I will probably be mostly out of action for the next few days, while we grieve the sudden death of our son's very much loved dog..... it was so sudden the grief has really hit us all....... he died of pancreatitis and there was no indication he was sick until he didn't want dinner so we took him to the vet..... and he died minutes later at the vets...... He was the most loving dog, and all of us are really suffering..... yesterday was one of the worst days we have had in many years..... Dukes death hit our son and my husband pretty hard.... me too, but they were worse..... our son was particularly grief stricken.... so much so he woke during the night with asthma and could barely breathe.....  he has never had asthma before.  Luckily we were able to give him a Ventolin inhaler and help him to breath.... The dog was his best buddy.... went everywhere with him.... swam with him, bush walked with him, and through his toughest times the dog was there for him.  I have never seen such a loving dog in all my life.... he was a big Mastiff, and would lay his head on your lap and just love you..... clamber up onto your lap and lay his head on your chest...... the love was unbelievable..... and he was taken from us so suddenly..... 05436d272fc0b54ab6b9f175a8bb182cee5c1559_s  We are all still in shock.  The hardest part was bringing him home from the vets and burying him..... we bought a rose tree to plant on his grave.....  and we will make a special place so we can sit and remember him..... and all the love he gave us.  I always felt safe here knowing he was here.....  he was a fierce protector..... yet absolutely loving.  We all know he is alive in the spirit realms..... but it doesn't help dealing with the grief. 

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us."  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~