Loyalty, Love, and Loss

By haystack Posted in User Blogs — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

In his prime, DeNiro (Dino) weighed 210 pounds. He was well over 6 feet long, had a head as big as a volleyball, and pound for pound had an unconditional love for his family that can never be adequately described.

Dino succumbed to osteo sarcoma yesterday, after a relatively brief fight. He was just under 9 years old. I loved him, and our family will never quite be the same with his passing.

Anyone with a pet can appreciate the pain you feel when they pass on. After years of them completely invading your space, taking it over as their own, you are suddenly left feeling "all alone in this big house." The love of a dog can be often times especially overwhelming; they seem to control the rhythm and pace of your life and dictate just exactly when it will be that you focus your entire being on their demands. Absent that, a growing hole develops somewhere in your gut.

You look around, expecting to hear the wagging tail that bangs on the floor with a dull thud, or see the debris of some apparently flavorful remnant of a piece of furniture that was considered a reasonable snack at some point in the night. You look but don't find any more slobber tracks that need to be wiped from the TV screen, and you wonder why your favorite shoe is still in that place you left it the night before - especially weird since it has been picked up and walked off with on a daily basis for years.

As dogs go, Dino was always happy. He had that look in his eyes that always told you he was damn glad to see you, and "could you now feed me please, thank you very much." He took every new animal into the family with a wary eye and a quick growl to make sure they understood where they stood in the food chain.

That he was an English Mastiff made him, in my experience, the absolutely finest adoptive father of every grandchild that God has graced us with.

Ever-watchful, protective of "his babies" with the ferocity of a lion, patient with all things mischievous, and tolerant of all things playful, Dino was a proud, loving and amazing animal.

Living out in rural Texas, we are fortunate enough to hear the sounds of nature; from cows to roosters to hawks, coyotes, and everything in between. When the coyotes get to howling, Dino and the rest of the mastiffs I am fortunate enough to have been adopted by, chime right in with a howling choir like you can never fully appreciate unless you hear it yourself.

Once the music stops, you can rest assured the nap is quick to follow. (Dino is in the middle)

We told our grandaughter Dino had gone back to heaven to be with God. God has himself the best friend, companion, and protector there ever was.

A fine tribute by krempasky

It's odd, I sometimes see my dog engaged in some kind of hijinks - and both smile at the thought of her playing with the kids I hope to have - then frown at the prospect of her leaving us. Powerful effect those canines have.

Reply To This — User Info — #1

So sad, but what love! by kowalski

My family rescues Golden Retrievers that have been abused by their previous owners. We've had three so far, over more than a decade, and our latest, Cody the Codester, is almost five years old. For the first ~4 years of his life, he was confined to a long, thin, confining metal and wood "shack" and was beaten by his previous owner, who broke his nose and damaged his craniofacial nerves on the left side of his skull in an attempt to turn this wonderful, loving, people-friendly dog into a fighting pitbull-type guard dog.

When my parents went to pick him up, the scumbag who owned him simply let him off the leash (finally) and Cody ran more than 75 yards at full speed and JUMPED into the back of my parents' minivan, and never looked back -- that's how badly he wanted out. He still has behavioral/aggressive problems around strangers that we're slowly but surely working out of him. But he loves our family in a way that is just impossible to measure. He never leaves us, rides in the car without complaint, and doesn't need a leash because he cannot even think of running away.

I'm very sorry to hear about your family's loss. There really are no better friends in this world.

Reply To This — User Info — #2

My condolences by FP Watergil

We have English Bulldogs. It's all we've ever had. Over a period of 30 years, each one has given more to my family and grandchildren than we could possibly give back.

Dino looked like a beautiful critter. The heartache and pain for you and your family is deep. My sincere condolences.

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FP Watergil

Reply To This — User Info — #3

In the often shallow world we live in, by BooBooKitty

the unconditional love our pets give us is a true blessing no one should be without. I am sorry for your loss.
__________________________________________________________
Thou art the Great Cat, the avenger of the Gods, and the judge of words...-Inscription on the Royal Tombs at Thebes

Reply To This — User Info — #4

I fear that I too will soon be losing my best friend by David Hinz

Vegas was supposed to be my children's pet, the product of a Sunday ride, and a deceptively designed "FREE PUPPIES" sign. Free my butt!

He is now in his 11th year, and (unlike children) still greets me at the door with the enthusiasm of someone returning from an absence of years. A ten minute trip to the store entails the same welcome as an overnight sojourn.

The Lab in him, that part of him which requires him to carry shoes and other objects throughout the house, has betrayed him with age, as his hips no longer give him the spring he once had.

A doggie ramp allows him the freedom to descend and climb the front steps, althought pride still prevents him from using it when he feels able.

Where once he slept on the bed, he now is content with his own bed beside my own, too proud to ask for help. While his favorite toys, his teddy bear and turtle, migrate throughout the house on a daily basis, they always seen to end up the day under his head at night, back in his bed.

He still expects to be included in any trip I make, barking his head off whenever I leave the car. Many is the time he has been left in the car in the summer, the windows rolled up, the air conditioning on, car running...the most spoiled animal in Michigan.

Where he once ran 3 to 5 miles a day with me on the nature trails near our house, he is now quite content to walk a short ways down the trail, stopping to sniff the offerings, and adding his own scent to the occasional rock or tree.

I have made it clear that he will be the last. I cannot bear, when he is gone from my life, to go through this all again. Still, the unconditional love of a pet is something magical, and hard to give away. For now, I am content to boost him onto the couch when he asks, and help him into the minivan for his excursions into the outside world. He accepts my help graciously, occasionally offering a quick lick of thanks, acknowledgmenton his part, that I am performing a function he can no longer go for himself.

Reply To This — User Info — #5

Loyal DeNiro is good role model for DC Dems to follow by gamecock

Dino never betrayed haystack.

And 'stack, isn't the new Fox show debuting tonight one of the things we have been begging for!

small step of progress that could have huge effect

Mike Gamecock DeVine @ The Charlotte Observer
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson

Reply To This — User Info — #6

Redstate