
This past Sunday, my family said goodbye to our loyal and beloved German Shepard, Velo. For nearly 10 years, he filled our lives and our home with joy and unconditional love as our four-legged friend.
But Velo was much more than that: He was a working dog, a police K9 who, for seven years, saw my husband through too-many-to-count dangerous situations. He was a protector and my husband’s best friend, and I was always comforted by the fact that they were together.
His loss has left a void much deeper than I expected: I pull into the driveway, and expect to hear his welcoming bark; I reach for the leash when we go for walks; I look out onto our deck expecting to see him standing guard. My grief around the loss of him is profound and painful and raw.
So it came as perfect timing on Monday that the Experience Life team gathered to review upcoming content for our September 2014 issue, and one of the articles was about grieving the loss of a pet. In “Losing a Pet,” Jon Spayde quotes Sandra B. Barker, PhD, NCC, LCP, director of the Center for Human-Animal Interaction at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Medicine:
“Many people simply don’t realize how attached they were to a pet,” Barker says. “They think they’ll get over the death quickly and easily but find themselves struggling with the surprising intensity and duration of their feelings.
“Our pets are present nearly all the time, day in and day out,” says Barker. “They remind us of many episodes in our lives —the good times and the difficult times — and when they die, we may feel that unique and important parts of our lives, parts that they symbolize, have passed with them.” (Look for the full story in our September 2014 issue.)
These words made me realize that the acknowledgement of Velo’s importance to me, my husband, and our girls is not to be minimized: He played a significant role in our lives for many years and will always be part of our family. And though we miss him greatly, we will find ways to celebrate and remember him, from looking at photographs and talking about him, to burying him in his favorite corner of the yard this spring.
In the meantime: Thank you, dear Velo, for protecting us, for making us laugh, for tolerating little-girl antics, and most importantly, for being the best dog we could have asked for. You fit us to a tee.
In memory of Velo, and the family pets who fellow members of the Experience Life team have recently lost:
- Nell: Creative Director Lydia Anderson’s Australian Shepard
- Spit: Senior editor Courtney Helgoe’s cat
- Lily and Cheb: Production Director Jane Meronuck’s cats
- Biz: Senior editor Courtney Lewis Opdahl’s cat
- Brigit, Snoopy, and Spot: Director of Business Operation Craig Cox’s dog and cats
TELL US: How have you celebrated the life of a beloved pet? Leave a comment below or tweet us @ExperienceLife.
I am very sorry to hear about your loss but at least you got 10 years with him and those memories will last forever. Six years ago I lost an 80lb Chow/German Shepherd mix named Bear who was by far the best dog I’ve ever had (and I’ve had many). He had been given to me at about 1 year old by an alcoholic who owed me $245. The dog had been mistreated and we had 3 knock down drag out fights before I got him under control but what an amazing animal he became. It was the best $245 I ever spent. I had him for 10 years also before he got hit by a car in Louisiana as we were on a trip back to his favorite spot – the Aquidneck Lobster Company’s fishing dock in Newport, RI. He was so happy there, sometimes going out fishing with us, other times just hanging out on the dock, and every Friday walking with the bookkeeper to the bank where he was lavished with treats from all the tellers. He also made daily treks to the kitchen doors of the various restaurants on Bowen’s Wharf where he mooched scraps from the kitchen personnel. He’d been away from all that for 5 years traveling throughout the Southwest USA and we were on our way home. I don’t know if he knew where we were going (although I had told him daily for a couple of weeks) but sadly he died the first night of the trip. What a sad day it was indeed burying him in that nasty Louisiana mud. I don’t think I ever cried so much in my life and it still brings tears to my eyes even now thinking about it. His picture is on the wall right here in front of my desk. I miss him terribly but life goes on and I now have a Newfoundland male and a Boerboel female both of which are good dogs – I try not to compare them to Bear but it is difficult not to sometimes. Dogs like Bear and Velo I think come along only once in a lifetime but I’m so glad I was blessed with his company for those 10 years. Savor the memories of Velo and go get a puppy to take your mind off of him is all I can suggest.
I’m sorry for your family’s loss, Jamie. Velo was an important part of your family and his loss will not be easy to “get over” — but it does get easier in time. We still mourn our Buster 3 years after his death.
Hugs,
K.