Back in 2004 I got a beautiful 8 week old Bernese Mountain dog, we called her Koda (she looked like the bear cub called Koda in the kids film Brother Bear), she quickly became my best friend, my 2 young daughter adored her and I could not have wished for a better dog to grow up with my kids
Koda and I did everything together, she followed me everywhere and the devotion, loyalty and love she gave me was beyond that of any other dog I've ever owned, this sounds silly but we had a connection...we didn't need words, a look between us and it was like we both knew what each other was thinking, she was in every way my 3rd child.
Suddenly in January 2010 she was taken from me because of bloat, despite being rushed to an emergency vet, in the space of 12 hours my beautiful Koda went from happy and healthy....to gone forever.
I am a very practical, realistic, quite tough person in every area of my life, I deal with what life throws at me without loosing it and getting emotional, however its been nearly 2 years now and for some reason I can't move on, if I let my mind wander too much I turn into and sobbing wreck, something as simple as a song or a picture can set me off, I so wish I could accept what has happened but I don't seem to be able to deal with it.
I love dogs but have put off getting another since because I don't feel I can handle it, however my daughters do nag at me to get another so I feel bad saying no, I'm starting to come around to maybe getting another but I can't get another Berner...I would burst into tears every time I looked at it, so maybe another breed is the answer...hopefully I can deal with that better.
I miss her every day, I feel angry and cheated that she was taken from me at only 5 years old, I feel guilty because maybe I should have seen a sign or something ans reacted quicker to save her....I miss her cuddles, her smile, her big brown adoring eyes, her clownish antics and can't stop thinking "why?"....I so wish I could move one, I can barely see through the tears streaming as I'm typing.

Sorry to go on guys, hoping that writing this and sharing it might help me a little.

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Lisa x

Mummy to : Leila, Sophie and also Nikita the Siberian Husky.

RIP - Koda-Bear the Bernese Mountain Dog (my best furry friend and canine soulmate), Scott the Newfoundland (miss ya big guy) , also Fliss, Tara, Sophie, Ben, Poppy and Scamp.

This is who I really am - 30 Seconds to Mars (The Kill)
I am not afraid…I was born to do this - Joan of Arc
Love is being stupid together - Paul Valery

hi there! I'm very sorry to hear about your loss of lovely koda i know not everyone agrees but i do think it helps gettin another dog obviously you'll never replace her coz she was unique but i would consider getting another dog maybe not the same breed when my 18 month old jack russell died of a brain haemorrage i was devasted coz it was such a shock my old rescue dog was missing him badly we all were so i went in the opposite direction and bought a german shepherd and i'm so glad i did! Its up to you and how you think you'd feel having another dog good luck in deciding

It takes a hell of a lot of time, i had my cat suki for 22 years, we lost her in 2008 and its still hard, i got to the stage where i made myself because i wanted another cat, but didnt want the "attachment" of getting hurt again but early this year we adopted two other cats

I still get upset about suki tho.

Take care xxxx

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One day i'll learn where the spellcheck is on my phone, so sorry for any mistakes

Lisa - bloat is a terrible way to go and I know exactly how you feel because one of my danes suffered bloat in 2000 - there was no change in his routine at all and although he survived the op the vet wanted to put him to sleep because the textbooks tell them that a dog should stand within 24 hours of having a major op and Bruno stood three days post op.

The thing I found was you go over and over in your mind to find out if there was anything you had missed and could have changed but you know the answer to that is no there is nothing you could have done. The important thing with deep chested dogs is to bring yourself up to speed on the signs of bloat because the first hour is very important in fact their life depends on it.

I continually watch my dogs body language for any little change because I would never want another to go through what Bruno went through and he was only 23 months old.

Allow yourself to move on - you obviously have so much love to give so why not take yourself off to a rehoming centre and have a look at some other dogs that are desperate for an owner like you. Honestly you won't regret it - you won't forget the past, you never do but life gets easier.

Hi, LizaZonda.
There's nothing strange about how you feel, you never forget the emotional ties you have with your dog, nor should you. I'm a bit of and old fogie I guess, and after all the dogs I've had you'd think I'd have gotten used to having to say goodbye but I haven't, I'm a tough old bird some might say but I assure you I shed tears over every last one of them, and like you, I can be moved almost to tears when I think back over the years and some of the great dogs I've owned.
The way I see it though is that, like you, I give my dogs the best life they could have and I'm sure that the ones that have moved on would expect me to carry on doing so with new ones, so that's what I do. I lost two old fellers in the space of a few months early this year, and as I write I've got two pups peering at me from the kitchen. I shant make comparrisons with previous dogs, that would be foolish, but I'll try to ensure that the new ones have as rich and fullfilling a life as the old. Maybe, in time you'll be able to do the same. Look after yourself. Pete.

Pet loss is always awful, but it is even worse when your pet has been taken before their time. We lost our Border Collie at a fairly young age for a Collie in a very sudden and traumatic way, and he is still in our thoughts two years later, often with a tear but we can smile at his memory now too.

One way I would look at getting a new dog is to think of all the hundreds sat in adoption centres waiting for that new loving home that you could provide. You would be doing the dog a huge favour, and in turn the dog may well help you heal from the loss of Koda. After all, I'm sure Koda would rather you had another doggy friend rather than being alone.

I would like to thank everybody for your kinds replies, I do try to hide my feelings about this in front of my OH because I actually feel a little embarrassed that I'm being so emotional after all this time, I've even surprised myself over my feelings and my lack of being able to deal with it, as my OH has never really had that bond with a dog its not easy and I feel like I'm being a neurotic mess sometimes so it does help to know that there are people that totally understand how I'm feeling.

I have been toying with the idea for some months now about getting another, even went to see some puppies a while ago but couldn't go through with getting one for worrying about letting myself get so emotionally attached and having to try to deal with that all over again if something bad happened to it...but I do think you are all right, I do have lots of love to give and it would be such a shame to not have that wonderful bond with another that I shared with Koda.
I do have to move on and a little furry bundle might just be answer to helping me do that.

Thank you again everybody

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Lisa x

Mummy to : Leila, Sophie and also Nikita the Siberian Husky.

RIP - Koda-Bear the Bernese Mountain Dog (my best furry friend and canine soulmate), Scott the Newfoundland (miss ya big guy) , also Fliss, Tara, Sophie, Ben, Poppy and Scamp.

This is who I really am - 30 Seconds to Mars (The Kill)
I am not afraid…I was born to do this - Joan of Arc
Love is being stupid together - Paul Valery

I know exactly how you feel, and how you keep wondering if you could have done something different. I lost my Joshua at the end of September from internal haemorraging, and nobody knows why or what caused it. Within two weeks of becoming ill, getting better, going downhill again, he quietly passed away. He was only three.

I still cannot talk about him without crying. I met someone this morning I hadn't seen for a long time and she mentioned that last time I met her I had just got the puppy, and how is he getting on? That was it, tears streaming down my face.

I don't know if you ever get over losing a young dog, never happened to me before, but he is waiting for you to join him.

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Will always miss you, my little Joshie Woshie xx

If you want real love, buy a dog

If you wouldn't use it on a child, don't use it on a dog

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It is heartbreaking when we have to say goodbye. But as the old saying goes its better to have loved and lost, than not loved at all. I just think of my past pets and horses, and I would rather have had that time with them, with good memories and fun and laughter, than not at all, no matter how long or short their time here was. x

four and a half years after suddenly losing my beautiful Border Collie Bonnie, at 9rs old, I still have days where I cry bucket full's over the what ifs, but it doesn't and wouldn't have changed anything. I didn't want another dog, too painful, yet a month later I knew I needed one, so Manchester dogs home were paid a visit and we came home with Lexi, 2 months later we went back and came home with Ozzy and 3 yrs later we adopted Ty from many tears, they haven't replaced her nothing ever could but they have helped fill the empty space she left behind.

I posted this on here a couple of weeks ago, its so lovely......

click on the pic to make it bigger
A-Dogs-Last-Will1[1].jpg

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