MelodysMum

Dear Melree, your story made me cry. What a heartbreaking decision for you! My thoughts and prayers are with you at this very sad time.

What a wonderful girl! At least she got to be pampered for those few months before she died, and made to feel the special girl she was. She knew how much she was loved. So sorry to hear of her passing.

Thanks Katie! He was the best dog!

Thanks Tornado! It still makes me sad to look at photos of him, it's almost two months now since we lost him.

I found another gorgeous photo of my special boy, and had to put it on here.

Dear Inspector, I am so sorry to hear of your sad loss. However, justice will prevail! Hang on to the beautiful memories you have of Brodie, and don't let this tragedy destroy those memories. Brodie would want you to focus on the great joy and love you shared, not how it ended. The kid will have to face what he has done, no matter how long it takes.

Dear Tornado, I understand your childhood dream. I had wanted a golden cocker spaniel since I was about twelve and waited another twelve years to get one - as soon as I had a home of my own - two weeks after we came back from our honeymoon. It is heartbreaking to have to say goodbye to a special member of your family in this way, but your love for Lassie has helped you to help her. She will not suffer in agony, still trying to show her love for you even as her body wastes away before your eyes. In your memories of her she is beautiful and happy. Let her stay that way. She loved you until the end and waits for you at the Rainbow Bridge.

It was pretty amazing when Clowny climbed the ladder. He went down backwards, without looking where he was going. We couldn't believe it! Not to be outdone, his older brother Toby who was still with us, decided that he would show he could climb the ladder as well. He got to the top all right, but made the mistake of turning around and looking down. He was overcome by a fear of heights. He had gotten up there somehow, how was he to get down? With my husband on the roof and unable to reach him, and me on the ground, Toby tried to go back down head first and fell before I could catch him! Although not injured, he never tried it again and neither did his ladder-climbing brother! Clowny did however climb the ladder to our aboveground swimming pool. Whenever the kids were in there he would climb up and walk around the top, except for one time when he fell in! We never left the ladder on the pool when it wasn't in use, we couldn't risk him climbing! So much for a dog with weak back legs! We often found Clowny asleep in the strangest places. He had a beautiful kennel, which he used when it suited him, and a trampoline bed as well, but we often found him asleep under outdoor chairs, or in tiny corners of the garden. In this photo taken on January 25, he went to sleep under a pile of rubbish from a tree that came down in our yard! We don't know how he got under there or why, but he certainly wasn't there when the tree branches were put there! He was a funny boy! We never knew where we would find him. For the last couple of years of his life Clowny was deaf. If he was looking at you he could read your lips if you said walk, biccy, good boy etc. but if he was out in the yard somewhere he couldn't hear us if we called. That didn't stop us calling him, we called him, and talked to him all the time. Sometimes, especially in winter, I would go and find him when we were going to bed, and get him to move from his spot in the vege garden (or wherever he happened to have gone to sleep), to his warm kennel. I knew he would go back as soon as I came inside, but it made me feel better! It was hard though, searching the darkness and calling out to a dog in the freezing cold, when he wouldn't wake up until he felt your hand on him! Many times we hunted for him, feeling silly waving a torch around in the darkness. Last year just before the Sydney water restrictions came in, we put turf down in the backyard. Clowny thought we put it there for him, and it became one of his favourite places to fall asleep. Even up to the day before he died we always knew when he was feeling really happy - he would be out there on the grass doing a good old Clowny-roll with a big smile on his face. In spite of all the attention Clowny paid to the grass, it is the only grass growing properly on our entire property. It is green and lush, as if responding to the affection Clowny showed it. In my original post he is on that grass in the photo. It was taken six weeks before he died. We buried Clowny in his favourite corner, under the lush green turf, and it has grown back like a beautiful green blanket over him. I say "hello" to him every time I go by. There will never be another dog like my Clowny!

We have owned beautiful golden cocker spaniels for twenty years. We bought our first cocker Rusty a month after we were married, and three years later, Bonnie joined our family. Rusty and Bonnie gave us two beautiful litters. We kept one of their sons born in December 1990. Clowny as we called him because of his happy nature and comical antics has been a treasured member of our family, our only dog for the past seven years. When he was a baby Clowny had difficulty walking. All the other puppies were up and wobbling around and he just sat there. The vet said he had weak tendons in his back legs. Eventually they strengthened, and boy did he make up for lost time! One day my husband was working on the roof when he heard a noise behind him. He turned to find Clowny sitting behind him, tail wagging furiously. Not only had he climbed the ladder, but he went back down it again when he realised he was not welcome! Over the years Clowny has been our kids' best friend. Now 19 and 16, they can't clearly remember a time when he wasn't there. Everyone loved Clowny. Whenever we took him for a walk people always stopped us to talk to him and children loved him, always flocking to him to give him a cuddle. Last month we lost our last beautiful boy Clowny, when we had to have him put to sleep. He was 13 years old and the most beautiful dog. He had been on medication for congestive heart failure for 18 months. He had had to have fluid drained from his abdomen every few weeks for about 6 months. He never complained with all the needles. The vet said she had never seen a dog like him. It didn't matter what they had to do to him, he never complained, and he was always smiling. On Wednesday, April 7, it all got too much for him and the vet said it was time for us to let him go. We were all (me, my husband, son, 19 and daughter, 16) there with him as he went. He looked around and saw us all, and tried to get up, but he was too weak. At least he knew we were with him and we loved him. The vet said he probably wouldn't have lasted the night, but it would have been a terrible death and he would have suffered. Even the vet was crying as she said goodbye to him. Needless to say, we are all devastated. We have photos with him, taken in those lost few minutes as we said goodbye. They are very precious. He loved us until his last breath. Clowny was my special baby boy. I have loved him since the second he was born. I will always love him. We will never forget you Clowny!