"Every time a dog I love dies, they take a piece of my heart with them. And every time a new dog comes into my life, they give me a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the pieces of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are."
Sko, thank you for your lovely words. We cat people feel devastated, too, when our feline family members have to leave us. Pieces of my heart will be cat.
Cats, too. Though I am honored I got to spend years with many wonderful cats & dogs (& hamsters & guinea pigs). My cats are approaching 15 and I appreciate them every day except when Christian wakes me up at 5am.
One day, 2 guys from the AC company arrived to install my new ACs in NYC. Christian sat in front of me with his tail wrapped all the way around my ankles. I knew one of them was bad news. He’s never done that before or since.
I lost my (most recent) dog in February of this year. She was 15. I still wake up every morning thinking about her.
The short lifespans of our best friends are indeed the curse of dog lovers. They're with us long enough that we learn to love them like children, then they're gone.
Mine was a retriever/lab mix, and she was absolutely bonkers in the best way. Just crazy, with a jealous streak to match. But she was also exceptional around children and quite protective of them. We don't deserve dogs, NLTownie.
I have sometimes thought of the final cause of dogs having such short lives and I am quite satisfied it is in compassion to the human race; for if we suffer so much in losing a dog after an acquaintance of ten or twelve years, what would it be if they were to live double that time? The misery of keeping a dog is his dying so soon. But, to be sure, if he lived for fifty years and then died, what would become of me?” – Sir Walter Scott
Charlie, regarding Auggie. One of the truest lines I ever read, “The crulest trick God ever played on man is making dogs’ lives so short.”
My pinned tweet:
"Every time a dog I love dies, they take a piece of my heart with them. And every time a new dog comes into my life, they give me a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the pieces of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are."
We should all aspire to be the kind of person our dogs think we are.
I wonder what dogs think of Trump?
Remember the reaction of that bald eagle (a few years ago) when Trump was holding him.Priceless.
Or at least back away and growl.
I totally trust my dogs' intuition about people. They instinctively know evil.
I totally trust my dog. If, on a walk, he spots a person or people in the distance and refuses to move forward, we turn around and go the other way.
Dogs know.
We don't deserve dogs but im glad they think we do.
Sko, thank you for your lovely words. We cat people feel devastated, too, when our feline family members have to leave us. Pieces of my heart will be cat.
Nancy, mine too
Thank you for this…
I've never heard that before, it's lovely.
One of those gems you find on the internet, by an unknown author.
I love it (probably not surprising given my avatar :-P). However, I'm afraid if I try to say it to anyone, I'll cry right then and there!
well put
I found it one day years ago on one of those sites with tons of quotes about dogs.
Another favorite: "A door is something a dog is always on the wrong side of." :)
I have that sign in my kitchen, but instead of the dog, there's a pig!
(I worked with pigs over 30 years, so everyone in my family gave me everything with a pig on it for literal decades until I begged them to stop!)
Cats, too. Though I am honored I got to spend years with many wonderful cats & dogs (& hamsters & guinea pigs). My cats are approaching 15 and I appreciate them every day except when Christian wakes me up at 5am.
I can add dutch bunnies to that collection.
One day, 2 guys from the AC company arrived to install my new ACs in NYC. Christian sat in front of me with his tail wrapped all the way around my ankles. I knew one of them was bad news. He’s never done that before or since.
I lost my (most recent) dog in February of this year. She was 15. I still wake up every morning thinking about her.
The short lifespans of our best friends are indeed the curse of dog lovers. They're with us long enough that we learn to love them like children, then they're gone.
I know, right? They break your heart in the end.
Kind of like life.
I know, right? My dog's been gone for 30 years and I still miss her.
They do, but they also leave you stronger and more open to love.
Oh, I know. I still miss my dog after 30 years. I miss one of my best friend's dog, and one of my sister-in-law's dog. It's just tough to say goodbye.
I still miss my Rottie. He was the most compassionate being I have ever known with gentle brown eyes so full of love.
Mine was a retriever/lab mix, and she was absolutely bonkers in the best way. Just crazy, with a jealous streak to match. But she was also exceptional around children and quite protective of them. We don't deserve dogs, NLTownie.
True, true!
Great quote!
Checkov wrote an excellent short story about that.
Thank you!! I can't find the story now; it was in a high school Norton Anthology. The man was amazing; a physician and such a prolific author!
I have sometimes thought of the final cause of dogs having such short lives and I am quite satisfied it is in compassion to the human race; for if we suffer so much in losing a dog after an acquaintance of ten or twelve years, what would it be if they were to live double that time? The misery of keeping a dog is his dying so soon. But, to be sure, if he lived for fifty years and then died, what would become of me?” – Sir Walter Scott
They become family.
So very true 😥