A real up and down weekend here. On Saturday we had a party to celebrate my father's 80th birthday. I had his 27 Buick there he has had since 1952 and his 26 T roadster pickup he has had since 1959. A great time was had by all. On Sunday after recovery time we poured some bearings for a Hercules engine for a Cletrac crawler tractor. Then we went with my partner and pulled a 26 coupe out of a barn and brought it here. So far so good. Unloaded the coupe and it's owner went home. Dad and I then went into the shop and line bored the Cletrac Hercules engine. As we were just finishing up, my young daughter comes in and says come out quick, mommy needs you. My wife had come home from work in the dark and ran over our little family dog and killed her in our driveway. Crap! Man, it hurts. Wife and daughter are devastated. I can fix whatever goes wrong with old cars but I had to bury our little friend today. This really sucks. What do you do? I guess that's what is the ultimate price of loving a living thing is, because all of them will die at some point. Well, we'll move on and be thankful for the things we loved and make new friends. Thanks forum friends for putting up with my ramblings.
Erik
Hug your wife and daughter. Some things daddy simply cannot fix. Let your wife know that she is not at fault or blamed in any way. These things happen. Your daughter is young. She should recover in a short time. Don't push for a replacement.
It sure is a helpless feeling. Isn't it.
W2
Erik, being a huge dog lover (and all animals for that matter), I am very sorry for your loss. Give your whole family a hug and my condolences. So sad.
In high school I ran over my best friends dog. Her name was Honey and she came over to my house everyday, my friend lived right across the street. That was a long walk from my house to his carrying Honey and knocking on the door and telling my friend I ran over his dog. It was a horrible experience. We buried her that morning. I will never forget that as long as I live. The worst part of owning the dog is having to bury it. I've had several dogs and buried most of them.
Rob,
I've felt your pain. When I was about 15 I was helping my brother move some things out. We were carrying a couch out of the house and I was going down some stairs backwards. I stepped on our little orange kitten and he died right there. My heart still breaks more than thirty years later. My poor wife has had this happen before. A couple years ago she ran over our old chow chow who was deaf and didn't move too fast. She is going out of her mind right now with guilt. Neither incident was her fault, but that doesn't help. I'm off the the animal shelter hoping to rescue a new dog who could use the abundance of love we have to give. Thanks for the kind words.
Erik
I had a golden retriever that I raised from a pup and trained for hunting. My dogs spend 75% of their lives in our house as part of the family. At 11 she broke her femur and x-Rays showed a bone tumor at the break. She was in pain every time she moved so I had to put her down. The vet suggested I just leave her there and come pick her up later but I felt I owed her to be there and comfort her. I held her in my arms as he gave her the shot, then brought her home and buried her at one of her favorite places. It still hurts 10 years later and her niece is now 11 and going deaf and getting arthritic.
We see promotions for take a kid to a car show. What we should also promote is "take your dog for a ride".
My Newfoundland is going on 8 and she loves rides. Just mention the word "truck" and she is off like a shot. She goes with me to cruise nights, and gets all sorts of loving from all the participants. If I don't take her, it's "where's Siobhan?"
I wasn't going to let her into the T because her hair sticks to everything. But I left the door open when I was unloading it off the trailer the day I brought it home, and she made the climb up the trailer and into the car. Not easy for her at her age. Settled in the back seat as if it was her right to be there. I guess it is.
So, one of the first things I did to the car was to put a new blanket in the back for her.
The only drawback? Drool marks on the windows and paint. Nose prints as well.
Small price to pay to make a dog feel loved.