# One Year Ago Today...



## DERBYBOY7 (May 18, 2012)

And I guess I'll always hate April 28th. Hope you are doing okay.


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

You can change your thoughts but not what is in your heart. What ever you said there, we understand.


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## Swede (Oct 31, 2011)

Derbyboy, Buddy's mom-Thanks. Yesterday was a bitter one. It sounds like you understand.


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

No need for words, sometimes silence speaks louder than words. I hope you are feeling better today.


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## patrice (Nov 3, 2011)

I, too, understand. October 30th is not too far away. That day will always be a hard one for me. Hugs to you. Patrice


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## Swede (Oct 31, 2011)

Again, thanks for the kind thoughts.

I should explain the deleted opening post.

Molly was a good dog. It sounds trite, but she simply _was. _Sometimes smart as a tack, other times dumb as a box of rocks. She played the chicken at the sight of bicycles, umbrellas, and ladies wearing wide-brimmed hats; but on one occasion she showed _Rin Tin Tin-esque _bravery as protector to Mrs. Swede. She did not like strangers; but she absolutely loved the elderly and the frail, and would treat them with a gentleness that was not taught by us. She was fiercely loyal. She liked her medicine wrapped in turkey. She liked to 'go outside and read' with me- I with the latest read, she with her latest stick. She would not retrieve worth a nickel, but she fancied herself a backyard hunter of rabbits and squirrels. She was a picky eater. She loved car rides. She loved her morning walk. She had the deepest-sounding bark I've ever heard come out of a GR's mouth and was the best watchdog I've ever had. Every day during winter, we had to play 'snowball' for at least forty-five minutes. She was my friend.





 
The running joke was that Molly was _my _dog. Though she loved Mrs. Swede as much as she did, I was the pack leader and was due the greater deference. Many times there were when, during a test of wills between the two, I'd give Molly _the look. _Immediate obedience would earn me Mrs. S's lament about me usurping her authority.

Molly was a once-in-a-lifetime dog. We knew that we had seen lightning strike.

Wednesday was a rotten day. One year previous I had to make the decision to end her struggle with chronic renal failure. Those who have experience with this type of sickness know that it's not quick, and that the end result is not a happy one. There is plenty of time for dread, second-guessing options, and guilt. In our case we had four months.

The day that she died, she was sick. She did not want to take her walk that morning. We knew she was nearing the end. That evening, she was euthanised. 

There's a particular sense of guilt that one bears when one puts his buddy to sleep. Though my mind knows it was mercy to give her a peaceful death rather than one in prolonged agony, there's a weight that I carry. 

Now that the one-year milestone has passed, we have a sense that the chapter that began in May of last year is closed. We will always miss Our Molly, and I will still carry a bit of that weight; but we can move ahead.

We now have another little one and, as she's growing and developing and comming into her own, we think lightning may have struck twice.


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## AlanK (Jun 28, 2008)

I always am at a loss for words reading of the loss of one of our friends. Molly is a beauty may she rest in peace. You have many here who understand your feelings.


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## goldensmum (Oct 23, 2007)

Anniversaries are tough, but I hope that your happy times together help you through, just as your new member of your family will also make their own memories for you.

Carrying the weight of being the one who had to make the decision is a heavy one that so many of us carry, but we also carry the knowledge that we let them go painlessly and peacefully to the bridge

Run free, play hard and sleep softly Molly


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## HolDaisy (Jan 10, 2012)

Thinking of you on this sad 1 year anniversary of you losing Molly. Such a lovely video of her playing snowball and I can tell how very special she was too you.

We lost our Golden Daisy 8 months ago to renal failure so know exactly how terrible it must have been for you, such a horrible thing to deal with. Really glad that your new little one has healed your hearts a little, I'm sure Molly is keeping a close watch over her


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Thank you for sharing Molly with us. I love the video! So glad you decided to post. Wishing you a lifetime of fun and happiness with your little one.


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## flykelley (Oct 15, 2011)

Swede said:


> Again, thanks for the kind thoughts.
> 
> I should explain the deleted opening post.
> 
> ...


Hi Swede, there are many of us here who know how you feel. All we can say is your family is in our prayers. I know how tough it is to lose a heart dog, myself Oct 24th will be a year since I had to make that decision for my heart dog. It still hurts but the good news is the second weekend of Oct I'm picking up a new puppy in Katie's honor. I don't have a solution to ease all of our pain for those of us who are members of the rainbow club but I thank God I have a place to go and vent and talk to Katie.

Mike


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## DERBYBOY7 (May 18, 2012)

That video is hysterical. Thanks for sharing. 

Somehow My Honey spared me the guilt of putting her to sleep. So i live with the guilt of thinking I should have noticed something sooner. 

Mortality sucks.


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

A beautiful tribute to Molly. Love the video you posted, her happy tail wagging all time.
Molly was . . . just Molly, a girl you will always remember. She loved and she was loved, it only matters.
Wish you all the best and wonderful time with your beautiful Annabelle.


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## Brinkleythegolden (Jun 18, 2012)

My thoughts are with you on this sad anniversary. It's so wonderful that you have video to remember her by--we didn't have a video camera with our first golden, and I wish we had. Please know that we all support you at this sad time.


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