# Lost a hunting buddy



## thame (Feb 6, 2008)

Just had to put down my lab last night. He was nine years old and has been unable to hunt the last few years due to an illness. Finally lost him last night when we discovered he was full of tumors. It is nice to read the hunting dog forum to see what new possibilities are out there. He will be missed in our house! Thanks for letting me share.


----------



## northdakotakid (May 12, 2004)

Sorry to hear it... somethings in life just can't be replaced. A good dog is definately towards the top of my list.


----------



## mmartin (Oct 12, 2007)

Sorry to hear losing a good hunting buddy is hard.


----------



## hunt4P&amp;Y (Sep 23, 2004)

Just think of all of the great memories! He will still be hunting with you! Just look up after you make that amazing shot on that rooster, or duck. Or watch your new puppy flush a rooster, or dive in after a wounded duck! He will be watchin!


----------



## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

Sorry man. Losing a dog is one of the hardest things a guy goes through in his life. As I've often heard "Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog.", and that would be you.

I think every guy in this forum has gone thru the emotions you are going through. We've all "been there" and can empathize your loss.

Guys who hunt have an especially close bond with their dogs. We share some of our greatest moments with them, and we also share some of our deepest fears and insecurities that no human knows about. They are the perfect friend, always willing to lend a sympathetic ear and a friendly lick, or dive into an icy cold lake to retrieve a bird.

When my dog(s) have passed on, I always like to look back at some famous quotes that are far wiser than I in explaining the range of emotions one goes through during this time, and some inspiring insightful ones. I thought I would list some of them here for you and others....

Here they are:



> "No man can be condemned for owning a dog. As long as he has a dog he has a friends, and the poorer he gets, the better friend he has." - Will Rogers





> "A dog is the only thing on this earth that loves you more than he loves himself." - Josh Billings





> "I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that dogs think humans are nuts." - John Steinbeck





> "They are better than human beings, because they know but do not tell." - Emily Dickinson





> "The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog." -George Graham Vest





> "The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too." - Samuel Butler





> "A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato





> "No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as a dog does." - Christopher Morley





> "Dogs are not our whole life but they make our lives whole." - Roger Caras





> "We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." - Immanuel Kant





> "I miss the wagging little tail;
> I miss the plaintive, pleading wail;
> I miss the wistful, loving glance;
> I miss the circling welcome-dance."
> - Henry Willett, "In Memoriam"





> "If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around." - Cowboy Wisdom





> " Every boy should have two things: a dog, and a mother willing to let him have one." - Anonymous





> "To err is human, to forgive, canine." - Anonymous





> "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain





> "The final cause of dogs having such short lives... 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?" - Sir Walter Scott





> "Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear." - Dave Barry


And perhaps my favorite:



> "Everyone needs a spiritual guide: a minister, rabbi, counselor, wise friend, or therapist. My own wise friend is my dog. He has deep knowledge to impart. He makes friends easily and doesn't hold a grudge. He enjoys simple pleasures and takes each day as it comes. Like a true Zen master he eats when he is hungry and sleeps when he is tired. He's not hung up about sex. Best of all, he befriends me with an unconditional love that human beings would do well to imitate." - Gary Kowalski in The Souls of Animals


And one for you to consider in a few months..



> "There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face." - Ben Williams


Glad to see this hunting dog forum has been a bit of a help to you...


----------



## HUNTNFISHND (Mar 16, 2004)

My condolences.


----------



## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Sorry for your loss.


----------



## ImpalaSSpeed96 (Aug 25, 2008)

Sorry to hear about the bad news bro...

Ryan, great post.


----------



## taddy1340 (Dec 10, 2004)

Sorry for your loss.

Mike


----------



## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

It's hard

I cried when my last one died, done it everytime any of them have.

Good post Ryan I enjoyed reading those.


----------



## DuckBuster (Mar 18, 2003)

I'm sorry for the loss. It gets a little easier with time...

Ryan-

You hit the nail on the head with that post!


----------



## thame (Feb 6, 2008)

Thanks a lot guys! Ryan that was good to read. Its something all of us will go through at one time or another but that doesn't make it easy.

Thanks again for all of your help.


----------



## brittanypoint (Feb 15, 2009)

It is hard to lose your best buddy. Most men dont shed tears much but when that special friend dies many of us do. I have pictures of my dogs that have passed on on the wall in my office. It is the least I can do. Underneath their picture I have a plaque with a picture of them working and an inscription under it. As stated by someone else, they are always with you. I can always see my first Brittany (Chelsea) in the field when I'm out.

"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." - Edward Hoagland


----------



## Save Hens (Mar 15, 2008)

Man sorry to hear about your best bud


----------



## Sask hunter (Sep 11, 2008)

Sorry to hear of your loss.


----------

