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Thread: My sweet Darla

  1. #11
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    Jun 2009
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    Default Re: My sweet Darla

    I've been sitting here reading your posts and crying. I thank you for your kind words. I did have a chat with my husband the other night and cried. He knows I'm upset and will be for some while. He is a very layed back person and seems to have grieved for Darla already I guess. I've asked him if he thinks about her and when he does, does he get emotional. His answer is that we made the decision to let her go and she is in a better place...we wouldn't want our girls to find her in the house somewhere....she is out of pain. I guess he has come to terms with the decision, I have not. Maybe I just don't like to show that kind of emotion to him as I feel vulnerable, I feel like I need to be strong for the family...to put on that brave face. Of course he says I don't have to "put on a front" for him. Anyhow, like I said he is o.k. with the decision we made. Maybe he came to terms with it while Darla was alive as he knew it had to be done. I kept wanting to find a "solution" to the problem and hoping against hope that we would find "something" else we could do for Darla. I wish I could have done more for her. She was a sweet girl, always wanting to get in your lap. She was a Jack Russel Terrier, but very very mellow, not hyper at all. She just always wanted to be with you or I should say on you! When I'm up to it I will post more about how both Darla and Rascal came into my life. By the way, Rascal seems well. He is eating, but not quite his normal eating habits yet. Thanks again for listening. Also, the poem is awesome I love it, it is so true.

    Marianne, I too am a person that dwells on things that upset me. Your mantra might just help me. I will keep it in mind when I start feeling sad again. Thank you.
    Sarah

  2. #12
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    Default Re: My sweet Darla

    Quote Originally Posted by sarahbera1 View Post
    Also, the poem is awesome I love it, it is so true.

    Sarah
    Bettina, I totally agree with Sarah -- your poem IS awesome!! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

    Marianne

  3. #13
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    Apr 2009
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    Toronto Canada
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    Default Re: My sweet Darla

    Sarah:

    I am so sorry for your loss. Making that big decision is one of the hardest things you'll ever have to do. I stayed with my last dog right through the whole procedure and found it very peaceful (and yes... very sad). When I first got the news that my precious Sasha had cancer, I asked the vet how I would know what to let her go. His reply was right on the money.... 'You'll know when the time comes'. Enought said. Don't try and second guess yourself. You knew the time had come. You did everything you could for your precious baby and you performed the final act of kindness for her. You stayed with her throughout the final procedure and that in itself is one of the hardest things to do.

    You did the right thing, at the right time.

    Heidi & Kira

  4. #14
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    Apr 2009
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    Norfolk, VA
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    Default Re: My sweet Darla

    Dear Sarah,

    Your pain is shared by so many here; mine included. I so totally relate to the guilt over a decision you had to make and the pain of loss you now bear. That pain is a huge testament to the love you shared with Darla. It wouldn't hurt so much if we didn't love them. What lucky girls you were!

    I lost my little love nine months ago and still cry when I think about her. My tears, however, although still a sign that I miss her terribly, are also washing and healing. I always throw a kiss in the air and say, "I love you girl!" I imagine her greeting the newcomers at the bridge and I can see her now showing Darla around.

    Hang in there. Stay with the folks here especially when you are feeling blue. They have been a tremendous support for so many of us.

    Lyn
    Lyn and Lucy (aka Boston Retriever 1/97-1/09)

  5. #15
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    Default Re: My sweet Darla

    Let me start by telling you a little more about Darla. We found her at the local pound (the same pound we found Rascal only 6 months or so before). There were lots of people ahead of us that wanted to adopt her. They picked us though because we had adopted Rascal there. My husband says we picked her out for his parents, but his dad didn't want her. I say we picked her for us. They say she was about 1 year old, although the vet said she was a little older. Her name was Jill and she lived with an elderly woman. She was a lap dog from the 1st time we saw her. I think this was due to the fact that she lived with an elderly woman. Darla was never hyper. She was very mellow for a Jack Russel. Needless to say the both of them got along great! They kept each other company (even through the bad things). I can remember when Rascal escaped from our electric fence, he would sit at the border and his collar would beep and beep and the batteries would run low, then he would cross it. Well, Darla would follow, although she would get zapped. We had many phone calls from our neighbors that they had our dogs, ha ha. One day (Dec. 2001 )Rascal escaped again, but out the fence (we got a fence after we figured the electric fence didn't work). Darla, again, followed him. They both went into traffic and Rascal was hit and dragged by a car. They both came running back to the house, Rascal was hurt really really bad and Darla not a scratch on her. Rascal almost lost his leg, only lost 1 toe. And yes he still tries to escape. We moved to Florida for 2 years and the dogs did great. We moved back to RI 3 years ago. Darla was diagnosed in 2008. Rascal was diagnosed earlier this year. I tried everything I could with Darla and she didn't respond well to the treatment. They both had adrenal tumors, what are the odds? Rascal's was in his left adrenal gland, he had surgery and is off all meds and is great!!!!! Darla on the other hand....well we tried different treatment, Lysodren and an ablation procedure. They didn't work. She was getting so big, bloating belly, panting all the time. She was so uncomfortable I couldn't bare the thought of her going through any more treatment. It just wasn't fair. I know she is in a better place, not in pain and now playing with all the other Cushpups that have crossed over. She truly was a great dog, all she wanted to do was be with you, really with you...I mean on your lap!! I miss her every day, but time heals best and the wound isn't as deep now, yet still there. Thanks for listening. It was nice to be able to share a little bit of Darla and Rascal with you all. I have to say you all were and still are great. I couldn't have made it through all of this without you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
    Sarah, Rascal and Darla in Spirit

  6. #16
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    Default Re: My sweet Darla

    Oh Sarah, thank you so much for telling us more about Darla and Rascal . Now I feel as though I really "know" them both, and I can picture their lives with you. What lucky pups to have come home with you! I'm glad to know from your earlier posts that Rascal seems to be adjusting OK. Given how close the two of them were, it wouldn't have been surprising for him to have had a tough time. With as much as you have going on right now (I just saw your post on "Everything Else" about your diabetic kitty ), it is a blessing that Rascal has settled into this new phase of his life. As for you, it is easy to see why you miss your Darla girl so much. When they are ALWAYS right there beside you, or in your lap, the hole is enormous when they are physically lost to you. I am relieved to know that the wound is not quite as raw. But I know you will never stop missing her. We never do. Especially this time of year with all the holidays. Just like with people, I think we miss our furbabies even more at these special times. Because of all the memories...

    Again, thanks so much for sharing these stories. And I will look forward to reading more whenever you feel like writing!

    As always, big (((hugs))),
    Marianne

  7. #17
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    Mar 2009
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    Default Re: My sweet Darla

    Hi Sarah,

    Thank you for sharing more about your life with your sweet Darla. It is a joy to be able to "see" her in her usual environment, tho I can well imagine the emptiness your lap feels.

    I think it was Robert Frost who wrote about us in one of his poems - "us" being true animal lovers. The poem talks about people like us who let an animal into our lives knowing there are very good odds we are going to out-live them. We open our hearts and homes to these little souls and they become part of our souls forever and ever. We take the pain of loss that we know is coming in exchange for a love and companionship that cannot be compared, that is beyond worth.

    Darla has made her spot in your soul and there she will remain until you can be together once again. In time, that spot will not hold so much pain but rather good memories and when you reach for that special spot, a gentle warmth will reach back.

    Hugs to you, Rascal and Tigger,
    Leslie and the girls
    "May you know that absence is full of tender presence and that nothing is ever lost or forgotten." John O'Donahue, "Eternal Echoes"

    Death is not a changing of worlds as most imagine, as much as the walls of this world infinitely expanding.

  8. #18
    mytil's Avatar
    mytil is offline Administrator and always In Loving Memory
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    Default Re: My sweet Darla

    Hi Sarah,

    Thank you for sharing your story with us - truly heartwarming. I then went to your album and looked at all your photos of them - it made me sad, but it also made me smile because I think our lives are so much better when we are touched by such angels.

    My continued (((((hugs)))))
    Terry

  9. #19
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    Aug 2009
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    Sault Ste Marie, ON
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    Default Re: My sweet Darla

    Sarah, thank you for sharing , what a sweet dog Darla was and you must miss her terribly, and Rascal must miss her as well . . . you do have wonderful memories but I know they will not take the place of your pup on your lap.

    Hugs,
    Ellen, Sweet Angel Casey, Desi and Oreo

  10. #20
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    Apr 2009
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    Sterling, VA (NOVA)
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    Default Re: My sweet Darla

    Sarah - Thanks for sharing more about your sweet Darla (and Rascal!).

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