Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

Democrats are back in array!

Democrats have delivered the Square Deal, the New Deal, the Fair Deal, and now… the Big Joe Biden Deal.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

This country desperately needs a functioning Fourth Estate.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Let’s finish the job.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / RIP Wembley, A Very Good Dog

RIP Wembley, A Very Good Dog

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Long time friend of the blog TBOGG shares the news that beloved friend Wembley has bone cancer which has spread to his lungs and is leaving us.

We all know what you are going through, Tom, and our thoughts are with you. This is particularly close to me, given the events of the past year, and I am so, so sorry (while also grateful to all of you who helped keep my own pup alive). Dogs and cats should live forever.

Reader Interactions

77Comments

  1. 1.

    Roger Moore

    Dogs and cats should live as long as their humans. I’m not sure it would be fair to them to let them love and lose as many humans as we lose cats and dogs.

  6. 6.

    Elizabelle

    My condolences. Lovely dog. They just don’t live long enough, but Wembley had a wonderful, happy life with his human family, which cared enough to spare him further cancer.

    In time, thinking of Wembley will just be a smile, and maybe a laugh too.

  7. 7.

    skyweaver

    I went through this very thing this summer. It’s a very hard thing to lose a beloved pet, TBOGG. I’m so sorry.

  8. 8.

    Ruckus

    If I recall, Wembley, has led a stellar and noble life.
    What could be better?
    RIP Wembley, ya done good.

  9. 9.

    debit

    How horrible. I am so sorry. Even when it’s the kindest thing to do it still hurts like hell. So sorry.

  12. 12.

    dexwood

    So sorry, Tbogg, and anyone else who has experienced this. We lost Dexter Dog two years ago to exactly this situation. We were warned the bone cancer would spread to his lungs. We realized he had reached that point when his labored breathing and coughing woke me up about 3 a.m. I called his fantastic vet as soon as her office opened and she had us bring him in immediately, but we knew what it meant for Dexter, for us. We took him home and the good doctor came to the house an hour later to end his pain. We had 4 great months with him from diagnosis to his passing. He was in ice cream heaven long before he died.

    We do everything we can for them during their lives, but, in the end, we do what we must,

  14. 14.

    captnkurt

    Sorry, TBogg. As someone who also lost a dog this year, I found this on the internets. It still makes me a little misty just re-reading it now. Hope it helps a little.

    Dogs never die. They don’t know how to. They get tired, and very old, and their bones hurt. Of course they don’t die. If they did they would not want to always go for a walk, even long after their old bones say: ‘No, no, not a good idea. Let’s not go for a walk.’ Nope, dogs always want to go for a walk. They might get one step before their aging tendons collapse them into a heap on the floor, but that’s what dogs are. They walk.

    It’s not that they dislike your company. On the contrary, a walk with you is all there is. Their boss, and the cacaphonic symphony of odor that the world is. Cat poop, another dog’s mark, a rotting chicken bone (exultation), and you. That’s what makes their world perfect, and in a perfect world death has no place.

    However, dogs get very very sleepy. That’s the thing, you see. They don’t teach you that at the fancy university where they explain about quarks, gluons, and Keynesian economics. They know so much they forget that dogs never die. It’s a shame, really. Dogs have so much to offer and people just talk a lot.

    When you think your dog has died, it has just fallen asleep in your heart. And by the way, it is wagging its tail madly, you see, and that’s why your chest hurts so much and you cry all the time. Who would not cry with a happy dog wagging its tail in their chest. Ouch! Wap wap wap wap wap, that hurts. But they only wag when they wake up. That’s when they say: ‘Thanks Boss! Thanks for a warm place to sleep and always next to your heart, the best place.’

    When they first fall asleep, they wake up all the time, and that’s why, of course, you cry all the time. Wap, wap, wap. After a while they sleep more. (remember, a dog while is not a human while. You take your dog for walk, it’s a day full of adventure in an hour. Then you come home and it’s a week, well one of your days, but a week, really, before the dog gets another walk. No WONDER they love walks.)

    Anyway, like I was saying, they fall asleep in your heart, and when they wake up, they wag their tail. After a few dog years, they sleep for longer naps, and you would too. They were a GOOD DOG all their life, and you both know it. It gets tiring being a good dog all the time, particularly when you get old and your bones hurt and you fall on your face and don’t want to go outside to pee when it is raining but do anyway, because you are a good dog. So understand, after they have been sleeping in your heart, they will sleep longer and longer.

    But don’t get fooled. They are not ‘dead.’ There’s no such thing, really. They are sleeping in your heart, and they will wake up, usually when you’re not expecting it. It’s just who they are.”

  15. 15.

    Thom Rogers

    I was a huge fan of Tom’s back in the day when he had his blog. I remember when he got Wembly, the little guy with paws as big as the rest of him. What a cutey. Our sorrow and thoughts are with him and his wife and daughter.

  16. 16.

    cynthia ackerman

    @Quaker in a Basement:

    Tom has been my favorite online personality since I can’t remember when — way before Wembley. He and his hounds sure live up to your maxim, QiB.

    Tom, much love to you and yours. Through my sadness, I am grateful for your spirit and wit. You’ve unwittingly helped me through a patch or two, now I hope we, your invisible tribe, comfort Casa B.

  18. 18.

    Emma

    I have loved Wembley since I happened on TBoggs’s old blog and met the little guy with the giant paws. I am so sorry.

  19. 19.

    trollhattan

    TBogg’s noble bassett family has always been the source of a lot of joy and some genuine sorrow as well. Is Wembley the pup who flew back from an east coast breeder’s on Mrs. Bogg’s lap?

    So very sorry. Having had similar doggie experiences I can relate, at least a little. Keeping the fine fellow and you in my thoughts.

  20. 20.

    satby

    I remember when Wembley joined the TBogg family too. Deepest condolences to you all, and thanks for sharing Wembley with us as he grew.

  22. 22.

    Gemina13

    “My heart hath joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today.”

    I’m so sorry for TBogg. :(

  23. 23.

    zhena gogolia

    I am so sorry. I’m still mourning super-kittehs Louis and Sasha 9 months later — I greet them when I come in the door every day. It’s so painful to lose them.

  25. 25.

    ChrisS

    my condolences to TBogg and his pack of bassets.

    Tangential to this, I have nothing but the utmost respect for those who foster and rescue senior dogs. It’s devastating to lose a canine (or kitty) companion with whom you have spend their lifetime, but to rescue and lose, rescue and lose, repeat has to take a herculean heart.

  27. 27.

    Mnemosyne

    Count me in as another longtime TBogg reader who remembers when Wemblely first joined their family. He was a good dog, and he will be missed.

  28. 28.

    Quantumman

    So sorry for your loss. Not long ago we had a Wolfhound who developed bone cancer. We had his leg amputated and he died the day after surgery. Bone cancer sux.

  30. 30.

    The Moar You Know

    I’m not sure it would be fair to them to let them love and lose as many humans as we lose cats and dogs.

    @Roger Moore: Seconded. I would never put my dog through losing me, he could not deal with it. I am always the strong one for him, and when his time comes (which I fervently hope is a long time in the future) it will be the worst thing I have ever dealt with in my entire life, but I will deal with it and be strong for him. And fall apart promptly afterwards.

    Can you tell I love my dog? Oh, I do.

    Tom, goddammit, if you’re reading this I am so sorry. My wife and I lost our last dog in 2013 (Hannah was really my wife’s dog, I came along pretty late in her life). My unemotional and reticently taciturn dad called me after and said “Bill, there are things that will leave a scar on your heart forever and this is one of them. I am so sorry.” He’s never said anything like that in my entire life, but he knew. He’d lost his dog several years before. And I dearly wish that he’d been wrong about that like he’d been wrong about so many other things…but he wasn’t.

    Godspeed, Wembley. See you on the other side.

  31. 31.

    Spanky

    Derpest condolences TB. I too remember Wembly’s first appearance on the blog. You gave him a great life. Remember thst.

  38. 38.

    geg6

    Damn, I can remember when Wembley was just a puppy and Tbogg had just gotten him.

    So sorry, Tbogg. It’s so hard to lose them but we keep them in our hearts forever.

  41. 41.

    HumboldtBlue

    Well, goddammit, I’m sorry TBogg, that fucking sucks.

    Here’s to Wembley!

    We met him when he was a puppy.

    Lots of love to Mrs. TBogg and daughter TBogg too.

  42. 42.

    stinger

    One of my favorite dog pics ever, and that’s saying something, is that of young Wembley standing upright under his older brother. Unfortunately, age prevents me from recalling the other dog’s name. So very sorry for the TBogg family’s loss. We are all diminished.

  43. 43.

    Dog Mom

    This hurts today – like all those other moments hearing about Tunch and Walter and all the beloved critters we have had the good fortune to know or know of. I think I remember even the old dog that came before Fenway and Wembley – was it Satchmo? My sympathy to you all, TBogg and family.

  45. 45.

    Yutsano

    Oh TBogg. My heartfelt condolences to you and your family now. Wembley was a good pupper for sure.

    Obligatory: #FuckCancer

  46. 46.

    J R in WV

    My Great Uncle Archie and Great Aunt Rose had a pair of basset hounds, they looked so mournful, but in reality were really happy dawgs. So you can’t fool me with pictures of Wembley looking sad, he was a happy boy inside where it counts.

    So sorry for your family’s loss, TBogg. They are part of our lives, of our families. But you can hold him close to your heart for the rest of your life. Take care!

  47. 47.

    TaMara (HFG)

    Am still at a loss for words, but add my sympathies to everyone else’s. He was a good dog and will be missed by all who followed along with your adventures.

  49. 49.

    Pete Shanks

    I am so sorry, and I feel for you so much, Tom, if I may presume. I too remember Wembley’s arrival and the joy therein; which followed of course sadness too. So it goes I guess. My Disqus avatar is a Lab we lost several years ago, and still miss. I only follow (and that in the browser) two people on Twitter: Krugzilla and TBogg. It would almost be worth signing up to offer my condolences more directly. Almost — thanks for this thread, John.

  52. 52.

    MomSense

    I’m so sorry about Wembley. IRL I have friends with whom I know I will always be close just because we remember all the dogs and cats that have been a part of our friendships right along with the people.

    As much of a PITA my pup is, I love her so much and look forward to the amazing greeting she gives me every day when I come in the door.

  54. 54.

    MoxieM

    Ah, so sad. That really is lousy news. Condolences. I hope the Bogg family still have Fenway? Anyway, such sorrow.

  55. 55.

    Elizabelle

    Wembley was just a beautiful dog. Great coloring and bright looking. My thoughts are with the T-Bogg family. Gonna be a hound-sized emptiness there for quite some time.

    But then, hopefully sooner rather than later, there will be another dog who needs to join the family.

  57. 57.

    Gemina13

    @captnkurt: When I lost my cat Lucky, the first thing that went through my head–other than the inner & outer wails of denial–Was that line from “Watership Down.”

    I never had a dog, but this made me cry. It is beautiful., and it will be something I show to friends when their dogs fall asleep in their hearts.

  58. 58.

    captnkurt

    @blackcatsrule: I did not write it. I found it, of all places in a Reddit thread about how we must seem like immortal elves to our dogs, never appearing to age while they grow old and die. Someone posted that in the discussion. Don’t know if that person wrote it either, but it made me cry.

  61. 61.

    mr gravity

    So sorry. It is a high price we pay for loving dogs.

    But they are worth every penny.

    I hope you take some comfort in all the memories he leaves you with.

  62. 62.

    misterpuff

    My roommate also had to help a “Good Dog” to their doggie reward today, so great sadness in the house. A Lab that led a full and long life.

    Run free, Lotus. Run free.

  65. 65.

    NeenerNeener

    @Elizabelle: About 9 or 10 years old, I think. There’s was a major snow storm on the East Coast the week they picked him up at the breeder in PA.

  68. 68.

    Tehanu

    I remember when Wembley was a new puppy. So sorry. At least the love we get from our pets outlasts their physical presence.

  69. 69.

    Amber Forestier

    Ah, so sad to hear this. I have been following TBogg since Satchmo and Beckham graced his blog….as a fellow basset-lover I once sent him a book called “The Tao of Maggie”: now would be a good time to go read it. I lost my Holly to lymphoma a year and a half ago and, like Wembley, she was too young. They leave a gapping hole in your soul…..Hugs to the Bogg family and Fenway.

  71. 71.

    cleosmom

    So sorry to hear about this. It’s just as well that we generally outlive dogs and cats — they depend on us for care, not the other way around — but that doesn’t make it any easier. And pets, especially dogs and cats, add a dimension to our lives that nothing else can fill. When you think about it, having such a close relationship with another species is something rare and precious.

    Lost a sweet greyhound to bone cancer many years ago, and still miss her.

  72. 72.

    donnah

    Like many of you, I read TBogg’s blog a long time ago and thought it was priceless. I believe I first read Betty Cracker there, too. But I remember Satchmo and Baby Wembley as well. What a sad loss, and certainly a dog who will not be forgotten.

  73. 73.

    PIGL

    “I tremble for my species when I remember that God is just.” Good dogs like Wembley are the only creatures that might defend us that He might hear. Well, cats too, but they probably wouldn’t.

  74. 74.

    Gretchen Diefenderfer

    I miss TBogg, all the bassets and the family, too. Lots of love to you and sadness about your loss. RIP, Wembly

  75. 75.

    laura

    This is the saddest news. I’m so sorry for the TBogg family- especially Mrs. TBogg who travelled to College Station to bring tiny baby puppy wembelly home to fill the missing spot where Beckham dwelled.
    Rest in live and peace Wembley, good dog.
    Man, how I miss Thursday night dog blogging.

  76. 76.

    StringOnAStick

    So sorry. TBOGG. Wishing you memories, which are heartbreaking now but will bring a smile someday.

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