Tag: dogs

Losing a Beloved Fur Friend

Toys, untouched now, scattered across the floor.
Bowl, crusty with dried, uneaten food.
Leash hangs, unused — yesterday, today, tomorrow.
A deathlike grip on silence fills this place that is no longer a home.
The little life I fed, walked, played and cuddled with for 12 years
Took a different path, a journey where life is forever snuffed.

This goodbye is the worst — the pain is excruciating, much worse than losing a human
Will it ever end?
This pain of losing the one thing that gives true, pure unconditional love and happiness, expecting nothing in return.

Addendum

I have lost many pets in my life, and the pain never gets easier. I grieve for each and every one of them. Right now, a good friend of mine is facing the potential loss of a beloved pet, and her pain ignites the grief I feel for each and every one of my bygone babies.

If you are not a pet person, you may not understand the horrific pain that comes with the loss of a beloved fur friend. I provide this link which may help you, as well as all pet lovers, understand why this grief is so passionate.

Why losing a pet hurts so much

Please Pick Up the Poop, People

100_0050It happened again today. My spitfire puppy, Rosie, and I were off for a pre-rain walk when my foot suddenly slid as I took a step into something gross and squishy. Instantly I knew.  The pooper-scooper had not found its way to this part of the block – an all-too-frequent occurrence in this, our quiet suburban neighborhood.  What’s worse, there are multiple pooping culprits here based on the variations in size and color of the many poops scattered about. Let’s face it, most dogs poop when they’re on the beloved leash for a walk, and there are those owners who religiously clean up after them. I am one of those owners. However, there are those owners who simply don’t. Are they lazy? Careless? Believe in the ultimate “let nature be nature” approach?

Ugh, I for one am sick of hopping home and having to turn on the outdoor spigot to remove the by then the malodorous crap (literally) from my shoe. What’s a step-in-poop soul supposed to do?

One answer I came up with is to be hyper-vigilant about every footfall I take on a walk. This is not ideal for me because I’ll miss much of the enjoyment I get from walking my precious pups. On the other hand, looking down might help control my other walking issue which is the frequent trips taken  by one who is not graceful.

Another idea is to call the local animal control folks and complain. Scratch that thought.

Educate by example? Unfortunately, it is a rare occurrence that one of my dogs’ poops within close proximity of one of the offenders, so scratch that one, too.

The one I think about often is this: I know the worst offenders who, get this, have two dogs they take on two miles-long treks each day. Their pups’ poops now adorn the entire town. What I am thinking of is catching up with them one day with one of my dogs, a blue poop bag in hand, and asking them what brand of poop-scoop bag they use for their dogs!  And of course, I’ll go on to tsk-tsk about all the unpicked-up poops ( not to mention those of their dogs, of course) scattered about, and what a terrible nuisance, not to mention health hazard, they are. <grin>

Result? Will I succeed in shaming these two into picking up the poop or piss them off so they make sure their dogs always poop on my lawn. Oops – never thought of this.

Perhaps it’s back to the pooper-scooping drawing board.