" I loved that dog like my own son" - Man gave his dog "Dodoo" who d!Ed at 24yrs a befitting burial...(photos)

 

I wrote last week about the death of my dog, Bodie, because I believed a lot of people would relate to the pain of saying goodbye to a beloved companion, or in my case, my shadow.

The responses I got were overwhelming and comforting.

I heard from many people who offered kind words. Their messages were inspiring and reassuring. Many shared their own stories of love and loss, and said reading about my Bodie left them in tears but thinking of happy memories.

“We had rescued two greyhounds after my wife passed unexpectedly,” said Steve Mould of Lower Macungie.

“Both of them, Marco and Zoe, just immediately fit in. Zoe took to my 8-year-old daughter Courtney … Emotionally, she pulled my daughter out of the depression from her loss of her mom.

“My son Kyle is nonverbal autistic, and they both just took to him and stayed close when he needed it.

“I read somewhere that a dog gives his owner countless days of unconditional love, play, happiness, humor, laughs, milliseconds of frustration and, like you, those priceless walk memories. However, it all comes with a single catch — there will be one horrid day for us all. The day we have to say goodbye.

“And if anyone wonders if dogs love their owners, I curled up next to Marco, and as he went to sleep, he looked to make sure I was there.

“The hurt doesn’t go away quick, but eventually that pain and the welled eyes become a smile and a laugh at some memory shared between owner and dog.”

The day after I wrote about Bodie’s passing, Jim Altenbach of South Whitehall emailed me his sympathies.

“Many of your descriptions of him, my wife and I can relate to, currently, with our dog, Abbott, whom we think is approximately 17 years old. We got him as a rescue.

“I always enjoy telling people about the circumstances of how Abbott became part of our lives. We got him at the Dixon Street shelter but he was not rescued from there.

“It’s a long story of us being there because we were bringing in an injured cat (not ours). A man came in while we were filling out paperwork and said that he had to give up his dog. He did not have the fee at that time and said he would return the next day.

“My wife and I looked at each other and asked the man if we could talk to him about his dog. A few days later, Abbott was ours.”

Like Bodie, Abbott needed help as he aged.

“Abbott is in his twilight years and it is very hard to imagine our lives without him but, I fear, we will have to make the decision soon,” Altenbach told me. “Over the last several months, his eyesight and hearing have diminished.

“He, too, I believe, has issues with arthritis in his hind legs. We carry him everywhere since he can no longer navigate steps. Our house, we say, is Abbott-proof as we have gates that cut off steps, and remnants and carpet foam over our hardwood floors so that he has better traction.”

A few days later, I was offering the Altenbachs my condolences. Jim and his wife, Nancy, said goodbye to Abbott on Monday.

“I can’t explain the words of sorrow that my wife and I now feel without him near us but we know that we did the right thing at the right time and we know that his struggles have come to an end,” he told me.

“I hang on to the hope that we can all meet up again with our pets.”

“Now, I said, I want to take that dog in the last cage home. They said they do not allow immediate adoptions, and they would run a background check or something on me.

“This was all on a Friday. I received a call Monday and was told I may adopt the dog I liked. I flew across town to get there. Best day of my life.”