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A Personal Post (Warning: Pet Death)
SDAddick
Posts: 14,467
My dog Cass passed away in my arms on Sunday. Her heart started having problems again and we just couldn't reverse it this time. I got to thank her and tell her I will love her always and forever before she went.
I know everyone thinks that their pets and their kids are the most special. But she really was a truly special creature. She was so much more than a dog. She was a presence, a force, my guardian angel. She came into my life at a time when I had of things to learn, and she taught them to me. The last couple years have been some of the roughest of my life, and she stuck with me through all of it. At times, she was the only reason I got through it. She was the only thing that kept me going. In short, she saved my life.
I have never met a more emotionally intelligent being than she was. She had a way of looking at me that made me know, like her namesake, she knew things that she couldn't express to me. That she knew things about all of us that we didn't know. We don't have a word for something like that, though William Faulkner tried to invent one: Cassandralike. Some people never get anything like that in their lives. I was lucky enough to get five years of her. I don't know anyone who met her who didn't love her. And she loved everyone she met. And it was symbolically fitting that in the end it was her heart that gave out.
I am heartbroken and devastated. I still can't really believe she's gone. I still feel her at the end of my bed. I still feel like she's just in the other room, just out of earshot. I still feel like she's sitting next to the window staring out. I still look for her at the top of the stairs and in the hallway and I can't believe she's not there.
But she went when she knew I could handle this. She hung on through countless heart and stomach problems, through pain I never knew about that she never showed me, because that's who she was. She waited until she knew I would take the love she gave me and turn it into something good. She waited until she knew I was okay, that I was going to be okay, even if I didn't know it yet. She waited until she knew I could see her death for what it was, her last challenge to me, to do this now, without her. To live my life as best I can. And I need to do that now. For her. And she needs to go help someone else.
I will love her always and forever, and take her with me wherever I go.
Cassandra Penelope Seelig
December 23, 2011-May 6, 2018
Thank you for making me feel such a part of this community that I felt I had to share this with all of you.
I know everyone thinks that their pets and their kids are the most special. But she really was a truly special creature. She was so much more than a dog. She was a presence, a force, my guardian angel. She came into my life at a time when I had of things to learn, and she taught them to me. The last couple years have been some of the roughest of my life, and she stuck with me through all of it. At times, she was the only reason I got through it. She was the only thing that kept me going. In short, she saved my life.
I have never met a more emotionally intelligent being than she was. She had a way of looking at me that made me know, like her namesake, she knew things that she couldn't express to me. That she knew things about all of us that we didn't know. We don't have a word for something like that, though William Faulkner tried to invent one: Cassandralike. Some people never get anything like that in their lives. I was lucky enough to get five years of her. I don't know anyone who met her who didn't love her. And she loved everyone she met. And it was symbolically fitting that in the end it was her heart that gave out.
I am heartbroken and devastated. I still can't really believe she's gone. I still feel her at the end of my bed. I still feel like she's just in the other room, just out of earshot. I still feel like she's sitting next to the window staring out. I still look for her at the top of the stairs and in the hallway and I can't believe she's not there.
But she went when she knew I could handle this. She hung on through countless heart and stomach problems, through pain I never knew about that she never showed me, because that's who she was. She waited until she knew I would take the love she gave me and turn it into something good. She waited until she knew I was okay, that I was going to be okay, even if I didn't know it yet. She waited until she knew I could see her death for what it was, her last challenge to me, to do this now, without her. To live my life as best I can. And I need to do that now. For her. And she needs to go help someone else.
I will love her always and forever, and take her with me wherever I go.
Cassandra Penelope Seelig
December 23, 2011-May 6, 2018
Thank you for making me feel such a part of this community that I felt I had to share this with all of you.
83
Comments
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think I've got a bit of grit in my eye. Feel for you SD, stay strong. RIP Cass.1
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As someone who is getting very close to the point I have to have my own dog put to sleep, this post has absolutely done me. Beautiful words0
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Good to see you taking some positivities about this. All the best.0
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Sorry to read that.
People who can build that sort of bond with an animal are special people in my view.0 -
RIP Cass - they do become part of the family and a big loss when the time comes.0
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Sorry for your loss mate. Lovely words.0
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You express your experience with such depth of feeling, and that others can relate to your journey is a testament to the relationship between you and Cass.
I hope eventually you can remember Cass with only a smile and not a tear.0 -
RIP,Cass, and so sorry for your loss, SDAddick.0
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So sorry for your loss RIP Cass0
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RIP Cass. Very sad SD as I know how much she meant to you from things you've posted on here in the past (and of course your post today).
It'll be hard for you for a while but try and think of all the memories and the happy times she gave you.1 - Sponsored links:
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R.I.P Cass. Dogs are special creatures, for me the most special creatures on this planet, and she sounded very special.0
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So sorry to hear about your loss SDAddick. Losing a pet is very painful but your good memories of her will never leave you.0
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RIP Cass. So sorry to hear of your sad loss SD. I know how you must be feeling right now as I have lost 4 dogs in the past. As others have said after a while you will remember the good times and Cass will bring a smile to your face once more.0
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Wow, so sorry for your loss.
'Run to the Bridge' beautiful girl'
RIP Cass0 -
Sorry to hear of your loss mate - RIP Cass0
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RIP Cass. Feel for you SDA.0
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RIP Cass xx
Now running a kennels and cattery we get so heartbroken when one of our regular guests pass over the rainbow bridge that we truly couldn't bare the loss of a dog of our own.
Sending you goaty love and hugs xxxxx3 -
Not a doggy person myself but the tremendous bond you had with your pet is evident in the beautiful tribute that you have written.
My sincere condolences on your loss and I hope that in time the happy memories will outweigh the sadness and emptiness.1 -
So sorry to learn that you have lost Cass, SDA. She sounds like a very special character, with whom you had a very special relationship, one that you were both blessed to find.
RIP Cass, and I hope that you will always remember the great times you had with her.0 -
Sorry to hear this SD. RIP Cass.0
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RIP Cass.
That's the thing with dogs - they never judge you, they just love you.
We've got a cat in our house and I share a mutual loathing with him, but boy would I miss him if he wasn't there.1 -
Sorry to hear that SD. Silly as it sounds to some people, losing an animal friend can be just as hard as losing a human one. Stay strong mate, it very much sounds like that is what she would have wanted. She looks a sweet girl from those pictures, and obviously an Addick too! RIP Cass.0
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Gutted for you Adam, my wife and I have been there, and we too reached out for and received wonderful support from Lifers.
Rest in peace Cass.
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Sorry for your loss SD. RIP Cass.0
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Very sorry to hear of your loss. Our Border Collie, who is 15 is struggling and feel that our time with him is drawing to a close. I'm not a weepy person but can't bear the thought when the day comes to say" Run Free Baby".0
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What a lovely eulogy to your faithful 4-legged friend, SDAddick. Feel for you.0
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Sorry for your loss @SDAddick it’s heartbreaking when you lose a pet, it really is. I don’t have a dog, I have cats. However, a couple of years ago, we went on holiday to Mauritius. There were lots of beach dogs who were very friendly and one in particular took a shine to me. He would come and seek me out and lay under my sun bed all day and in the evening he would come and find me in the bar area and sit on my lap then follow us back to our room and lay outside the door. On the last night he tried to get on the bus that came to take us to the airport. If I could’ve put him in my luggage, I would’ve done. I was in tears when the bus drove off.1
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At 63 years of age and being a dog owner all my life I can honestly say it Never gets any easier when you lose one.
I share your pain mate.
Rip Cass2 -
Im so very very sorry to hear of your loss @SDAddick, your words are powerful and very sincere they brought back memories, as you may know, we have recently been through the loss of our dog Jed as well. The only words of comfort I can give is the pain is and will be unbearable for a while, then with time will ease. The memories of good times when she made you smile will come back and the pain will subside, but the memories will never ever leave you. I hope you don't mind but I have reproduced below a poem that Angie and I look at when we are struggling with the loss of our dogs, I hope it can help bring some comfort at this time........RIP Cass a wonderful companion and friend, run free over 'The Bridge'....
The Rainbow Bridge
By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,
Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.
Where the friends of man and woman do run,
When their time on earth is over and done.
For here, between this world and the next,
Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.
On this golden land, they wait and they play,
Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.
No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,
For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.
Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,
Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.
They romp through the grass, without even a care,
Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.
All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,
Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.
For just at that instant, their eyes have met;
Together again, both person and pet.
So they run to each other, these friends from long past,
The time of their parting is over at last.
The sadness they felt while they were apart,
Has turned into joy once more in each heart.
They embrace with a love that will last forever,
And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.
God bless @SDAddick7 -
Stay strong @SDAddick0
