In honor of Frankie: Pets Who Have Passed On

[Southpaw]

Cyberiot has encouraged me to start this thread. When Zoose and Stown lost their pet dog Frankie, many posters alluded to our animals waiting for us on the other side. Be it wistful thinking and hoping, I do not know. But I strongly suspect many of us have confirmations after the fact that we will be reunited with our animals one day...What stories can you share?

I will say that when my cat Southpaw died, I asked the Lord for a sign that I would see her again. A few nights after her death, my mom was sleeping in a guest room of her house because she was coughing and did not want to disturb my dad's sleep. She is not flaky or woo-woo in the least (I'm sure she wonders how on earth she got me for a daughter)...but she said in the middle of the night she was wide awake and Southpaw walked into the room, jumped on the bed, purred real loud, and snuggled next to her feet. She said she knew this couldn't be happening, so she reached down to touch the cat, knowing she had to be dreaming. She said she could feel Southpaw's fur and her bones underneath, she felt Southpaw breathing. She said the cat felt very warm and that it was really there. She was not attached to the cat the way my dad and I were. So this was not wishful thinking on her part. She was so spooked that she refused to sleep on that bed again. In fact, she moved the bed out of the room altogether and converted it into an office.

Hope this turns out to be a lively thread...:twisted:

Southpaw

[cyberiot]

Southpaw has asked that I share my doggie story, and I am pleased to do so.

As I mentioned in another thread, our house has been host to three dogs, two of whom have passed. In our bleak, empty, dogless days, we still heard toenails clicking on the tile, doggie tags jangling on the collar . . .

And I am absolutely confident that, in the carpet, furniture, baseboards, ice cubes, nooks, and crannies of this house, the DNA of every dog we have ever loved lurks forevermore.

Thank you, Southpaw, for starting this excellent thread. You can't open your car door on TTOL without hitting a pet lover.

BTW, I am confident that your cat presented to your Mom as reported. You made a wonderful home for your sweet baby, and I know you will see good SouthPaw again.

[Limner]

Our first English Mastiff was named Katie, and unbeknowst to us, had a condition called Liver Shunt. The veins going thru the umbilical cord never connected to the liver, and she steadily outgrew her liver function. It was pretty horrible, and we finally had to put her down because the toxins in the bloodstream were changing her personality from sweet to aggressive; she was nothing but skin and bones and had no bowl control. BAD.

But shewas my constant companion for a year, and after she was gone, I still sould get in my litte car and feel her in the back seat, hear her breathing. I'd even reach around between the seats to feel her.

In the Bible it talks about the last battle, where the Lord comes down with his army on white horses. Hey, I figure if there are horses in Heaven, why not other critters? It makes sense in MY mind, anyway.

[Southpaw]

Oh how neat Limner! I have goosebumps.

Now I'll share another one about a FOAF - this one I can't verify but I sense it is true. A man was dying from cancer; his dog was his constant companion. No one expected the dog to precede the man in death; but the dog died unexpectedly. For weeks the family could hear this dog scratching at the door trying to come in. After the dog's owner finally succumbed to cancer, the mysterious scratching at the door stopped. Gives me a double layer of goosebumps.

Southpaw

[Yooper]

Yooperman and I have always been avid animal lovers. We have had to say goodbye to many dear friends of the animal persuasion. But we too are confident that our Lord who loves us very much and made us to have compassion for His creation, could allow us to be with our friends again one day. I offer the following verse for comfort and consideration:

Job 12:7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
Job 12:8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
Job 12:9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?
Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.


We read these verses at all pet funerals. Now I don't say that animals have the same KIND of souls that we do, but it is an interesting thought.

Yooperwife

[SheWoff]

Yooperwife....that Scripture is so uplifting and encouraging to someone who has recently lost a furkid. Thank you for that. :-D

Some of you might remember me posting about two of our dogs getting killed. Their favorite thing was to chase rabbits, come home and check on us, eat a few bites and then go right back to the rabbits lol. After I had my second stroke, I was having a real hard time learning to walk again. So when I made my way outside, Rex (a large Husky) would come out of nowhere and stand right beside me or walk right next to me so that I could steady myself on him if I was tottering some. He was never trained to do that, he just did it. And Sissy would be right behind him.

It has been a few months now since Rex and Sissy were killed, but every so often out of the corner of my eye, I see the two of them looking at me when I am outside... from out in the garden, at the edge of the tree line or across the yard. They are just as plain as day and they only stay for 5-10 seconds and then they are gone again. It is like they just came back to say hi and check on me, see that I am okay and off they go again, just like when they were here and alive.

She

[Animal Lover]

Dear SheWoff, To me they ARE alive and well and happy. I also think all our companions will be with us and we with them always. Love is binding and forever. Our Grace, a retired greyhound, always went with us everywhere. We never left her alone. Every now and then, I will feel her push against the seat of our car when she turns around and I can smell her scent. She had a nice clean, just after her bath, which she loved, scent. I talk to her every single day of my life. I believe she hears me. She was sooo close to my hubby, I can feel her jump in the back of the seat when he is coming to the car and she sees him. All my beloved animals will be with us. I am sure God would not keep them from us anymore than all of our loved ones who have passed on before we have. They all will be there and waiting for us and what a celebration!!! God bless you all, AL

[wedgehead]

last december my dad died after a lengthy illness. although he had become frail, his mind stayed quite sharp.

i wasn't able to get there in time as i ended up driving from michigan to florida. my mom and sister were with him when he passed. peacefully i should add...

we had a nice wake with friends and family at the beach that he loved. the next morning most of us got together for breakfast. as we were chatting, my sister mentioned that dad had said "the most unusual" thing before dying. i was so stunned by what she reported that i dropped my fork.

both she and mom heard him talking to dogs that he, and later, we had loved over the years - and - that he was making patting motions on the bed.

the part that stunned me so was that my dad had told me once that his vision of heaven was that he'd be reunited with his dogs... i remember that moment vividly although it has been more than forty years. we were in the woods. he was teaching me to hunt but i was young enough he wouldn't allow me to carry yet.

so here's to you, dad! give 'em all a scratch behind the ears for me and i'll see you all in awhile.

[BoldBeliever]

God created nothing in vain. All of those animals we know and loved will be waiting for us, of that I am mostly positive. Not only that, they won't have all of the annoying habits fleshly pets do. No sneaky farts, no licking their unmentionables, no chewing the furniture and so forth.

[cyberiot]

God created nothing in vain. All of those animals we know and loved will be waiting for us, of that I am mostly positive. Not only that, they won't have all of the annoying habits fleshly pets do. No sneaky farts, no licking their unmentionables, no chewing the furniture and so forth.

Your observation is most comforting. I look forward to my reunion with my beloved dogs. Let us now turn our attention to the bipedal carbon-based life forms at my house.

BoldBeliever, tell me what to do about the DH with the sneaky farts, and the DD who teethed on the arms of the nice dining room chairs.

Fortunately, neither of them is nimble enough to lick their unmentionables . . .

Eew. Aack. I'm almost sorry I said that.

[cyberiot]

last december my dad died after a lengthy illness. although he had become frail, his mind stayed quite sharp.

i wasn't able to get there in time as i ended up driving from michigan to florida. my mom and sister were with him when he passed. peacefully i should add...

we had a nice wake with friends and family at the beach that he loved. the next morning most of us got together for breakfast. as we were chatting, my sister mentioned that dad had said "the most unusual" thing before dying. i was so stunned by what she reported that i dropped my fork.

both she and mom heard him talking to dogs that he, and later, we had loved over the years - and - that he was making patting motions on the bed.

the part that stunned me so was that my dad had told me once that his vision of heaven was that he'd be reunited with his dogs... i remember that moment vividly although it has been more than forty years. we were in the woods. he was teaching me to hunt but i was young enough he wouldn't allow me to carry yet.

so here's to you, dad! give 'em all a scratch behind the ears for me and i'll see you all in awhile.

Welcome to the Tree, good WedgeHead. Please accept my condolences on the passing of your beloved father.

Thank you for sharing the story about your Dad. He is no doubt busy giving lots of bellyrubs and earscratches.

If Dad likes to fish, tell him to look up my papa, Billy Fitz. He's the hardheaded Irishman in the bass boat with the cooler full of Hamm's and a Dutch Masters stogie 'tween his teeth.

[Limner]

Thanks, Wedgehead.....I need to go find a kleenex now....

[wedgehead]

Welcome to the Tree, good WedgeHead. Please accept my condolences on the passing of your beloved father.

Thank you for sharing the story about your Dad. He is no doubt busy giving lots of bellyrubs and earscratches.

If Dad likes to fish, tell him to look up my papa, Billy Fitz. He's the hardheaded Irishman in the bass boat with the cooler full of Hamm's and a Dutch Masters stogie 'tween his teeth.

thanks! and i'll do it.

[wedgehead]

Thanks, Wedgehead.....I need to go find a kleenex now....

if it helps, i sniffled (A LOT) writing it...

[dreadstalker]

My last black lab Lady will be waiting for me.
I have placed her collar in my footlocker (right next to her "tug") a half dozen times and it always ends up back by my bed. she never did like having her clothes off.

[timbo]

I wrote this in 2004 for our beloved Toots. Her eulogy.


Eulogy to Toots
For those that haven't caught it from the title,this is to our dog,Toots who was given the release today. She is with her sister dogs now.

Toots came into our life when my DW saw her in an inner city school parking lot where DW works. Dogs are always running loose in this area and you sure see your share of dead dogs along side the streets.

Toots was trying to pry a McDonald's wrapper off the parking lot surface while avoiding the little heathen students who were yelling and kicking at her(but not making contact). DW thought to herself,now after I park and before I go into the school,if she is still there,I will do something about this.

Well Toots wasnt at the wrapper anymore,she was right at DW's feet!
Gad,was she dirty and stinky. She looked to be about 10-12 weeks old,just out of suckling probably.

DW picked her up and into the school they went. She took her to a friend's classroom(DW is a speech therapist so has no classroom of her own). It was November and Toots was cold and of course very hungry and thirsty. After taking care of those things she put Toots under a desk where Toots promptly fell asleep! This last is important because as Toots life went on,she fell asleep alot!

One of the Special Ed kids(who years later was shot to death) crawled under the desk with her and never left her(kindred souls I'm sure).
She called me and told me what was going on. The only provision I had was the dog not be a male. I had male dogs before and dont take kindly to them,dont know why,just dont.

I went to the school hours later and brought Toots home and fed her and fed her and fed her. Poor little pup hadn't eaten in days I'm sure.
When DW came home we bathed her and oh yeah,fed her again too.
The next morning I was to take her to the vets for a checkup and a fleadown if necessary and any shots she may have to have.

Later in the day........bad news. Toots had parvo,a puppy killer. We told our dear doctor to start treatment and see if he could save her. He told us she had a 50/50 chance of living through this. He also said with parvo,if we would have been another 24 hours getting to him,he couldn't have saved her at all.
For three days we called to check on her,not knowing if she had died or not.
Of course she didn't and we brought her home,where she got another bath because she stunk. She had to lay in her own mess because of her immobility and IVs she was on.

Doing that she curled up in front of the couch and.....fell asleep.
Our old crabby mutt,Lady(shoulda called her Switchblade,it fit better) walked over to her,sniffed her for the longest time and it seemed to us in retrospect that Lady adopted Toots as her own from that day.

She would play with her and wrestle and fake bite her and romp around like two puppies for hours and hours it seemed. They were buddies.

Now the collie. Mercedes,the snot......she would snarl(but never bite) at Toots when Toots would kinda crawl up and "submit" to Mer. Mer would show every tooth in her jaw. Well after awhile,Toots being the dog she was,started licking Mer's teeth! Now how do you think Mer felt? Here Mer is,being this big ferocious dog and this pup licks her teeth! Gad! Finally,Mer did accept Toots and from then on the 3 of them were good friends.

Mer and Lady passed away after time and we ended up with still three dogs.
A little Jack Russell,Lucy and Abigail,our Corgi. As tough as those two breeds are,they always gave Toots the lead dog role. Not that she was tough and ask for it,they just gave it to her.

Toots had her share of woe. We discovered her thyroid was all screwy and she ended up taking medicine for that the rest of her life. Then about 5 years ago,her tear ducts stopped! Poor baby still got the crud that forms in your eyes but no tears to wash it away. So many many times a day we had to give her artificial tears and carefully wipe her eyes clean. She never complained or pulled away when we would use a kleenex to get the crud out. She would lay there and not move until we were done. Her eyes would get so bloodshot and sore looking but she would always just lie there and let us take care of her eyes.

Actually Toots never did anything bad or even reluctant to us. The worse thing she ever did was scratch at the couch(nesting they call it) when we were away. We finally started putting up something on the couch. That way a good dog couldn't go bad.

First of July this year: DW found some lumps under Toots' jaw. The vet said after a biopsy that it was lymphnoma,a deadly cancer that would take her in about 4 months at the most.

We were about to head out on our 3 week vacation and we asked the doc if we should even go. We had decided to start her on a mild chemo to help Toots and we weren't sure we wanted to go. Thankfully we heeded the Doc's advice and went on vacation.

Tooters(as we called her often) loved our motor home! One dog went to DW's feet,one dog went to a cage and Toots........she got the couch!

We live about 1/4 mile from the x-way entrance....Toots is asleep by the time we get to the top of the ramp! We called her our "professional sleeper-don't try this at home" dog.

We had a wonderful vacation! 3 weeks in upper Michigan staying at a number of state parks. There,we always went for walks around the camp ground,just to be snoopy but also to give the dogs a chance to sniff all those wonderful smells and to say howdy to all the dogs staying there(boy did they all say howdy!) And also to get petted by a bunch of nice people out walking as well.
They couldn't keep their hands off of Tooters. For some reason,Toots never lost that super soft puppy fur. Her hair was so soft,it was like touching nothing! Several people thought she was the youngest(even thought she was a big puppy!) of our three,not knowing she was just 12 years old! That is how great she looked in those three weeks!

We celebrate her birthday on August 10th. We didn't know her real birthday and so we gave my Mom's birthday to her. She loved it because they always got special food on birthdays,and besides sleeping, Toots loved to eat!

We got home on Saturday. She was fine. Sunday,as usual,we fed her in the morning. About an hour later she threw up her food and then refused her pills,which she never does. Not being able to get to the vet until Monday,we just had to wait it out.

I stayed up all night with her. Every half hour or so she would have to go outside and either throw up or try to go to the bathroom. And then she would walk and walk for at least 15 minutes. We would go inside and she would lay down and sleep until the next bout hit her and off we would go again.

Monday morning we were at the vet and after blood tests found she had what the doctor believed was pancreatitis. And very dehydrated. He said she would have to go on IV's for the dehydration to see if the pancreas would come under control. We of course checked on her everyday for how she was doing.

It got worse. She started to jaundice and the doctor thought the liver was shutting down.....and possibly problems with kidneys as well. But he said give her at least a few more days and maybe she could come out of it.

9am this morning. He called and said that Toots was worse. I called DW and we met at the vets. Poor Toots. Her breathing was very labored and she was so weak.
We knew. We knew that it was time to take on the responsibility that all pet owners have and that was to unselfishly let her go. The ultimate let go.

Because Toots already had an IV in,the doctor inserted the hypo of sodium pentathol that would allow Toots to just go into a natural relaxing sleep and keep on going.
As my DW held her and told Toots that we loved her,Toots fell asleep.And of course we cried. Not the first time for this sweet gentle friend,and Im sure not the last time either.

We looked down at her lying there,and she looked just like she did for so much of our life.

Sleeping peacefully.

[Limner]

Thank you.....

[LONER]

I can't find it now, but a friend posted something to this effect on another board that I used to frequent, but got shut down.....the word n’shamah
Well, never mind, I found this, which explains it alot better than I could!
http://www.dawnbible.com/2004/0403cl-1.htm
FAIR USE APPLICATION
If man was to live, something more than just a perfect body was needed, and this God supplied. He ‘breathed into his nostrils the breath of life’ and instantly that lifeless organism became alive. The breath of life carried oxygen to the lungs, and they began to function. This induced the heart to start pumping blood through the arteries, returning it through the veins. This brought life pulsations to the nerves, causing the ears to hear, the eyes to see, the nose to smell, the tongue to taste, and the hands to feel. The first man was now alive; he had become a ‘living soul.’

What was this magic power which God breathed into the nostrils of Adam? Some have mistakenly supposed that it was an indestructible, living entity, which had life apart from the organism into which it was breathed, an immortal soul that escaped when Adam’s body died.

The proper, scriptural answer to this question is essential if, in tracing the threads of Truth through the Bible which pertain to the hope of eternal life, we are not to lose our way and go astray. The Hebrew word, which is translated breath in the expression ‘breath of life,’ is n’shamah. This Hebrew word is translated “breath” in Genesis 7:21,22. Describing the destruction wrought by the Deluge, the record reads, “All flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.”

This inspired use of the Hebrew word n’shamah reveals that the lower animals have the same breath of life as that which was breathed into the nostrils of man. We doubt if many will contend that God gave immortal souls to the lower animals. To be consistent we will have to conclude that what the Lord breathed into Adam’s nostrils was not, therefore, an immortal soul, but was, as the record states, the breath of life, the breath by which all breathing creatures are made to live.

“ALL ONE BREATH”
In Ecclesiastes 3:18-21, there is a wonderful exposition of truth on this subject. Here the word breath is a translation of a different Hebrew word ruwach, a word, nevertheless, which from its various uses in the Bible is seen to have essentially the same meaning as n’shamah, used in Genesis 2:7 and 7:21,22. In this passage in Ecclesiastes, the Hebrew word ruwach is also translated “spirit.” The passage reads, “I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath [ruwach]; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth [or, who can prove] the spirit [ruwach, breath] of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”

The Marginal Translation of the closing question in this passage is clearer. Using this, the text might be paraphrased, “Who knoweth that the spirit of man is ascending, and the spirit of the beast is descending?” The prophet had already answered the question. Having sought in his heart to know God’s answer to this question he had learned, he says, that man has no preeminence above a beast, that they have all one breath, and all go to the same place at death which, of course, is into death.

In Ecclesiastes, we have another very interesting use of the Hebrew word ruwach, so frequently translated breath in the Old Testament, the breath which is common both to man and beast. In this book is described the experience of death, and what it means. It says, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” (chap. 12:7) As we have seen, in the third chapter of Ecclesiastes we are informed that the spirit, or breath, of beasts goes to the same place when they die as does the spirit, or breath, of man. Are we to conclude, then, that beasts have immortal souls, which go to heaven when they die?

The Scriptures do not bear out any such rash conclusion. The Hebrew word ruwach, sometimes translated spirit, and sometimes breath, simply denotes invisible power. When associated with the works of God, it describes the power of God. It is this word that is translated spirit in Genesis 1:2 where we are told that the “spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” When preaching on Mars’ hill the Apostle Paul explained that in God “we live, and move, and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) The power of God, by which we live, is transmitted to our organisms by means of the breath of life. The same is true with respect to the lower animals. At death this invisible power of life reverts to its Giver, even as the body returns to the dust from which it was taken.

A LIVING SOUL
The record states that when God breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of the perfect human organism, which he had created, ‘man became a living soul.’ The essential fact here related is easily discerned—man ‘became’ a living soul. He was not given a soul, but became a living soul, or a living being, when the breath of life animated his perfect organism. This is the meaning of the word soul throughout the entire Bible. The Bible nowhere speaks of an immortal soul. This expression is not even contained in the Bible. It originated with various religions, and was introduced into the church after the death of the apostles. Various animals were referred to as souls, and in the same sense that men are souls. We quote, “Levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep.”—Num. 31:28

[BoldBeliever]

There is nothing about DHs sneaky ones that you can do except be careful what ya feed him. Likewise with the dogs. Feed em the good stuff. If you feed them corn based food, they will make more poo. I like Beneful for my dogs. They like it and their gas problems are minimal.

[Barry Natchitoches]

Just last Saturday, our family lost our beloved cat Shadow. He was a wonderful little guy, great with my little girl, overall a great four legged companion.


Shadow 1997 - 2008 RIP


Of course, we loved the three cats we lost in the years before Shadow:


Impossible 1985 - 1993 RIP

Trapper ca. 1982 - 1996 RIP

Michelle 1992 - 1997 RIP

[breezy]

I lost my cat Gabby on friday. Her 2 kittens died Monday. They all died from some virus that took them quickly.

I'm not working so I couldn't afford medical care. My heart is broken like its never been. I also have the hope to see them again on the other side.:cry:

[Southpaw]

Thank you everybody who shared on this thread. I'm just now getting back to reading it. Some very moving things have been shared, and Wedgehead, your father must be having a blast right now!

Southpaw

[timbo]

So sorry to hear about your Gabby and the kitties.

It's bad enough losing them without the helpless feelings you must have had with it.

So sorry.
Tim

[breezy]

Thank you for your kind words Tim.