Loss of a friend
 

I thought I would pass on that our family lost a friend of 13 1/2 years when we had to put down our faithfull old retriever, Cody. We owned his mother as well and lost her about a year ago. Here is a picture of him with some of the last ducks he retrieved. Sorry, but the gun is my 16 ga Smith. The actual last ducks he retieved were shot with my 28ga parker reproduction. I will post a photo of that event when/if I find them. It came at a bad time as I am recovering from having my second shoulder repair so my wife had to do all the heavy lifting.
Some of you may have seen this picture on the Smith site a couple of years ago.
-plc-

My condolences Mr. Clark. Brings memories back as to when I had to make that decision too. Many tears fell that day. I like to think she is in heaven playing and being devoted to a dog lover that is up there. It was her desire to please me and doing that made her happy. I was blessed that she was in my life, As am sure you were also blessed by Cody. Again, my condolences sir. Blessings Lee

One of the toughest things I ever had to do was to give the nod to the Vet... I couldn't speak I was so choked up so I just nodded and held Tobie as she drifted away.

These old pals of ours remain with us as part of the fabric of our lives just as much as when our children were small. I believe that one day in God's Plan we will all be reunited.

George

Peter,

I am so sorry....

Harry

Peter...So very sorry for your loss.

Peter;

I have tears in my eyes over your loss of Cody.

Roger Coger

I am so sorry
 

Peter , I am so sorry for your loss. As you can see from my avatar , I am a dog person as well. I think only dog people can relate to a dog person when it comes to a time of loss. What I hope you remember is the first shot over your dog and the feeling when he retrieved his trophy to "YOU ". My condolences on your loss but I will smile to your remembrance of past hunts and great times with Cody .

Peter,
Thanks for sharing with us on a very hard day. I bet 13 1/2 years have flashed through your mind as memories come one at a time. A very hard day indeed.
My best,
Mike

Thanks to everyone for the kind words. We saw this coming and have a young dog to fill the void. He is now two and doing well. I'm sure all good dogs go to heaven and we will see them again sometime.
Here is a picture of our young guy, Cisco, taken last fall on the duck opener.
-plc-

Gone perhaps, but not forgotten
 

There are no good words for this loss, my friend George Lander expressed my sentiments about the Lord reuniting us with our beloved dogs in the next Life, and I believe that- God is just Dog spelled backwards anyways

Best sentiment I have yet read was in the First issue of Gun Dog- maybe 1988- "Where to bury a Dog" by Ben Hur Lampman- I have a copy of that ode, as well as a poem by Kipling, with the FDSB or AKC papers in a special folder with their tags- Lady, Mollie, Dixie, Duke, Montana, Murphy and my Lab Khartoum is sleeping by my chair as I computer-type this.

Also, a fine gun is a fine gun, you don't need to apologize here for having an L.C. Smith- at present I have just a few more of them than I do Parkers, but not a 16 gauge-- Looks like ducks in the foto with the Elsie, not sure- I use 12 bores out of long standing habits I guess- but if they fit your shooting style, they are all good- 12-16 and 20 bores!:bigbye:

Peter: A truly tough day. So many of us here can empathize, having laid to rest some great dogs. But we are dog people and know that day will come and we take on others until that is no longer an option. As we know, that day will come for all of us. Thinking of that day, I like to read and re-read The Road to Tinkhamtown. I also like Where to Bury a Dog and the Rainbow Bridge.
All the best to you and yours
Jack

Francis: What is the Kipling poem??

I feel for you Peter. Loss of your best friend is very diffucult. My eyes leeked a little for you also. Godspeed ch

I should have guessed Jack- you are a Kipling man
 

As are I-- I'll have to find the folder in one of the Gun Safes- but just from memory's threads- "And when the final act has ended, and only memory can forsake- you'll come to know you've made the human error, of giving your heart to a dog for to break" circa 1896 I believe

I also treasure the eulogy given in the Missouri State Supreme Court circa 1859 by Senator Vest- in the culmination of a lawsuit brought about by a hostile neighbor shooting a man's dog--

Here comes the old "Romig soap box" fellas, so be advised: Years ago, I did all my insurance- vehicles, bikes, home, etc- with the "Like a Good neighbor" slogan folks-and a neighbor was an agent for them-- He was walking his dog sans leash- the dog ran after a cat or something- he started yelling, and the dog didn't come back- he took off his belt and told me that *&^%$#$@ mutt will get it when he gets back- and I asked him- "Dogs learn from association, so if and when it returns what will it learn from you? That it gets the living %^$# beat out of him for coming back?
Some people shouldn't have children, and some don't deserve the company of Man's best friend- I dropped my insurance with him completely, switched to the "Good Hands guys" and wrote a personal letter to the Pres. of State Farm detailing this- if a man can't control his temper with a dog, how can he be trusted in a business situation with people??:nono::nono::nono:

One final note on Cody's resting place. He is buried next to his mother, Penny, who was also a special dog. They are buried in one of our pastures that borders the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge. Every spring and fall they will have thousands of ducks, geese and sandhill cranes winging overhead to remind them of all the fun they had and will continue to have in their new special place. I will try and post a picture this fall when the birds come back.

Thanks Francis: Kipling's Power of the Dog is a nice addition to the tributes to our friends. A 2005 Virgina Court decision seems unaware of the 1870 Missouri Supreme Court decision in favour of Man's Best Friend

Thanks Francis and Jack,
I had never seen "Power of Dog", this is a great tribute to our dogs for the short time they have us or vice versa.
Mike

Peter I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Our "Best Friends" are here for such a short time. Several years ago I had the same difficult task for my Ilsa who was 13. Its our duty to suck it up and do the right thing for our friend and companion because it's (IMHO) the right thing to do.

As I scratch Gunner's nearly deaf ears as he lays his head on my lap while I watch TV or read a book I dread the day he will rest beside his mother Ilsa.