A week ago yesterday we said goodbye to my dear Jasmine (pic heavy)

[nadine_mn]

I have been unable to really post anything about losing her over the last week because it hurts so much. I have been focusing on my delightful new kitty Charlie and trying to help our German Shepherd cope with the loss of his world.

I have posted a few times in the past about my strong fierce independent black Lab/Chesapeake retriever Jazz. She was 6 mos when we adopted her (it was pet adoption day at PetCo, we were there to buy food for our 2 dogs and cat and oh hey....it was love at first sight we Jazz and I saw each other) and had 16 wonderful years with her.

We lost our 17 yr old cat Scout last year to pancreatitis, and Jasmine had kidney failure.

I have so many wonderful stories of her stubbornness, her intelligence, and her big loving heart but those will have to wait until I can think of them without bawling my eyes out.

The hardest part is that our 12 yr old German Shepherd Durango is taking this pretty hard. We have had him for 8 yrs and since the moment he laid eyes on Jazz, she was his everything.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/JzHSVe][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/JzHSVe]


Here she is with Scout
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Lay4XK][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Lay4XK]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/eiHkn8][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/eiHkn8]

For some reason she always put herself in "jail" lol
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Kth2WU][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Kth2WU]

Bonding with the kid - we only have only had Charlie for about a month, but they had started to get close
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Vcg24t][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Vcg24t]

And the one that breaks my heart - my last picture of her. She and Durango laying side by side waiting for the vet to come in and help her cross over. I had debated taking any last photos of her until this one - they just looked so perfect next to each other.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/UWNCom][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/UWNCom]


That's about all I can take right now - my heart is still breaking.
Thank you for letting me share with you dear people my wonderful Jasmine

[livetohike]

1. I am so sorry for your loss of Jasmine. She was such a beautiful girl and

I know you must have so many good memories of being with her. She'll always be with you in your heart

[hrmjustin]

2. I am so sorry for your loss!

It hurts so much when we lose our pets.

[luvMIdog]

3. I hope your sadness passes quickly. It's hard to lose our pets :(

[Moostache]

4. My sincerest condolences on the loss you are dealing with...

My family has been through this a couple times in the last few years with the lass of two of our "special kitties" - Schmoo (who we had for 17 years) and Mew (who we rescued from abandonment behind a gas station but who was only shared with us for 10 wonderful months). Our family dog is approaching 10 years old and noticeably slowing down and beginning to show signs of hip problems, so my wife and I are bracing for another loss, but hoping to get as many good years with her as possible....It never gets easier to lose those close to our everyday lives and our pets are every bit a part of our family as myself, my wife and our children.

I will never forget the card my son Tristan made for the "coffin" we buried our beloved Schmoo boy in ... Tristan was just 10 years old at the time, and he was coping with loss for the very first time he could remember. We had a burial in our flower garden and created a headstone and before we buried Schmoo, the kids all placed things in his shoe-box coffin. A piece of his favorite blanket, some flowers from my girls; but Tristan broke my heart with his earnest and heartfelt contribution. He simply drew a cartoon picture of himself and Schmoo, in the first frame it was happy stick figures of a boy (him) and his cat (Schmoo) with sunshine and smiles, and in the second frame it was a sad stick figure of the boy and the other cats and our dog with clouds and rain and tears. The caption was equally simple and moving - "to my friend Schmoo...I love you, I miss you, Tristan". The picture was so moving to me, that before I buried Schmoo, I took a lock of his fur and the picture to save for myself and to one day return it to Tristan.

There's nothing better in this world than love - of ANY kind...love for our families, our parents, our siblings, our friends and neighbors and love for our pets too. I keep that picture to remind myself how temporal this all is and how brief a time we have to focus on the things that really matter and how easy it is to get caught up in those that don't.

I hope warm memories help to ease your pain and that your grieving is short and those memories and treasured experiences live on long in your mind soon and are there for you in the future too.

[irisblue]

5. I am so so sorry.

I know how much it hurt when Princess Peanut & Mojo cat had to leave.

[Phentex]

6. Durango will mourn for sure...

mine did when we had to put one down. He was so dependent on her (he was the big chicken) that he was lost for a good while after she was gone. They had been together as puppies. Give him lots of attention and let him stay close to you as much as you can. I am so sorry for your family's loss. I know how much it hurts.

[nadine_mn]

12. Seeing him rub his face and nap on her old bed is killing me - I don't have the heart

to wash it yet. I can tell he has a little depression - his normally crazy tail has slowed quite a bit and lots of heavy sighing.


He is getting lots of love - and our new kitty has been doing therapy with each of us: he spends quiet time snuggled with each of us everyday.

[shenmue]

7. I am sorry

[Duppers]

8. ....

with you.


Just this afternoon I cried while looking at a 35yo photo of my yellow Lab whom I loved like my child. Love lives on.

[Skittles]

10. ...

"....they buried him out under our elm tree, they said.....that wasn't totally true, for really he lay buried in my heart"

[Skittles]

9. it's so hard

"the price of love"

Grieve not,
nor speak of me with tears,
but laugh and talk of me
as if I were beside you.....
I loved you so --
'twas Heaven here with you.

--by Ilsa Paschal Richardson

[sinkingfeeling]

11. I'm so very sorry for your loss of beloved Jasmine.

[japple]

13. Thank you for sharing pictures of your beautiful girl.

She had a most excellent life. What a lucky dog.

[JudyM]

14. A beautiful love story. So sorry for the hard loss.

[Bayard]

15. Heart-broken many times over the years from losing fur babies

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Jasmine had a wonderful life, and you were so fortunate to have found each other. Remember her in better times.

[nadine_mn]

16. I know what you mean

This is our 4th loss over the last 20 years (the first 2 died within a yr of each other, and so did the 2nd 2) and each time the pain has been so devastating.

The first weeks are so hard - you have that feeling of never wanting to go through this type of pain again. But looking into our pets' eyes, seeing the love and their big hearts and of course we will continue to share our home and our hearts with sweet fur babies.

But right now, I feel like a huge part of me is missing.

[Marthe48]

17. You gave each other a better life

be nice to yourself <3

[catbyte]

18. I'm so very sorry. They are family.