Potter's no longer in the garden



Potter was the name of our dog. We had her for 17 and a half years. She had a sweet nature. We loved her so much and she loved us back.



Potter also functioned as garden ornament. She loved being in the garden, although she never quite forgave me for getting rid of the lawn.



She lived through many incarnations of the garden.



She used to spend a lot of time looking under the gate. She didn't watch TV, so this was her main source of visual stimulation. Whenever dogs or humans passed, she let them know she was there in her best soprano bark.



As she aged, we noticed she was becoming deaf. In time, she became completely deaf. We would be walking past a fence with dogs barking madly at her, but she didn't move a hair.




Then her eyesight began to fail. She could see you, but you had to be pretty close.



By this time she was sleeping more, and would more often be found asleep on her beanbag than wondering the garden.

 
When she started to lose control of her back legs, we made the excruciating decision it was time for her to die, before she had no quality of life left at all.




We found a lovely caring vet who came to the house, and Potter died peacefully in my arms.



We miss her terribly.




Comments

  1. Tears with and for you. They wind their paws deep into our heartstrings and take a piece of us with them when they leave.

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  2. Although I have spent my entire life committed to nature in all its myriad forms, I have never had the desire to have an animal in my house (other than a few birds I have rescued), but I can see how easily a domestic pet can become part of your life. She will live forever in your mind.

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    1. I welcome other critters into my home, like spiders and lizards, but I've never gotten so attached to them like I have with Potter. I guess they never stay 17 and a half years!

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    2. I would welcome the spiders and lizards too. I was referring to domestic pets.

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  3. Beautiful tribute to a loving and beloved doggie.

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  4. I'm so sorry for your loss. What a sweet and loving companion. Thinking of you as you grieve.

    A Prayer
    by Alfred Noyes

    Angels, where you soar
    Up to God’s own light,
    Take my own lost bird
    On your hearts tonight;
    And as grief once more
    Mounts to heaven and sings,
    Let my love be heard
    Whispering in your wings.

    https://youtu.be/mFkarJsO6tA

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    1. thank you for the poem, Peter, so thoughtful.

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  5. That heartache of bringing yourself to say it's time to let go. I remember how much it hurts every time.
    Thinking of Potter on watch at her gate ...

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    1. Diana: That is a lovely way to remember her. In her later years, deaf and near blind, she had abandoned her watch.

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  6. I'm so sorry to hear this. Although their lives are all too short, the quality our dogs (and cats) add to our lives is oh so great it's hard to imagine our lives without them. But no beloved companion is ever lost - they remain in our hearts always.

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    1. Hi Kris, lovely sentiment, thank you, true for humans as well as animals ... Potter enriched my life and is in my heart.

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  7. I am so sorry, Sue. It's heart breaking.
    They love us unconditionally, and it's so hard to say goodbye.

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  8. So sad to hear this news Sue, they do take a piece of us when they go. But her little spirit will always be part of the garden.

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    1. I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of little Potter. I only met her a couple of times, but I could see how much she meant to you. You will see her in every corner of the house and garden for a long while to come, and it will be heart wrenching for you to realise that she isn't actually there any more. You have my sympathy!

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  9. Thinking of you, I know exactly howe you feel, having been through it twice.You will have such happy memories of her, she will never leave you.

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  10. Ohh, you will miss Potter so much but the memories will remain. I still miss my Snarf who died two years ago so I know how it is to miss your best hairy friend.

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  11. So sorry to read your news. It's the toughest decision to have to take. Take care.

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  12. Sue, I sympathize with your grief dear. Your dog had a good life in your house, in your family. Now she is in heaven.

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  13. I am so sorry to read Potter is gone. Losing our pets is a deep loss as they are a loving part of our family....she will be forever with you and in your garden. Hugs to you and your family.

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  14. Dear Tatyana, Serena, Sue, Pauline, Janneke, RD, Nadezda and Donna, Thank you all so much for your loving comments and wishes. I feel very fortunate to be part of such a caring community, both online and offline.

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  15. Oh dear, I'm so sorry for your loss of Potter. She was fortunate to have you for a pet-parent, and you were blessed to have her in your life. My senior kitty is deaf, which means she misses auditory cues but she sure sleeps soundly! I will be sad when it is her time, but what a joy to have a beloved pet. Hugs.

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    1. Thanks, Beth. Enjoy your sound sleeping senior kitty while you have her.

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  16. I am so sorry for your loss of Potter.

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  17. Ah gee, Catmint, this is so sad. Seventeen years is a long time for a dog.

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    1. A very long time. I was sad when the first two dogs departed, but Potter was the one I was most attached to.

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  18. Dear sweet girl...…...oh how your post made me shed a tear.

    My old girl is going deaf and partially sighted.
    She sleeps more these days...….I dread the thought of losing her.

    Potter was a beautiful addition to your garden.
    I am sure her spirit will lurk around every curve and pathway.

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    1. Thank you, Cheryl. Your old girl sounds like my Potter - going deaf and partially sighted and sleeping more. It's horrible when they leave us, but another painful reminder that nothing's forever.

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  19. Dear Sue, I am so sorry to hear that your beloved dog Potter is gone. The older our pets get the more attached to them we become.

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    1. Thanks, Alastair, I think you're right. The other thing that occurs to me is that this was the dog that we got after the children grew up and left home.

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