5 days in and I'm still filling her water bowl...
Last Sunday evening my lovely little family and I had to say goodbye to our faithful hound and much loved friend “Elsa”. You may have already seen far too many photos of her on my insta/FB, so I’ll keep it brief. But I wanted to mark it! And in my opinion you can never see too many pics of her!
We all loved her. We all miss her. But for my part …. Elsa was my friend, my walking partner, my confidante, my office dog who lazed around on the sofa behind me while I worked and mostly snored, farted and dreamt of chasing rabbits. She was kind-hearted, gentle, patient (even though she hated the cats we brought home a year ago!) made us laugh, made us wet (as she splashed around chasing stones along the shoreline!) and made us wretch, with her penchant for the delicacies of New Forest pony manure, but above all she filled our hearts! She was the structure to our day, forcing us to exercise and walk. Before doing anything else. I became totally dependant on that walking time. It was a great time to think, to prepare, to plan for the day and to wind down after it. I felt fitter and made many walking friends.
The hole she has left is so much larger than her 30kg frame. These pets of ours whilst skulking around silently, fill every void somehow. Whether it’s under the kitchen table, hanging around for cheese to slip off the kitchen counter, waiting with a waggy tail at the front door when we come home at night, smiling no matter what, lolling about on the sofa or lurching at cats on the TV and then tearing outside to check behind it.
We were lucky to have a lovely final week with her on the beach in Devon, not many days ago.
Like many we loved our dog and we miss her keenly. Family, friends, their kindness, their patience, their tears and even work have given us comfort, structure and laughter this week. Thank you all x
But 5 days on and I still can’t seem to put her water bowl, bed, blankets and other paraphernalia away yet. I’ve even gone as far as to fill her bowl with fresh water every day. Telling myself it’s for the cats!!
I commend all you pet lovers and owners out there. It’s a brave call letting those critters in, when you know you’ve got to let them go, but I don’t regret a single second!
Like every other pet owner, the pain and the tears will lessen, we’ll learn to live with it but we’ll never forget!
Swapping tales of sandwich snatching on the beach and hiding from the thunder and lightening at the back of the wardrobe!
Night, night my love xx