Hi, i know this is a doggie site, but i know you are good listeners and are all animal lovers,..... this morning i had to have my beloved horse (berkley) put to sleep, he had been my friend for the last 15 years! unfortunately although he looked bright and well, he had developed all sorts of arthritic problems along with old ligament and tendon injuries, it was the hardest decision of my life and as you can imagine i am devasted!! I cant stop crying and at the moment i dont think i ever will!! Me and Berky have done miles and miles together over the last 15 years and he has listened with pricked ears as i have told him all my secrets , all my niggles after petty arguments with my hubby!! Its amazing how we pour our hearts out to our pets, but im sure they understand. Thank you for reading this, i just wanted to share a bit of grief i thought it might help.

Sleep well Berkley ,and im sure we will be able once again in the future to gallop thro the fields together.  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I have been where you are now - its a dark place, but it does get better ((((hugs))))

Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I, and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, that we still are. Call me by my old familiar name, Speak to me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference in your tone, wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was, let it be spoken without effect, without a trace of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was; there is an unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well.

Henry Scott Holland
1847-1918
Canon of St Pauls Cathedral

THINKING OF YOU 
TRACEYXXXX HUGS

Thanks very much for that, i really appreciate your reply and i know it will get easier , although obviously its hard to imagine at the moment. Felt really down and weepy at 5pm , berkleys "tea time" and bed time , but i suppose  after a routine of so many years i felt a bit at loose end! Thanks again for your support. it means such alot. karen.

Karen, I'm so sorry that you have lost your friend Berkley.  It's so difficult to say goodbye to our precious animals, who have loved us unconditionally and have given back far more than we ever give them.  Take heart from the fact that you gave your friend the greatest gift you could; an end to his suffering and a dignified passing.

Pain is the price we pay for love, and no matter how unbearable the pain seems, it is worth every second of it for the joy that the one we mourn gave to us when alive.

Thinking of you as you mourn the passing of Berkley, your beautiful and loyal horse.

Lesley

You are so right Lesley, the hurt im feeling is worth every minute i had with him and i wouldnt change a thing, apart from maybe the times he tried to run back home whenever he saw , heard or smelt a DONKEY!!!! bless him. I hope he is grazing in a field without donkeys in it!! or maybe, better still he has befriended one!! memories like that bring a smile to my face. Karen

God bless}}}}

I'm so sorry. I understand how you feel as I lost my best friend last year and it is awful, but time does help, I can now remember the happy times and be grateful for the hours of fun we had together. I still can't bring myself to ride again though!
Thinking of you.

Horse or Dog we all know what you are going though sending hugs  xxxxx

Poppynurse, i feel the same way, at the moment i dont think i will sit on another horse again, it wouldnt be the same, but each day is getting a little brighter, First thing in the morning and last thing at night is worst!! , All this crying is giving me more wrinkles than i already have!!
To everybody who has taken the time to reply to my post a HUGE THANKS and im very grateful and it has helped me such alot. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx karen

I know how you feel I too have had to send my beloved horse to Rainbow bridge. Just keep thinking of all the fun you had together.

So sorry to hear about your horse dozydanes, when did you loose Him, her,? Karen x

It was six years ago Karen but I still think of him. Sonny was an ex race horse and was riddled with arthritis (sp), the vet said it was the kindest thing to do. Sonny was only fifteen.

AAAgh bless him,  not old at all , suppose its the racing on such young legs that does it. Berky was 19 yrs same problems as yours and the vet said just the same, i know ive done the right thing ,but it hurts like hell at the moment. but every day is getting a bit easier than the day before . karen xxxxxxxxx

It does get easier Karen, but the worst thing was having to clear the stable out after that I felt a lot better. A bit like cleansing the soul.

dear tillcarr, i'm so sorry for your loss, i had one of my horses that i'd owned for 15 years put to sleep 18mnts ago and now i've just lost my beloved 4yo mare to grass sickness, i'm so devastated i just can't believe it. i know what you mean about telling them everything, she was my whole world and i am lost without her.  stay strong

Im so sorry to hear of your loss of berkley

Lots of love
Donna and charliex

Chin up.....we all know what you are going through.    Time will heal... but you will never forget your dear friend and you will always have those treasured memories that can't be taken away.