sunny

[lenny]

Hi my names lenny,new to the website. I have just lost my first retriver rescue dog,his name was Sunny .We adopted him 12 years ago from jan.He was about ten months old when we adopted him and has been a major part of our family ever since. We all loved him very much and the love we received from him will live with us forever.Reading some of the other posts on this sight has made me realise that we are not the only ones who have been lucky enough to own special dogs,and reading some of them has brought tears to my eyes as we miss him so much.How much would I give to find the odd sock or item of underwear in the middle of the carpet or on the drive,or the constant squeek of his favourite toy ringing in my ears.iIWill miss the walks we used to take to the nearby woods or the park,and the greeting he gave us when we came home even if we had only been out a short while.Butmost of all the nudges he would give me with his nose if he wanted to be tickled or play tug of war with whatever he had in his mouth at the time. I am e -mailing this for two reasons firstly to tell everyone what a wondefull dog sunny was,and secondly to ask if I am right to consider adopting another dog so soon after losing sunny. I know he will never replace sunny but it feels so empty in the house without him ,and I know that I will get another dog in the future, weather it be three months or six or even longer , so please let me know,what you think, is it to soon or shold I try to adopt as soon as is possible as I feel if another dog needs a loving home to go to why should he or she have to wait . thanks for any replies Lenny.

[lynn wise]

So very sorry to hear of your loss. I think most of us on this site will understand how you are feeling right now. Always remember that you had the most wonderful time with your boy, and hold him in your heart. He will never be replaced, but don't feel guilty thinking you would like to have another special dog in your lives. For some of us, it would be so hard going through life without that furry friend to share the ups and downs with. If you feel that now is the time to talk to Jan, go for it, you would be giving a little body the life they deserve, and maybe filling a void in your life. Whatever you decide, you will have the thoughts of all of us with you, keep us posted.

[janrobinson]

Hello lenny, So very sorry to hear of the loss of Sunny, you gave him a wonderful loving home and he must have been a very happy Golden.

You will not be replacing him if you get another dog, just giving a needy dog a loving and permanent home. Everyone is different some people take a long time to come to terms with their loss and other people want and need another dog in their life straight away. It is what is right for you.
Sometimes people think they can't have one straight away and one comes along and they know it is right. Or vice versa. They think they want one right now and when faced with one they know it is not the right time. Only you can decide and it will be right for you.

Jan xx

[lenny]

Thanks Jan for your quick reply,I know that I will give a loving home to any dog that I adopt, but do not want , to get one just to be a replacement for Sunny,to fill the gap in our lives, so to speak. We want to feel that if we get a new dog it is for the right reasons ie; to give a needy dog a loving home. I know that if a oppertunity comes along to adopt a new dog very quickly, we would probably jump at it,but the doubt in my mind that as I have said would be there at the start, are we doing this so soon for the right reason, for the dogs sake as much as were own. Lenny

[Eastonwolfs]

Lenny, we are very sorry to hear of your loss, I don't think anyone truly understands until they have been through it themsleves...and as you put it so well you miss all Sunnys little ways and characteristics...he sounds a lovely boy.

I think only you know when is the right time to adopt another...but it sounds to me like you would give another dog a happy life in a loving family...and so many dogs need such homes...

Best of luck with whatever you decide...

[Cobi and Ginnies Mum]

Hello Lenny,
We are so sorry to hear about Sunny, everything that has been said above is the same as we are feeling for you. Our experience may not be right for you, I've mentioned this lots of times but we lost 2 retrievers within eleven weeks of each other in 2005(one was expected, the other a complete shock) and Ginnie has lost 2 pals, so how was she feeling inside to be all on her on her own with 'us two' so upset, I'd been talking to Jan for the whole week whilst Abby was ill and at the vets, Jan never, ever mentioned that she had any dogs in for re-homing, Abby died on a Saturday and the following Friday we collected little Cobi who desperately needed a home and Ginnie needed a pal again, even now I can shed tears for every dog that that we no longer have, because they are all so different and you can never replace a dog with one that you have loved and lost. My Husband says that Cobi was one hell of a distraction for our sadness.

[hairydog]

Getting another dog is a personal thing, part of you feels disloyal to sunny and yet you miss the love of a dog..go with your instinct,you will know when you feel ready, have you had him cremated? sometimes people feel that when they come home they are ready to move on....there are always dogs out there needing a home so when you feel ready ring Jan I am sure she will advise you best...

[lenny]

Many thanks to all your lovley replies, they have made me feel that I am far from alone in greiving for a lost special dog. Sunnywill always be in my heart, and my thoughts. I Suppose that the feeling of disloyalty to sunny is the only thing that makes me unsure if I should adopt as soon as is possible, but thinking about it after your comments I feel if the oppertunity comes along sooner rather than later we as a family should give a new dog the chance to join our family as soon as he or she needs a loving home ,as since we adopted sunny we rescued a cat and a labrador(this from my father in law when he went into shelterd accomadition) but we lost her just over a year later. Lady had her own personality and was loved as much as sunny but as my father in law lives close by he came to see her most days, and was still his dog really. We both shared her loss, but he will forgive me for saying this Sunny was ours and although both dogs were treated as equals when we had them both Sunny was just that bit more special to us,and now having lost both dogs this last year the house does feel empty and a new dog would have beem welcomed into our house by sunny as well as us, I am sure he would want us to give a new dog the loving home he had,not as a replacement, but as a new chapter in our familys lives ,Thanks once again Lenny

[lenny]

Hi everyone,just thought I would let you know jan rang me monday and asked me how I was and during our conversation asked me if I would be intrested in a four year old female golden, I asked my wife and she said yes.we aranged to go to see her at the kennels on tuesday afternoon. I must admit on monday night I did not sleep to well thinking of sunny but also looking foward to see the dog she had. so we set off tuesday and when we got to the kennels and saw Lucy we knew at once she would be coming home with us ,shes a bit smaller than sunny and a bit fatter but her greeting to us and her lovley nature won our hearts as soon as we saw her we took her for a short walk but after a few yards she led down and would not move this happened a couple of times unless we were heading back to the direction of the kennels. this did in no way put us off taking her home .infact I had already wrote the cheque out before we had set off.
When we got home yesterday she setteld quickly and we were very happy to have her home. She then met our cat it was not love at first sight but we are slowly going to get them use to each other the cat avoids her as much as possible but it was like that with sunny at first but soon they became great companions to each other , the cat missed sunny as much as us when he died , he kept walking around looking for him and would not settle down al day the first day, so I am sure they will be ok within a few weeks.
Lucy would not go on a walk again last night but we took her a walk to a local park this afternoon and although she stopped a couple of times she then walked all the way back home as good as gold, again this is something that we are confident she will over come given a little time and a lot of reasurence.
She is sitting at the side of me at the moment as I type this going to sleep . thanks to jan and those of you who e-mailed me we have now got another lovley rescue dog to love and cherish and Lucy has a loving caring family for the rest of her life .
Sunny will live in our hearts and memories and will be rememberd always. Thank you once again jan and everyone conected with retriever rescue, we will all keep in touch via the web sight and hopfully meet some of you sometime in the future, Lenny Lucy and the rest of the family.

[Eastonwolfs]

That is lovely news!

Very happy for you and I am sure she will help you to come to terms with your loss even though Sunny will never be replaced...

Lucy sounds delightful...I am sure she will go from strength to stength with your care and attention...

All the best and do let us know how she is getting along...

Really pleased for you all...has brought a tear to my eye reading your story...

[lynn wise]

What great news...
So pleased for you all, that includes your Lucy as well. Things on the up for you I'm sure. You must be thrilled. A lovely ending

[Cobi and Ginnies Mum]

Lenny, we are all so pleased that Lucy has a loving home, you can never replace one dog with another and the good memories of Sunny will never fade. We look forward to seeing Lucy in the pets gallery soon. It's lovely when Jan finds the right loving home for a dog.

[Ellas mum]

What a lovely story. We wish you luck and happy times as you get to know each other,and many adventures too. Look forward to seeing some pictures

[lenny]

Have taken lucy out several times now. she only goes in the direction she wants to go and if I want to go another way she sits down then lies down and wont move, sometimes this is reapeated several times even on a short walk. When my wife is with me and she carries on in front it seems to help her to follow. Not sure if this is the reason she is a little over weight and the previous owners just gave into her.took her in the car today to some local woods so we could let her off her lead ,she ran as fast as she could into the near by brook and bathed and played at sticking her head under water and picking up rocks occasionly, coming out and letting me throw them for her before returning to the brook to do it all over again, then rolling on the grass to dry herself. When it was time to go she sat down and would not move, after a few minuites and a slight change of direction she made it back to the car. Seeing her in the brook playing so happily will live with me forever,no doubt this will be repated many times over in the years to come.I think we could solve the problem with her walking in the direction we want her to go if we lived right next to a brook , come to think of it though she would never want to go any where else. She is already a big part of our family and we love her to bits. We are glad we adopted her soon after losing sunny she has already brought joy and laughter back into our house and is the centre of attention with any visitors.

[hairydog]

Great story hope Lucy brings you many years of happiness ...I am sure sunny would approve...