He was so loving and had the biggest heart. He loved my kids. My daughter still talks about Kodi all the time....every once in a while I will hear her crying up in her bed. She tells me it's because she still misses Kodi so much. 

Can't wait until we are together again, my sweet boy.


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## Huginn (Nov 21, 2011)

My Texas (Sable Shetland Sheepdog) passed away in April of 2002. He had severe grand mal seizures and was on phenobarb for over a year, it never controlled them and we upped it as high as we could. When they got worse the last time he didnt make it more than a couple of weeks. I never left his side those last weeks, except to go to school and on one final day. I knew he was getting worse and I knew I couldn't be there and it felt like that night was the night. My mom told me to go out with my friends and I did, I worried the whole time. When my dad picked me and my two friends up from the skating rink (I was 14) he told my friend first, so that she could be prepared and then told me that Tex had one final seizure and died in my mom's arms. I cried for what seemed like months, sometimes I still wake up expecting him to be laying next to me and will cry in my half asleep state. 
He was my best bud, we were together from the time he was born. He wasnt breathing when he was born and my mom revived him, at six months old he chewed through a cord and electrocuted himself, at a year he got hit by a full size pick up and lost all the skin, hide and most muscle from his back legs, when he healed from that he almost drowned in a survey hole and I almost got pulled in trying to pull him out because I wouldnt let go (at 7 years old I weighed a whopping 36lbs), at five the neighbors oversprayed weed killer and poisoned him and our other two dogs, and at 8 the seizures started. But in between all of that stuff we had some great adventures. Since I weighed so little he used to pull me around on my roller blades while we went hunting for cats, he played outfield for us when we played baseball, he played tag and hide and seek (he never complained about being it), he protected me when my guy friends got a little rough when we played football or anything aggressive (his whole 25lbs was so scary lol). He was an amazing dog and everyone who met him wanted to take him from me. 
My little brother was not even two when Tex was born, so he was with him his whole life. When Texas passed, Austin didn't talk to anyone for weeks, he was so angry. Texas was even named after Austin because they were so much a like. It has taken me and Aust so many years to get over this loss and we still talk about how much it sucks. Austin used to get dressed up in his cowboy gear and put a bandana and his gun belts on Tex and they would go hunting for the outlaw, or bears. The outlaw/bear was always our tri sheltie Bebe. 
I'm sad that I don't have any pics on the computer of our others that have left us. Lacey, was Tex's mom and she was a great old gal, my mom got her when I was a little over a year and a half and there are so many pics of us in the bath together, she left us in 1998. Then there was Bebe, Texas's daughter, she kept Austin worn out for my mom and just passed away two years ago. Last year we lost my sisters lhasa mix. . . it was sad, I was working at the clinic and my mom brought her in for Xrays because she was yelping everytime you touched her, was lethargic, had lost four pounds in two days and was acting miserable. She was full of cancer, it looked like she was filled with popcorn on the xray. My mom couldn't handle being there, so I had to hold her while she was put out of her pain. Her and I never got along very well, but she deserved some company and it made me cry that she (for the first time ever) licked my face when I told her it was going to be ok. 








Tex at two years







Tex at seven years 







Aust and Sheriff Tex


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i love the stories and they make me cry....i just can't....i look at my heart dog, bandit....and i think of those who came before....

and i still look for my golden retriever bentley, who was stolen from my fenced in yard....gate closed and locked...

i just can't.

you guys are very brave.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Tara, in that first picture, your chi looks like a fawn! 

Sara, the part about your daughter almost made me cry!



I have lost many dogs and only have pictures of one. 

Blondie- My white lab (I don't think she was a purebred) that my mom has many physical pictures of in California. She was the only dog I had while my parents were married. My dad hated that dog. His only memories of her are him planting flowers and trees in the backyard and Blondie following about 4 plants behind, digging them up. My mom has pictures of me and Blondie in her dog house. In some of them, we are both asleep. My favorite is the one where I am sleeping and she is sitting next to me and leaning over me like she is watching over me. We were both "puppies" at the same time so there are even some of her as a baby with me as a toddler. Because my mom didn't want Blondie to have to spend her entire life with my dad hating her (he pretty much hates all dogs), we gave her to a friend of ours, Trey, who had her until the day she died. She died about 6 years ago. 

Angel- Angel was our first doberman. My parents had divorced and my mom and I moved to California to live with my grandparents. Once we were all settled in, my grandfather decided we needed a dog. An outdoor dog, of course, since my grandmother hates dogs as well. Well, she just thinks they are dirty. She doesn't mind them as long as she doesn't have to touch them. She is semi-ok with pups. Angel was the perfect doberman. She came from an excellent kennel where the dad was a monster doberman named Duke who, luckily, never passed on his abnormal size to his pups. Angel was the perfect size for a female and had the most beautiful head. She was my only playmate since I lived on ten acres and had no neighbor kids to play with after school. We played dress up and dog show every day. She died from bloat about ten years ago.

Tiny- Tiny was our rottweiler. We didn't have her for very long but she was very loved (well, not so much by Angel. She treated Tiny like Dude treats Buck. haha). She was the size of a male and most people were shocked to find out she was a female. She was great as a puppy but once she was full grown, she became a problem. My grandfather loved her but she would get SO excited for us to come outside that she would sprint towards us and she couldn't always stop herself... She was still learning how to use those legs! I would peek my head out the door and sprint to the office building to see my mom and try to make it out there before Tiny figured out I was outside. Obviously, looking back now, this would have been an easy solution and my running from building to building certainly didn't help, but hey, I was 5. My grandfather thought it would be better for both us and Tiny for her to be rehomed. During the time we had her, our UPS guy fell in love with her and routinely brought her treats when he made his deliveries. My grandfather thought he would be the best person to take her. He had the time and patience necessary for a rott and it took him only a few months to train her to the point where he could tell her to stay on one corner of the block and he could walk all the way around the block and she would be exactly where he left her. I remember crying the day Tiny was taken. She died of old age about 5 years ago. 

Woody- My stepdad's female dalmatian named after Ohio State football coach, Woody Hayes. She was nearly as stubborn as Buck but there was not a mean bone in that dog's body. No matter how many times she was stepped on or tripped over she never once even lifted a lip. She was the stocky type of dal rather than the thin ones. She wasn't fat, but she had weight to her. She was hard-headed and known for stealing the top piece of bread off of an unattended sandwich. She was 14 when she died and we spent all day at the vet's with her. When we found out that she had cancer, we felt it would be in her best interest to have her put down. All of the employees in the vet office knew her from her 14 years of never using a different vet and the room was full of people when she was put down. That was about 9 year ago now. Dude was the pup who took her place in the house.

Xena- My grandfather's second doberman. She was a mismark and that's why she came home with us. She was a black and tan just like Angel but she had a white spot in between the brown on her chest. That made her special to me. I got to pick her out and name her (just like with Angel and Tiny). Her mama was out on the front porch with us when we were looking at her and every time Xena tried to wander off to explore, her mama would reach a front foot out and scoop her back into her chest so that Xena was between her front legs. Xena was always a strange dog. She had two speeds: A slow, ambling walk and a full out sprint. When my mom married my stepdad and we moved in with him, I didn't understand why Xena couldn't come too. I felt better when I realized that we were only moved 15 minutes away and I would still see her nearly every day since my mom works for my grandparents. She is still the only doberman I have ever seen sit up on her haunches and beg... There is something hysterical about seeing that from a doberman. She was put down a few months ago. She had gotten hurt and had a huge open wound that needed stitches and the vet found a tumor that needed to be removed immediately. It was determined, though, that it was very likely that she wouldn't make it through the surgery due to her age and the trauma from the existing wound so my grandfather made the decision to just put her to sleep. She was around 10.

Hoss- My brittany and the only one I have pictures of. He was technically a mismark since he was white on brown instead of orange on white. He was a clown. I could write a book about my life with this dog. He was super sweet and super happy. I don't think I have ever met a dog who is as happy-go-lucky as Hoss. Buck is a happy dog but he is also more serious at time. Hoss was never serious. He was my project when I moved in with my stepdad. He was so bad when we moved in. You couldn't even step over him without him snarling at you. Within a year, you would never know that he was the same dog. He was my little brother, Logan's, favorite pillow. We have countless pictures of him playing video games or watching tv and even just sleeping with Hoss as his pillow. When he finally got old and went blind and deaf, he could STILL hear the oven, the microwave, the pantry, and the fridge being open/used. He was the kitchen guardian, always protecting the floors against marauding food that might make it dirty. He went trick-or-treating with us every year and had his own Superman costume. He didn't like it much but he loved being out with us. He went with me on my first trip alone (to PetSmart of course) after I got my license and generally went with me everywhere. I'm just going to end it there since I can't even see my keyboard anymore. He was put down the day before we picked Buck up at the airport in May. He was 17 years old and all I got from my family was, "We're putting Hoss down in an hour".


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Hoss- In the last one, he isn't really that grey. We were making Christmas cookies and he got flour all over him. And excuse the little brother photobomb in the third one!


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## hmbutler (Aug 4, 2011)

Aww this thread is beautiful, but also makes me sad... I don't want to ever say good bye to Nala and Duke :frown: 

I will try find and scan some pictures of the dogs I've had before when I get home


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

It just makes me sad to read this thread. But in a way, it's good - lots of well loved dogs and well loved people.

Goldie, a sweet and gentle boxer who let me and my brother take naps on her. Killed by an evil man who drove around town throwing arsenic-laced meat all over the place and poisoned eight dogs. Goldie, you gave me a love for big dogs I never lost.

Cloudy, who got hit by a car and saved by my mom. Most of his bones were broken and alot of his guts were all messed up, but between her and the vet he pulled through. Thank you Cloudy and Mom for teaching me that all living things are treasured and valuable.

Caeser, a giant Malamute mix I bought for $20 in my dorm parking lot and who got me kicked out of the dorm. Caesar, you taught me what it means to be a responsible dog owner. it was from you i learned that when one gets a dog on a whim, one pays the price. And you were worth everything I paid to keep you.

Captain, a doberman mix who was the best dog ever. RIP Captain, you deserved so much better than you got. It was from you I learned what true love and loyalty in a dog means. 

Shed, my little female who loved to ride horses. She did her best to keep up with the big dogs and gave it a hell of a try. 

Midnight, a black lab who died of cancer in my arms. Run with the wind, Midnight. You were always the fastest dog in the county; the only dog I ever saw who could chase down a jackrabbit.

Toby, my gentle giant Great Dane. Because you didn't like to stay at home, you became the leader of the dog pack that ran in this area for 20 years, begetting a pack of giant wild dogs. I guess i should have tied you up but i didn't have the heart. I think you were happier running free. 

Doogie, my little fireball pit/chow mix who was the first dog I owned who lived behind a fence. We both hated it; I'm sorry. 

Dawg, my dad's. I had him the last 10 years of his life. The smartest dog in the world. And the reminder of how my dad, who died in December, loved and communicated with all animals. They were all his heart dogs. RIP, Daddy and Dawg. I miss both of you terribly.


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

Luke, my first dog that I raised on my own. Beautiful, sweet boy...my heart dog.









Photo from the breeder the day before I picked him up









A day in the "country" (Connecticut)









On vacation in Maine









Just in from swimming









Spreading Luke's ashes at one of his favorite swimming spots









Last thing I wrote in the sand before leaving


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

^^^That last picture made me cry.


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## Janet At Nutro (Mar 11, 2011)

This was my heart girl Dutchess. She was 12 1/2 when she came into my life.
She was 14 1/2 when she passed. Dutchess was the best Great Dane ever!









I adopted Indy when he was 3. I lost him to cancer/old age when he almost 8.
He was a real sweetheart. I miss both of them very much.


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

Dude and Bucks Mamma said:


> ^^^That last picture made me cry.


Thank you. I chose just a few photos, along with the memorial walk on the beach...that's all I can do. If I start writing about him, I'll end up in tears. And it will hurt too much.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

NewYorkDogue said:


> Thank you. I chose just a few photos, along with the memorial walk on the beach...that's all I can do. If I start writing about him, I'll end up in tears. And it will hurt too much.


No worries. I cried when I wrote about Hoss this morning. 

And Luke was GORGEOUS.


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

Wow, I can't read anymore, it hurts too much. And they're not even my dogs. I can't even imagine when Aspen leaves me..

Aspen will be my first dog to pass...

My very first dog was a black purebred chow. This was 12 years ago. We had to re home him because my younger brother, at the time, developed severe allergies whenever he was around him. He was around 6 years old.

My second dog was a light brown chow/shepherd mix. This was 15 years ago. We went to the store to pick up some water, came back and he was gone. He had jumped our 10 foot fence to come and find us. I never saw him again and I looked for him everywhere. I cried my eyes out for him. He was 1 year old. My mom still has videos of him and my brother playing. To this day, I still can't look at those...


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## DeekenDog (Aug 29, 2011)

Lacey
My parents adopted her when I was six, after giving into my begging basically from the time I could talk. She was the dog of my childhood and I wish I knew all that I know now when she was you g but all my future dogs will benefit from what she taught me. She passed away at 16 yrs in October 2008 when I was away at school. I still miss her and wish I'd been there when she left.


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## catahoulamom (Sep 23, 2010)

Sigh.

CJ, I lost her Nov 29th 2010. She is what led me to this forum. She had metastasized cancer that spread even after we had the tumor removed from her back, it went to her eye and quickly into her lungs and other organs. We put her through two surgeries in her last few months (before we knew that the cancer had spread), I feel horrible about it looking back but we just didn't understand that it was her time. It came on so fast and she went from being a lively Alpha female who'd charge around the yard and keep up with the boys to an old, sickly dog that was defeated by disease. One day she stopped eating, and I knew that she was done, I was completely crushed but wanted her out of pain as soon as possible. That night we pulled our mattress out into the living room and slept with CJ in between us, and the next morning we had a veterinarian come to the house and put her to rest. I will never forget how that last breath feels, I feel like a part of my heart went with it. I can't believe it's been over a year, I still hurts like it was yesterday. We lived together for 16 years, I do feel grateful for having her with me so long. I am convinced she is the best dog that has ever lived.


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