In Memoriam
Gone but not forgotten
It's painful as we know only too well, but because of the difference in lifespan between humans and dogs, living with a dog inevitably means parting with them. The main thing is to give them a really good life, and having done that, we have to move on when they pass away. Here we celebrate the many loyal, loving companions who have made our lives so much fuller. People who have never lived with a dog can never know the rewards, but those of us who have, feel privileged to have benefited in so many ways from their presence in our lives. We are the better for them, they added so much just by being themselves.
Please send us your pictures [jpg or tif format and no larger than 1Mb] to info at my-new-dog.co.uk and we will place them here as a lasting tribute to your beautiful dog and companion, please also include their name. If you wish to write a short tribute to go with the picture, we will gladly include it, but please make it short or space will become an issue.
This page is dedicated to Kees
He had an unhappy childhood we could only guess the details of; bullied and half starved, he grew slowly and nervously with his welfare taken on by a succession of people, none of them up to coping with his needs, each handing him back to the Belgian rescue centre. Then he hit it lucky and found us.
It took a while, but we were in it for good, there was no sending him back, he was part of our family and would remain with us forever no matter what. He eventually understood that. He started to relax and smile. While not at first believing his luck, he gradually gained in confidence and happiness, and began to grin. He eventually realised that yes, he too could get up on a couch, or a bed, that he wouldn't be shouted at for doing so, but would be welcomed. He eventually came to accept he was part of our family.
He was a lovely person was Kees. A caring, compassionate, funny person who brightened our lives and gave us so much, helping us, in the way of dogs, to become better, more loving human beings. He graced us with seven years, and at the still young age of 10 [only 65 in human years], he passed away on 18th July 2009 from stage five lymphoma; a mass on his liver which no one had suspected and which appears not to have affected him until the very end. It was an emotional whirlewind of a week, starting with what appeared to be just a urine infection, which started to clear from antibiotics, but then he started going downhill, and had to be admitted to the vet's hospital ward, where he finally died, returning home only after he had passed away. He's left a hole in our lives, and his canine companion these seven years, Freya, was depressed for days; they aren't so very different from us despite what some like to think.
While we were with him before he left us, Concierto de Aranjuez, by Rodrigo, a terribly emotional piece, was playing over the loudspeakers [thoughtfully provided to sooth the poor worried people who were there ill]. That's what is playing now in memory of Kees. I want so badly to cuddle that boy again.
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