Tree climber,

I'm so sorry for your loss.

The following was run in our local newspaper about two years ago by a vet. I know your loss was unexpected, but hopefully this will help in some small way. I have condensed it.

This vet had to go to a friends house to put down a dog they had had for over 10 years and he was suffering from a serious illness. The owner and his wife, along with their 4 year old son was present when the vet arrived at their home. The 4 year old was petting the dog as the vet administered the shot and wondered if the child understood what was going on.

They all sat together for awhile after the dog sliped away wondering aloud about the sad fact that animals lives are shorter than human lives. The young boy piped up, "I know why." Startled, they all turned to him. What came out of mouth next stunned them all- the vet said he'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

The child said, "Everybody is born so that they can learn how to live a good life-like loving everybody and being nice, right?" He continued, "Well, animals already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

Tree climber, I might add that this article was in the paper about two weeks before I had to put a birddog down that had cancer and had been with me for over 10 years. She lived in the house with me and did everything with me, was as bad as loosing a relative.

I hope this didn't make it worse and it definitely wasn't meant to.

Sincerely,
dog1