thanx..he was a good boy...he was on so much medicine, he had bladder stones, epilepsy, perscription diet, and took allergy shots for years. finally the medicine caused liver failure. actually he is still among us until later this morning...he's been kept out of it, until the vet hospital opens. but you're right my pup left me all ready. and strange how the joy they bring, becomes the biggest hurt. bad habits with his nose and all, i still love him like a child. i always will.....

I'm very sorry, Longway. I empathize with you deeply. My 15 year old dog is doing very poorly right now. This week she started exhibiting the symptoms of what may have been a stroke induced by her medication. Checkers looks like he or she was a wonderful companion who brought you a lot of joy and this is a lovely way to remember.

I'm very sorry for you.. ;-; -is kind of teary-eyed- I've experienced the pain of having a dog who was in pain for a while. We let him stay with us, but then found out that he had a concerous tumor in his spine... he had to put him down... -still teary-eyed- ;-;

-Hana-chan

Aw. I too, feel really bad. I think that pretty soon I will be drawing my own dog for similar reasons. I think you did a pretty good job with this one, and hopefully it had a theraputic effect.

Awwww I'm sorry Longway. We lost our dog Two-Bits when I was 10 years old, I cried and cried until I couldn't cry anymore.. it took a long time to get over not havin her. My parents got her as a baby pup before we were born so she was with me and my brother and sister all our lives, she grew up with us. She was an outdoor dog so every week the three of us took turns feeding her. When it was my week I used to love sneaking down the yard with her bowl tipy toeing to see how far I could get before she heard me in her house and woke up. I still remember the time I made it all the way there and creeped open the bag over the opening of the door and she lifted her head up out of her lil ball. And in the wintertime when she was in our house cause it was too cold.. and she was sleepin in the floor like a furry ball and I was so fascinated with how she could do that, so I tried curling up in a ball and sleeping by her. There's a lot of things I remember about her.. the day she died is the hardest. The hurt still comes back even now. I'm really really sorry you had to lose your best friend.

I'm sorry your pooch died, longway. {{{{{{Cyberhugs}}}}}}

This is a very sad thing, I'm so sorry.
(This brings back memories of when 'I' had to do this with a dog of mine). You did checkers proud with this picture(I am really crying as I type this)...beautiful, beautiful dog.

((((((longway)))))) I'm so sorry. He sure was a sweet looking doggy.

What a wonderful friendship you had, with your sweet buddy Checkers. I can't begin to express how heart felt this is. I'm so sorry, for your loss. This is a beautiful tribute to Checkers.

So sorry..I still sniffle some when I think about when my last one went. It hurts worse than losing people sometimes...

aww lovely picture..sorry to hear...

thanks everybody, it really means alot to me. there are those people whom don't understand the grief that we know. to them a dog, is a dog, big deal. but for those of us who took the time to care and teach a pup, we know the difference. i still remain shocked as he reached out his paw to me at the last moment, raised his chin into the air, and bade me farewell. he had some of the worst habits a dog can have, but i would give anything for him to be here, and do them again. my god, it hit me like a brick, it was and is so profoundly done, i am in awe of his magnificence and grace, to the last moment, in as much as we intended, he never made it to the vet... again thankyou all so much.....inoun or longway..

Damn! Im so sorry I only just found out- my telephone line has been broken for the last 5 days- all I can do is send my condolences- I know how you feel having lost various cats, I really do think they touch our hearts in such a profound and trusting way!