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Just venting . . .

IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
edited May 2003 in General Discussion
Just spent the best part of the morning chopping tree roots and lifting rocks to dig a grave for my dog. He's at peace now, by the water he loved, with his favorite toys beside him. Best dog I ever had, probably the best friend, also.

He died around 11 last night, the victim of a speeding car driven by someone so drunk / drugged / distracted that there were no brake marks on the road before the blood trail. He was almost off the road; one tap of the brakes and he would be at my feet now. We heard the thud, looked out to see the perp dragging him off the road. Before I could reach the door, the perp sped off. Not so much as a knock on the door to tell us, to say he was sorry. Smokey was so badly broken up I'm sure he died instantly; for that I'm grateful. But man I am going to miss him; house already seems hollow and empty; he had so much love it radiated wherever he went.

I'm not looking for condolences, folks. I know most of you have been through something like this or far worse. I just had to get it out of my system a little - both the grief and the anger. Thanks for indulging me.

Comments

  • njretcopnjretcop Member Posts: 7,975
    edited November -1
    Teak, I feel very bad about the loss of your pal, Smokey. As you said, we have all suffered this kind of loss of a family member (which pets certainly are) and it's not easy to accept or get over it.

    Words are hard to come by, so I will just say to you that I am very sorry.

    Blue_car.gif

    Charlie



    "It's the stuff dreams are made of Angel"NRA Certified Firearms InstructorMember: GOA, RKBA, NJSPBA, NJ area rep for the 2ndAMPD. njretcop@copmail.com
  • pickenuppickenup Member Posts: 22,844 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sorry to hear this.
    As for the driver of the car,
    read the next line...

    The gene pool needs chlorine.
  • outdoortexasoutdoortexas Member Posts: 4,780
    edited November -1
    Not just a courtesy my friend, feel your pain. Special friends are far and inbetween. Take a few days, or weeks, but go to the pound and rescue one of his cousins. It'll be good for both of you.
  • paboogerpabooger Member Posts: 13,953
    edited November -1
    I am so sorry!!!
  • boeboeboeboe Member Posts: 3,331
    edited November -1
    I know loosing a friend like that can be very painful, deepest condolences.

    To err is human, to moo is bovine.
  • dheffleydheffley Member Posts: 25,000
    edited November -1
    I understand. My dogs are really part of the family. Sorry for your loss.

    Measure twice, cut once.
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    Empty the clip!
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  • oughtsixoughtsix Member Posts: 1,244 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I've felt this way so many times, having lost so many dear friends,
    I wonder why I keep raising them. But I do. I'll always have a dog.
    No friend so loyal, no love so constant, no heart as true. Rest in peace, Smokey, and I'm thinking of you, Iconoclast. Can't say more, can't see to type.

    Oughtsix
  • redcedarsredcedars Member Posts: 919 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    My pal Jake passed away 6 years ago March. Great hunter and unflagging friend. Still brings tears to my eyes when I think of him. I know its tough.

    redcedars
  • agloreaglore Member Posts: 6,012
    edited November -1
    Sorry about the loss of one of your best friends.

    AlleninAlaska
    Delta Firearms & Supplies
    http://canadianfirearmsexchange.com

    aglore@gci.net
  • DIRTYRATDIRTYRAT Member Posts: 2,167 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sorry for your loss.

    member; DUCKS UNLIMITED,AGA, ............R.S.A. KULP..................OHIO
  • ToolbabeToolbabe Member Posts: 1,118 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sorry for your loss. I know its not the same but I would like to offer you the pick of the litter of my 8 puppies.
    Toolbabe

    Master mess sargent RRG
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    Oh my God! is the beginning of a prayer, not a one liner!
    We come into this life with nothing, everything after this is our treasure
  • RancheroPaulRancheroPaul Member Posts: 1,459 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    When Mick left two and a half years ago, a friend sent this to me. It has helped me and I hope it will bring some peace to you too:

    Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

    When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
    There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
    There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

    All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt
    or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of
    days and times gone by.
    The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very
    special to them, who had to be left behind.

    They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the
    distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from
    the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

    You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together
    in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands
    again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so
    long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

    Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

    "Life is FRAGILE!" Handle With Care!
  • He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 50,947 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    There are no words Teak. If you ever get a license number, I will come hunting with you.

    My heros have always killed cowboys.
  • chuckchuck Member Posts: 4,911
    edited November -1
    I know how you feel, I am so sorry for you loss. May be you can do the pound thing, Where I live you can get a good Bird dog out of the pound,[^] just check often during bird season, people from the city about 250 miles away come here to bird hunt and if their dogs dont do good enough for THEM they leave them.[:0] Seems like city folks dont have time for their dogs at home and expect to much from them when they get here[V][V]
  • kgnovumkgnovum Member Posts: 594 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Too bad Smokey wasn't driving the car and the cards were turned around. Losing a beloved pet is horrible but this jerk could have killed a child just as easily.

    I'm saddened by your loss, which I have also experienced, and wish you all the best.

    Ken
  • mrmike08075mrmike08075 Member Posts: 10,998 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    life without dogs is unthinkable...
    we all feel for you, and some of us have been there...
    i am sorry for your loss. best regards, mike.

    What other dungeon is so dark as ones own heart, what jailer so inexorable as ones own mind.
  • IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thank you all for your heart-felt words. Thank you, Toolbabe, you are so very kind to make the offer, but I think it will take my son & I a while to get over this. He and Smokey had a very special bond, formed the day we brought him home from the breeder . . . the two little guys fell asleep together - Smokey in the lap, my son's head resting on the pup's back. A perfect Kodak moment although I had no camera and trying to take photos at 65 mph is not a great idea. To this day I don't who was more devoted to whom.

    Paul, the poem is indeed a comfort. I saved it, I have printed it, and I thank you.

    He Dog, it's probably just as well I don't know who did it. I suspect he would sing soprano the rest of his life as he obviously has no use for manly equipment.

    Ken, thanks. You're making me smile through my tears. Smokey always loved to ride and whenever I left the car, he would jump into the driver's seat and sit there for all the world like a chaffeur waiting for his passenger to return.
  • Tiger6Tiger6 Member Posts: 1,707 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    There is a special kind of hell for those so twisted as to kill a pet and run off, who drive under the influence of drugs or booze, who fail to pay attention to their driving while talking on a phone or, who exceed their driving ability while speeding.. . May misfortune and misery find them.

    "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."
    George Orwell


    TARGETS UP!
    TIGER6
  • n/an/a Member Posts: 168,427
    edited November -1
    Icon....
    I just hope that the person that hit the dog is so plagued by guilt that they come forward ....I know it will not bring the dog back nor will it ease your or your son's pain any...but it might help to know the person is at least partially human and has feelings....
    We will be thinking of you and your family...



    Cute_skunk.gif

    Lil' Stinker's Opinion
  • JustCJustC Member Posts: 16,056 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Very sorry to hear of this Teak. I tear up thinking about it sometimes,...let alone ever having it happen.

    why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
    Got Balistics?
  • groundhog devastationgroundhog devastation Member Posts: 4,495
    edited November -1
    Teak, Sincerest condolences from the GHD household! I know the feeling all to well! GHD
  • The DunedanThe Dunedan Member Posts: 632 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm so very sorry, Iconoclast. I don't even want to think about some Jacka$$ getting Baroness ( my dog, herself ) like that and not even having the huevos to come forward about it, like a man. There is a special curse for cowards of that stripe.

    Stand up and fight, or lie down and die; for it is better to burn than to ever fade away.
  • whiteclouderwhiteclouder Member Posts: 10,574 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    That big lump in your throat is your heart trying to go to him. Most of us who have lost pet companions know precisely what you're feeling. I know I do.

    Clouder..
  • Instant KarmaInstant Karma Member Posts: 302 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    feel bad for you and wish you peace,got an old dog that got hit several years ago and he relies on me to scratch his head because he only has a little use of his back legs,sure does look weird to visitors though
  • fragmentsfragments Member Posts: 407 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sorry for your loss. I have lost several pets over the years and each one was special in it's own way. To the guy that hit your dog--keep looking over your shoulder 'cause WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND!!!!!!
  • IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Again, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you all. The last two days have been awful hard but your messages have been a comfort.
  • woodsrunnerwoodsrunner Member Posts: 5,378 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Teak, I'm sorry for your loss.


    There is one thing that keeps popping into my head though.

    "Ye shall reap what you sow"

    I'm sure the idiot that did this will find that out some day.

    Woods

    "To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
    George Mason
  • Iroquois ScoutIroquois Scout Member Posts: 930 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    This just goes to prove that there are some thoughtless and inhuman people in this world. You have every right to vent. As the wheel turns this idiot will get what is comeing to him. You may never know it, but it will happen.
  • BoltactionManBoltactionMan Member Posts: 2,048 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I know where you are coming from. Mid March I looked out the kitchen window just in time to see my 6 month old German Shepard puppy was across the road. Before I could open the window some fool came barreling down the road and ran over her. He never even touched the brakes let alone stop. It was hard on all of us.

    Take heart, the pain will subside and the memories will stay a lifetime.

    KC
  • Matt45Matt45 Member Posts: 3,185
    edited November -1
    Teak-
    That just plain ole' sucks, I agree with woodsrunner-You do reap what you sow.

    Help that process along, figure out where the damage was done to the car and spend Monday afternoon calling body shops, then call the PD/SD.

    fm_cr.jpgcomp45.gif

    Reserving my Right to Arm Bears!!!!

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  • cwinncwinn Member Posts: 1,223 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Also had a similar experience, the driver didnt stop either. After a while i made a collection of pictures of my two dogs and hung it in my bedroom, and even though it hurts to think of them sometimes, i think it helps to think of the fond memories you shared. Best wishes to you and your son
  • competentonecompetentone Member Posts: 4,698 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Iconoclast

    He died around 11 last night, the victim of a speeding car driven by someone so drunk / drugged / distracted that there were no brake marks on the road before the blood trail. He was almost off the road; one tap of the brakes and he would be at my feet now. We heard the thud, looked out to see the perp dragging him off the road. Before I could reach the door, the perp sped off. Not so much as a knock on the door to tell us, to say he was sorry....

    .... I just had to get it out of my system a little - both the grief and the anger.


    I'll start by saying that I sympathize with your loss, but...

    ...(and from the responses I see here I'm risking being "attacked" for saying this)

    Why the heck is your dog running around in the street at 11 o'clock at night?

    Maybe a little of that anger needs to be directed at the dog's owner and not at the potentially innocent driver who hit the dog?

    Maybe the driver was just following one of the important auto safety rules: If some animal jumps out infront of your vehicle, NEVER attempt to panic stop, or swerve to avoid it--the risk of you losing control of your vehicle and leaving the road surface, or entering oncoming traffic is far more dangerous than the risks involved in just hitting the animal.

    You are assuming the driver is "at fault"; rarely is a collision with an animal the driver's fault.

    I'll also say, if I end up hitting a dog because some (careless) owner has allowed that animal to run into the street, I am NOT going to seek to confront that owner--my own anger toward the owner for what I see as his irresponsible behavior combined with his likely (irrational) anger toward me for hitting the animal (he let run into the street), would not be a good combination. Unless there is substantial damage to my vehicle and if the animal is dead--and especially if there are no tags on the animal, I'm probably leaving. (And if there is damage to my vehicle, I'll probably be looking for the owner to compensate me for it!)

    Iconoclast, I hope you don't take this the wrong way; I say what I think--and suspect I'm saying what some others here are thinking too, but are "too nice" to say it.

    Again, I do sympathize with you loss, but think you should reconsider the "blame" you place on the driver.
  • bhale187bhale187 Member Posts: 7,798
    edited November -1
    Sorry for your loss.
    I know how pets can become such a part of our lives they seem like a family member, I hate to think of losing my dog but I guess it has to happen sometime. I am glad to hear that at least your dog did not have to suffer to long.
  • IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    competentone, I don't live on a street, I live in the country. He had just asked to go out to do his business and he rarely wandered to that side of the house, much less into the road. As to a panic stop, I might agree, but do you mean to say out-speeding one's headlights is safe driving? This occurred in the middle of a half mile straightaway with curves or hills - an abnormality for NH, to be sure. As I said, it was very clear the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, much higher than the posted speed limit, for sure. If the driver had not been impaired / distracted and driving so fast, I have no doubt this would not have happened. The slightest decrease in speed, the slightest effort to avoid him would have saved his life. No, he shouldn't have been in the road and if you don't think that has made my grief all that more intense . . . never mind. We have deer and moose in the road, too . . . I don't wish ill of the moose, but if it had been a larger animal, his vehicle would not have left the scene and likely neither would he. If the driver had not been speeding, it would not have happened. If the driver had been paying attention it would not have happened. The last time I calculated it, I've driven close to a million miles in my life and have hit one muskrat in fog and one pet. I stood on my brakes and then helped the owner take it to the vet. Pets, wildlife and kids are a normal road hazard I scan ahead and to the sides for them all the time, but many people drive like they will never encounter them.
  • Norman DogNorman Dog Member Posts: 470 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I just read your post and I know you said that you aren't looking for condolences, but here they are anyway. I hope that you can find comfort in the memories that you keep of Smokey. Our dogs don't ask for much and give quite a bit in return.

    Ideas are far more powerful than guns. We don't let our people have guns. Why should we let them have ideas?

    -- Joseph Stalin--
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