The Veggie Queen Says Goodbye to Bear the Dog
We adopted Bear from the Sonoma County shelter when he was middle aged. He was quite a handsome dog, mostly Chow with his black tongue, and not my choice. My son Shane picked him out. But we all loved him dearly.
I wrote this piece in 2008 and never published it:
Old Dog Teaches Me New Tricks
My dog Bear is probably around 11 or 12 now. We’ll never know because we adopted him just over 4 years ago. They said that he was between 6 and 8 years old but they didn’t know for sure. He never said. But I have noticed that in the past few months he is slowing down a bit, which is very difficult when a short walk takes 15 minutes because most of the time is spent sniffing. I don’t even call it a walk sometimes, it’s just a sniff fest.
I am thankful though that Bear still has an excellent sense of smell. His hearing has gone down a bit, as has his eyesight but he’s still functioning fairly well. All you have to do is say walk or dog, and he starts to get up, sometimes very slowly. Occasionally these days, he’ll arise to be holding his right rear leg up in the air and then hop around a bit like a 3-legged dog. I think that the leg either falls asleep or is too painful to walk on. I am sure that he has arthritis but when he hears the jingle of the leash, it matters not at all whether he has 3 or 4 functional legs. He wants to go out. Bear is incredibly lucky, as he gets 3 walks every day. In fact, when the family goes away we carefully screen our dogsitters to find out who will really take him out for his regular walks.
Bear lives for walks, and I am sure that Bear’s walks are helping us live better, which brings me to the new tricks that I am learning these days. The most important one, if I had to put them in order, is the lesson of slowing down. When you walk at such an excruciatingly (to me) slow pace, you have time to pay attention to everything around you. It’s as if the world is almost standing still, pretty much because I am not moving. But I get to examine the trees and notice gardens, in both back and front yards, depending upon which walk we take. Today I noticed that the huge squash plant that I’ve seen all summer now has a giant pumpkin-like squash on it, which is probably something being grown for a Harvest Fair entry.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: Late in 2009, Bear started to decline even more than what I'd written about here. His walks got shorter but he still wanted to go. That 15 minute walk turned into 30+ minutes. I said that when he no longer wanted to go for his walks that I'd know that he was done. From November until he departed in August, we took him for acupuncture and chiropractic treatments. I made him food, and he loved it. I think that he lived for his food when he never cared before. But his hind legs and back got too bad for him to walk much at all. His paws got calloused and his nails bled. He couldn't get up and down on his own. Near the end, he fell down a lot and I helped him walk, like a wheelbarrow race.
On the morning of his departure day, Bear woke me up early and it was the first time all summer that I saw the sun rise. After he was gone, I fittingly saw the sunset, and then the beautiful full moon rise. Since then, the sun has mostly been shining. We had a few hot and warm days. And I take comfort in knowing that Bear had a good second half of his life with us. He was mellow but stubborn and independent. He didn't freely give kisses but he showed us that he loved us with an occasional kiss. He will reside in my heart forever. But as my father said (see the blog post here), Life is for the Living. So I shall have to walk myself these days but far more quickly, taking time to incorporate the lessons learned from Bear: patience, persistence, perseverance and faith – that there would always be one more walk.
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| Posted in Uncategorized · Tags: dog, lessons, life, living, patience
Dear Jill:
Please accept my deepest condolences for the loss of your beloved dog, Bear. You were both lucky to have each other. A gift of a true home for an older animal where they are loved, is the best gift of all. These are the innocent animals most people do not want. Bless you for your compassion. Memories of our own dearly departed canine, feline, and avian friends, nourish our days. My prayers are with you.
Jill:
I’m so sorry to hear of your loss. Bear was a very lucky dog indeed to have such a loving home. When our dog, Bagle (the Beagle) died three years ago today, my neighbor sent us the following poem called “Rainbow Bridge”. I thought you might find comfort in this as I did:
Rainbow Bridge
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….
Author unknown…
Hi Jill, so sorry to hear of your loss. I remember my dad crying when our dog died years ago. You are lucky to have had each other. Hope all else is well with you. Will I see you at FNCE? Our final edits go the printer tomorrow and our cookbook will be ready in October. It’s been such a long haul… you know. I’m ready to collapse!
Jill: what a blessing Bear was. I hope these words will help ease your grief…H2 in Chicago
“We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan.”
Irving Townsend
Jill,
So sorry to hear about the loss of your dog, it sounds like you have good memories of him. I am so glad someone posted the rainbow bridge poem, one of my friends gave that to me when my dog passed last August a year ago. He was a 17 year old husky shepherd mix, I will miss him a lot but take comfort he is not in pain anymore. He was cremated and his ashes spread in an apple orchard. We also adopted our dog from the pound when he was 3, i will probably do it again some day
Take care:)
Jennifer
Hi Jill
I’m so sorry to hear about Bear. He looks like such a handsome dog. I have had two beloved cats pass on while I was an adult and it was very hard to take. The sadness and loss are so real and lasting but will eventually lessen as your joyful and funny memories take over and bring you some peace and comfort. I’m glad someone sent you the Rainbow Bridge – I saved it when someone gave it to me and now I’ve given it to several friends who have lost one whom they loved. Take care!
Ines
Jill,
My prayers our with you. It is always hard losing a pet. It is wonderful that you gave Bear a good home for the second half of his life.
Jerilynn
I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your dear dog. Bless you for adopting Bear, especially because he was an older dog when you did so, and for giving him such a healthy and loving home.
Frances
Hello Jill,
I feel your pain also. I’ve lost a dear dog friend also, my best walking buddy ever, a few years back. For months afterwards I’d cry as I walked our usual paths. Now I carry my good memories of him with me while I walk. I have another dog now, a middle aged dog we rescued from a shelter and are giving a good second half of life to also. I hope your good memories of Bear will bring back your usual sunny spirit soon, when you are ready.
Hi Jill:
I am so sorry for the loss of your dear friend, Bear. He was a very lucky dog to be in your family. Three walks a day! Wow. You gave him a great second half of life by adopting him. Kudos to you! My thoughts are with you.
Sincerely,
Melissa Olsen
Sorry to hear about your loss of Bear. We also lost an older pal recently. Glad we have such good memories. I’m sure you do too. My thought are with you.
Thank you all for your kind words and support. I so appreciate it.
Someone sent me the Rainbow Bridge info last week. I know that we all care about our companion animals, and they are a good lesson in why it’s good to be compassionate to everyone we meet. We just don’t know about what’s going on with them.
My walks are getting much faster but certainly not better. I have to think of Bear and learn to slow down again.
I am still having a hard time walking on “our” routes but know that it will get easier. I got a little dog love today from a dog that I never met before. I can see that I just need some time to move on and get back into the groove.
Thanks.
Hi Jill,
We send our condolences for the loss of Bear; he was very fortunate to share a life with someone who who cared so much about him.
It has been four years since the passing of our beloved Sarah and at twilight or on foggy mornings we are sure we can see her outline on the hill near our house where she was laid to rest. Sometimes we hear rustling in the trees and turn around in time to catch a disappearing glance of fur that looks like a tri color aussie, and are comforted to know she is still with us in spirit. You may have similar experiences and know that someone you care about is still close by.
Dogtoberfest at our home is October 9…we will send you an invitation and hope you can join us.
All the best!
Ron and Sandy Dodge
Ron and Sandy,
Thanks for sharing about Sarah. I will mark my calendar for Dogtoberfest. Maybe this time I can get my husband to come since my mother is coming to visit next week.
Spirits and memories stay with us and that’s what makes life so interesting.
Oh, Jill, I’m so sorry to hear about Bear’s sad passing. We lost our beloved Snoopy a few years ago and it hurts so bad. We are simply heartbroken and bereft when our loved ones leave before us. But, I firmly believe and feel, they do live on in spirit and memory.
Your wonderful act of lovingkindness in taking in an older dog, Bear, into your hearts and home is an example to us all of the love we can witness when we open our hearts.
I’m hugging you with my heart.
Blessings,
Ann
Ohhh your boy had such a sweet loving face. I am so sorry for your loss. My PussPuss passed away a few years ago and there are still nights of tossing and turning…but there are more nights w/o now…so all I can say is that it will get better. And the sage words of Thoreau…’the only remedy for love is to love again”. Bear won the adoption lotto when he went home with your family-what great days he had!
We lost Riley at 13 in his sleep June 27th, and it was fine. Then Lola got in her freak accident and had her tail amputated. I had to put mom in a board and care home and came home with 13 yr old 6 lb Bert the toy poodle. Bert is mostly deaf and has bad cataracts but can still see, so we elected not to do cataract surgery. He is on pain meds for degenerative disc disease as well. However Dory, 9 1/2 yrs old PWD needs a hip replacement and will have that this wednesday. We feel fortunate that we can give her this chance to enjoy her last years running instead of hobbling. I am swimming her every day until the surgery in hopes of building some muscle mass. These are our kids – we love them and care for them as best we could, but I liked what you said about being kind to people as they have feelings too. You are kind and caring and I know how much you loved Bear – I remember when you got him. He is now over the Rainbow Bridge in Doggie heaven – with Bucky and Tess and Gabriel and Riley. May they all rest in peace.