Celebrate Dogs!

While Honey was going through her TPLO, I discovered Orthodogs, a Yahoo! support group for orthopedically challenged pups. The information and the consoling from members who were going through or had been through the same thing was unbelieveably helpful. Recently though, there have been several losses - dogs who had what I thought was fairly routine, if invasive, surgery and then -- the complications were eventually fatal. It's amazing how you can care so much about a dog you've never met and then when you find out they didn't make it....you can't believe how incredibly sad you feel.

Because of this, one of the moderators who is also a co-founder of a non-profit for dogs, OSLF, organized a "Celebration of Life" and wrote up a tribute that I think is so true to life with a dog:

"We are celebrating the life of every dog that has ever touched our hearts, changed our lives, made us laugh uncontrollably, licked our tears when we cried, cleaned our dirty plates for us, littered our homes with fleece-toy carcasses, made us appreciate the little things in life, laid quietly with us when we were sick, loved every car ride like it was the first, made us go for a walk even when we didn't want to, taught us the joy of a small yellow ball, caused us inexplicable worry at the first sign of illness, made our homes feel empty without them, and taught us that there are things better and greater than ourselves."
more

There is a part that kills me - "...we go through the heartache of losing them over and over again, and yet we can't imagine our lives without them." There is also a little video of some of the past and present dogs of Orthodogs. Norman, in particular went through a long battle and, there were so many times when we all thought he was really going to make it, and then, a sweet and dignified Rottweiler to the very end, he didn't. It still makes me cry and I feel so for his owners who tried to do everything they could for him. But - I am going to try and celebrate his life and the lives of other dogs instead of dwelling on the sadness.

Orthodogs joined with OSLF to honor dogs, giving away "Celebrate Dogs" wristbands to those who want to donate to service and rescue dogs in need of orthopedic surgery. There is also a tribute section for donations over $25.

pit bulls, animal non-profits