Remember the Love

There's nothing sweeter than an old dog.That's why saying goodbye is so hard. Here are eight ways to find healing, from our resident pet expert

- By PEGGY FREZON, Rexford, New York

There’s a saying, “Dogs give you some of the best days of your life—and one of the worst.” That is, the day you have to say goodbye. I know because I’ve lived that worst day numerous times. Most people choose puppies or kittens when they add a pet to the fam-ily. But my husband, Mike, and I rescue senior dogs. It began with an 11-year-old golden retriever on a res-cue group’s website. For Mike, it was love at first sight. The dog’s age gave me pause. “He’ll break our hearts,” I said. But the pull we felt to open our home to this beautiful dog was stron-ger than my fear.

We named the golden Brooks. We had only 11 months together, but every day felt like a gift. Brooks was gentle and calm. He loved to cuddle and stroll around the block. A senior was a great fit for our quiet lifestyle. It felt good to give a forever home to an older dog who had been abandoned. When we lost Brooks, we found we had room in our hearts and home to rescue another senior dog. Mike and I have done this again and again, finding a profound sense of satisfaction giving comfort to a creature of God in the final stage of life. But it is necessarily a journey that has made me something of an expert on pet loss and grief.

When the time comes to say good-bye, there is no right or wrong way to feel. Here are some suggestions that helped me and I hope will help you.

Create a memorial

When Brooks died, we gathered up a couple photographs, his dog tags, the paw print his vet had made on his last day, and a tuft of his hair, then took them to the frame shop. “Is this a me-morial?” the clerk asked.