Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Too little, too late, ftfnyt. fuck all the way off.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Second rate reporter says what?

To the privileged, equality seems like oppression.

Reality always gets a vote in the end.

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

Is trump is trying to break black America over his knee? signs point to ‘yes’.

You would normally have to try pretty hard to self-incriminate this badly.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

Come on, man.

How stupid are these people?

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

They are not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

You are here: Home / Absent Friends / Our fragile circle, breached

Our fragile circle, breached

by | 198 Comments

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Valued commenter Raven introduced me to this Irving Townsend poem about the loss of a beloved pet:

“We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own, live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached.
Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way.
We cherish memory as the only certain immortality,
never fully understanding the necessary plan.”

I find it comforting today.

Daisy Mayhem Margaret Kennedy, 2008 – 2021

The first thing to know about Daisy is that she was a boxer dog who had the heart of a lion. She was a sweet and gentle girl, but she was also a fierce and proactive protector of her pack. She was our beloved companion for almost 14 years.

Daisy came into our lives as an 8-week-old pup the summer we celebrated our kid’s 10th birthday. We argued over what to name her for a few days and settled on Daisy. The name suited her, even though there was nothing particularly floral about her.

Our fragile circle, breached

As that long-ago summer turned to fall, sometimes I’d take Daisy with me as I canvassed in the neighborhood for then-candidate Barack Obama. She was a disarming presence, which was helpful in that mostly Republican neighborhood.

Daisy was the smartest dog I’ve ever known, which ironically made her the hardest to house train. My house-training approach is based on knowing that most dogs want to cooperate, so the challenge is communicating what you want. I think Daisy was hard to train because she speculated about what I wanted rather than learning by repetition (you pooped outside? yay!) as simpler creatures do.

She had an animal intruder alert hierarchy I never figured out. Squirrels, cats and dogs who were not part of her pack were to be barked at ferociously and driven off. She’d try to catch snakes and be irritated when called off the chase. Most birds — even large ones like herons, cranes and ducks — were okay in her book, but she disliked vultures. She found alligators viewed through the fence uninteresting. But she’d bark furiously at river turtles and gopher tortoises for some reason.

Early last spring, Daisy was barking nonstop while stationed at the gate downstairs that separates the yard from the river. We haven’t been able to call her off for the last couple of years because she grew stone deaf with age. When I went to investigate the ruckus, I saw she was barking to scare off a big old turtle who’d been sunning on the riverbank. She kept barking until it lumbered into the water and swam away, as if to say, “And STAY out!”

Otters were a mystical wonder to Daisy. She’d freeze when she spotted one and watch it reverently and in silence until it went away.

I’m still convinced she’s one of the few dogs on the planet who ever took a genuine selfie with no human help. Lots of people stage dog selfies, but this is the real deal:

Our fragile circle, breached 1

I had taken a selfie of the two of us to send to someone and set my phone down on the sofa cushion, apparently still in selfie mode. Daisy snapped the shot above with her own paw.

Daisy had many endearing habits. One was to plop down next to a loved one and lean on that person. If I was sitting in front of a laptop working and not paying attention to her when she wanted my notice, she’d push her muzzle into my ribs so I would stop ignoring her. It worked every time.

She would also approach us with a serious expression in her amber eyes and seemingly try to talk, growling in an undulating tone. My husband would respond in an equally serious tone, saying things like, “Really? That’s fascinating, Daisy.” Once you replied, she’d walk away, either satisfied that she’d been heard or exasperated at being patronized.

She was a good sport about costumes, at least until the second you took your hands away, then she’d shake off the fake reindeer antlers or Tim the Enchanter hat. :)

Our fragile circle, breached 2

Daisy was already elderly when we moved to this house three years ago. But she was still a bouncy old girl. The stairs became more of a challenge as the months went by; she went up and down gamely but at a slower pace.

Our fragile circle, breached 3

Despite reaching the doggy equivalent of her mid-90s or so, Daisy remained relatively spry and enjoyed life right up until recently, lining up for treats and spinning (albeit in slow motion now) when the mister returned home from work. She played with Badger until he exhausted her, then she swept him away with an impatient paw.

Our fragile circle, breached 4

She slept more towards the end. Her favorite spot was a cushion on the porch overlooking our little river lagoon, with her muzzle facing the wider world, nostrils taking in air samples for analysis and still alert for intruders, even as her sight grew dim. I think she liked the spot because her vantage point from the cushion allowed her to be at ease and keep watch at the same time.

We agonized this week over whether it was “time.” And you know, it probably was before we could admit it to ourselves. Daisy’s interest in food had waned, and while she could make her way downstairs, we had to carry her back up. But she didn’t seem uncomfortable, and she remained alert and watchful until the very end.

Earlier, I was sitting on the porch nearby while Daisy dozed in her favorite spot. I noticed her paws twitching as if she was running in a dream, and I hoped she was experiencing the sensation of being young and strong again. Shortly after, Daisy simply drifted away, choosing her own time and granting us that one last favor.

You were a good girl, Daisy. You were the best girl ever.

Reader Interactions

198Comments

  7. 7.

    Professor Bigfoot

    Condolences, Betty; may her memory be a blessing.

    She has inspired me to go hug on my own doggos.

  8. 8.

    Barbara

    Oh, I am so sorry. What a good girl. And I think indifference to alligators is a sign of real intelligence in a dog!

  15. 15.

    zhena gogolia

    Oh, no! I loved Daisy. All my condolences. What a great dog

    ETA: Now I’ve read your last two paragraphs and I am going to have to stop crying before I got to class.

  17. 17.

    TerryC

    When is the right time? Sigh. Sorry for your loss – a tough decision to make. We’re watching our 16-year-old cattle dog, Ozzy, grow weak and lose his back leg strength. Otherwise content, though, and not eating much less. ❤️

  18. 18.

    dr. bloor

    So sorry, Betty, she always looked like a total love in your pictures. May her memory be a blessing.

  19. 19.

    Villago Delenda Est

    They’re like family. You mourn them as family. Because they are family. Deep condolences, Betty.

  23. 23.

    TaMara (HFG)

    Never enough time with them…but I’m so glad she was able to go peacefully on her own. One last gift to those she loved most.

    I did not know Bixby and Daisy shared a middle name…and it sounds like a similar personality trait. I’m hoping they find their way to each other and are playing with all the other beloved critters who have gone before.

    [[[Hugs]]]

  25. 25.

    germy

    What a beautiful and moving tribute to Daisy.  She was lucky to have loving humans in her life.

     

    Here’s “Memorial” by James Thurber:

    She came all the way from Illinois by train in big wooden crate many years ago, a frightened black poodle, not yet a year old. She felt terrible in body and worse in mind. These contraptions that men put on wheels, in contravention of that law of nature which holds that the feet must come in contact with the ground in traveling, dismayed her. She was never able to ride a thousand yards in an automobile without getting sick at her stomach, but she was always apologetic about this frailty, never, as she might well have been, reproachful.

    She tried patiently at all times to understand Man’s way of life: the rolling of his wheels, the raising of his voice, the ringing of his bells; his way of searching out with lights the dark protecting corners of the night; his habit of building his beds inside walls, high above the nurturing earth. She refused, with all courtesy, to accept his silly notion that it is better to bear puppies in a place made of machined wood and clean blue cloth than in the dark and warm dirt beneath the oak flooring of the barn.

    The poodle was hand in glove with natural phenomena. She raised two litters of puppies, taking them in her stride, the way she took the lightning and the snow. One of these litters, which arrived ahead of schedule, was discovered under the barn floor by a little girl of two. The child gaily displayed on her right forearm the almost invisible and entirely pain-less marks of teeth which had gently induced her to put down the live black toys she had found and wanted to play with.

    The poodle had no vices that I can think of, unless you could count her incurable appetite for the tender tips of the young asparagus in the garden and for the black raspberries when they ripened on the bushes in the orchard. Sometimes, as punishment for her depredations, she walked into bees’ nests or got her long shaggy ears tangled in fence wire. She never snarled about the penalties of existence or whimpered about the trials and grotesqueries of life with Man.

    She accepted gracefully the indignities of the clipping machine which, in her maiden days, periodically made a clown of her for the dog shows, in accordance with the stupid and unimaginative notion that this most Sensitive and dignified of animals is at heart a buffoon. The poodle, which can look as husky as a Briard when left shaggy, is an outdoor dog and can hold its own in the field with the best of the retrievers, including the Labrador.

    The poodle won a great many ribbons in her bench days, but she would have traded all her medals for a dish of asparagus. She knew it was show time when the red rubber bib was tied around her neck. That meant a ride in a car to bedlam.

    Like the great Gammeyer of Tarkington’s Gentle Julia, the poodle I knew seemed sometimes about to bridge the mysterious and conceivably narrow gap that separates instinct from reason . She could take part in your gaiety and your sorrow; she trembled to your uncertainties and lifted her head at your assurances. There were times when she seemed to come close to a pitying comprehension of the whole troubled scene and what lies behind it. If poodles, who walk so easily upon their hind legs, ever do learn the little tricks of speech and reason, I should not be surprised if they made a better job of it than Man, who would seem to be surely but not slowly slipping back to all fours.

    The poodle kept her sight, her hearing, and her figure up to her quiet and dignified end. She knew that the Hand was upon her and she accepted it with a grave and unapprehensive resignation. This, her dark intelligent eyes seemed to be trying to tell me, is simply the closing of full circle, this is the flower that grows out of Beginning; this-not to make it too hard for you, friend-is as natural as eating the raspberries and raising the puppies and riding into the rain.

  26. 26.

    Kalakal

    Sorry to hear of your loss.

    You gave her a wonderful life and she looks like she loved every minute of it.

    A fine rememberance

  28. 28.

    joey5slice

    I’m so sorry for your loss. What a good dog. Thank you for sharing the pictures and the memories.

  29. 29.

    Elizabelle

    Beautiful eulogy for an irreplaceable dog. It was good of you to share Daisy (and Patsy, and young Badger McM) with us. My sympathy. Daisy will be missed.

  33. 33.

    cope

    The memories and emotions you are sharing are a measure of what a great friend Daisy was to you all. That she died at home with no need for you to make gut-wrenching decisions about her end is an incredibly special gift. We have always had pets in our family and except for a cat of our daughter’s who crawled under some outside pool toys when her time came, every one of those pets had to be taken to the vet for that final visit or suffered some tragic, unexpected fate.

    It’s strange how we pet folk continue to add them to our families while knowing almost certainly that we will suffer pain and sorrow when they leave.

  35. 35.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    So sorry for your loss. May the pain of Daisy’s loss pass and the memories of good times together never fade.

  37. 37.

    Betty

    Beautiful eulogy. It sounds like she really enjoyed life in your new place, so many critters to bark at or wonder at. I hope Badger won’t be too lonely.

  38. 38.

    stinger

    Oh, so very sorry to read this, Betty Cracker. Such a hole she leaves.

    My 15-yr-old Yorkie is sleeping more soundly, eyesight diminishing, but still loving life. Even with two other dogs in the house, I dread the day and hope she will choose it for herself, as Daisy did.

    The Robinson Jeffers poem, that I probably first read here, gets me every time with these lines, no matter how long ago one of mine died:

    “You, man and woman, live so long, it is hard
 To think of you ever dying
 A little dog would get tired, living so long.
”

    Shedding a tear now for myself and for you, Betty.

  39. 39.

    Leslie

    Beautiful girl, beautiful tribute. I’m glad you and Daisy had each other for these too-brief years, and so sorry for your loss.

  41. 41.

    SFAW

    Betty, I’m so sorry. What a wonderful puppy — at all stages of her life — she was.

    Now I gotta go dust the entire house, dagnabit.

  42. 42.

    John Cole

    This is horrible news, but I am consoled by the fact that she was able to go on her own terms, with no medical intervention, happy and peaceful in her own home around the people she loved and protected for 14 years.

  44. 44.

    GaryfromWY

    Oh man. I’m so sorry. Never easy. I love your thought at the end that Daisy was dreaming of being young again and ran off into the sunset

  47. 47.

    frosty

    I’m sorry you’ve lost her. You’ve written a great memorial so we can see what an extraordinary companion she was. Thanks.

  48. 48.

    Emma from FL

    I am so sorry.
    Saturday I was looking over our 16 year old schnoodle, Pachi, after he was released from durance vile (i.e., being groomed and polished) and realized how gray he was getting. He is still relatively healthy, and still takes no nonsense from the muscle boys whose outdoor gym backs into our yard (they like to tease him very playfully) but we know we are enjoying his last years. I hope Pachi gets to make his choice like Daisy did.​

  49. 49.

    Raoul Paste

    This is the tough part about having pets.  The heartbreak is baked in, but you were lucky to have each other

  55. 55.

    Meyerman

    Sorry for your loss, Betty. I’m glad she had a good long life, surrounded by people who loved her and appreciated how wonderful she was.

  60. 60.

    geg6

    I’m so sorry, Betty.  Daisy was a wonderful BJ mascot pup over the years and your stories about her always made me smile.  She was a very good girl.

  65. 65.

    JeanneT

    So many great memories and a full doggy life.  You will miss her, but every time you think of her you will have a smile along with the tears.

  74. 74.

    Rileys Enabler

    I’m so sorry to hear of her passing, she was such a very good girl. It made me look with sad eyes at my Riley, fast approaching her 15th year. Her hearing is gone, her memory somewhat spotty, and her interest in food is not quite as pointed as in years past. But she seems in fair spirits, and climbs her steps into bed each night to sleep near me. I will give her an extra treat tonight in Daisy’s memory.
    It’s such a short period of time to love them so deeply. I’m so so sorry.

  75. 75.

    pat

    Somehow I have the feeling that you wrote this wonderful tribute with tears in your eyes.
    And I read it with tears in mine.

  76. 76.

    kindness

    Bless you Daisy.  My condolences to the family for the loss of a child.  They are our kids really.  Just furry and they don’t live as long.  That part kinda sucks.  Such is life I guess.

  84. 84.

    Spanky

    I’m terribly sorry, Betty. You were so lucky in many ways, but especially the last. I wish like hell that all our pets had had the freedom to choose their own exit when it was time.

  85. 85.

    K

    So sorry for your loss.  It’s very hard to lose a family member, but good that Daisy found peace at the end,

  86. 86.

    Hungry Joe

    Oh, no. So very sad. Alice the Dog is almost 15, and I think about this … too much. We love her more each day, as I’m sure you did Daisy. All best.

  88. 88.

    Jackie

    I’m so sorry, Betty. I’m glad Daisy was hopefully dreaming about  happy memories as she drifted away.

    Beautiful memorial to a much beloved family member.

  89. 89.

    Ksmiami

    I’m sorry you lost a beautiful and faithful girl. She was lucky to be adopted by such a wonderful pack and I’m sure she’ll love you forever.

  93. 93.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven:

    I’ll bet you have no concept of how many people you’ve consoled with that Irving Townsend poem, Raven. I saved it when you first posted it a decade or more ago, and since then I’ve shared it with easily a dozen grieving humans. You did the animal-loving world a great mitzvah by amplifying Townsend’s words.

  94. 94.

    planetjanet

    I am so very, very sorry for your loss.  It feels like a loss here as well, as you shared so much about him over the years.  He was abundantly loved and I am sure he knew it.

  100. 100.

    West of the Rockies

    I’m so sorry, Betty.  You provided him with a wonderful doggy life.

    (And through your grief, your excellent writing talent shines.  You are a gift here at Balloon Juice, and we are so fortunate for your presence.  I hope we can provide some comfort to you.)

  101. 101.

    FelonyGovt

    I’m so sorry for your loss, Betty. Daisy had a wonderful life with you. Condolences to Badger too; he will be confused and bereft for a while.

  103. 103.

    Felanius Kootea

    Oh I’m so sorry, Betty.  Daisy was clearly much loved and very smart – that selfie is something. I hope memories like these bring you comfort as time goes on.

  108. 108.

    VOR

    I never met Daisy and I’m crying. Pets bring so much into our lives and losing one is losing a family member. It sure sounds like Daisy had a good life and died with her loved ones there to comfort her.

  110. 110.

    KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))

    What a lovely memorial. I was smiling til the end. I don’t know why the last two sentences finally brought tears to my eyes, but they did. I’m sorry for your loss of this beautiful soul.

  111. 111.

    karen marie

    I am so sorry for your loss.  Thank you so much for your memorial of Daisy’s life.   She was a lovely girl.

  112. 112.

    Miss Bianca

    Oh, Betty, I am weeping for you and Daisy. You make a compelling case for her being Bestest Dog Ever. RIP, Bestest Dog Ever.

  114. 114.

    Kristine

    So sorry for the loss of your lovely girl. She got to choose her own time, which our pups don’t often get to do. Thank you for the memorial.

  119. 119.

    Ruckus

    It’s hard loosing a queen who cherishes the role, and deserves it.

    So sorry for your loss of your beautiful and wonderful friend.

  126. 126.

    Zelma

    Deepest sympathy. We all feel as if we knew Daisy. We will miss hearing about her. What a wonderful dog. But then, all dogs are wonderful, each in his own way.

  129. 129.

    PaulWartenberg

    But the poor Dog, in life the firmest friend,
    The first to welcome, foremost to defend,
    Whose honest heart is still his Masters own,
    Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone,
    Unhonour’d falls, unnotic’d all his worth,
    Deny’d in heaven the Soul he held on earth.
    While man, vain insect! hopes to be forgiven,
    And claims himself a sole exclusive heaven.

    — “Epitath to a Dog,” Lord Byron

  133. 133.

    Miss Bianca

    @raven: Wow, if I thought this guy was cool just for writing that piece, I now think his coolness quotient just blew up the cool-o-meter.

  134. 134.

    Steve in PHX

    I’m very sorry to hear such sad news. I wish you the best. My condolences.
    All the best,
    A former Florida guy

  137. 137.

    Betty Cracker

    Just wanted to thank everyone for the condolences. Grief is a burden that’s easier to bear when shared, or something like that. Anyway, thank you all so much.

  139. 139.

    Mai Naem mobile

    This is such a beautifully written remembrance of Daisy. She was a good pup and you guys were  lucky to have each other.

  140. 140.

    Bex

    Like her namesake:

    Daisies by Line Monique Gauthier

     

     

    Like her namesake:

    “Daisies” by Line Monique Gauthier

    the fence/sways open/onto meadows/lucky daisies/dance carefree/through the gate/freedom awaits

  143. 143.

    J R in WV

    One of our first dogs was a tall, rangy boxer girl, named for her color, Ginger. Technically she was my next door grandma’s dog, but we were her kids, so she spent a lot of time with us even before grandma was stricken.

    RIP, Daisy.

    By huge coincidence, I got up V early this morning to take my kitten, Spike, to the vet for a check up. She has been losing weight, has thyroid issues, and is draped over my shoulder while I study B-J and the somewhat good news today. Dr Banning is due to call when the blood work is done in the lab. Alex Jones is guilty. Steve Bannon surrendered, and Beto is running for governor.

    And Spike is purring on my shoulder. I taught her to purr, she was as silent as a cold winter night her first 6 or 8 months, but as she climbed onto my shoulder I would hum quietly, and after a couple of months, my ear against her small side, I heard a tiny sound. Now she purrs loudly enough to be heard all over the room.

    Spike knows she is loved, even tho I locked her in a box and took her to the vet today. She has already forgiven me, purring on my shoulder.

    I’m so glad you had Daisy all those years, and that she knew she was loved.

    I’ll stop crying here directly…

  144. 144.

    la caterina

    What a wonderful dog she was. I’m happy to have known her, even if it was through the internet.  May your happy memories comfort you and the family.

  145. 145.

    VeniceRiley

    What a fantastic dog! Cannot ask for a better exit from this mortal coil – I’d wish it for myself.
    But no matter the ease of it, it is the missing. The missing hurts. There will be other dogs, but never be another Daisy.

  147. 147.

    dexwood

    “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” —Roger Caras

    Sorry for your loss, Betty.

  148. 148.

    J.

    Aw, shoot, Betty. I remember when you adopted Daisy. (I had wanted you to name her Laila as she was a boxer.) My heart goes out to you on this sad day. She sounds like a wonderful dog, a true companion. Our condolences to you, Mr. Cracker, and Badger. <3

  151. 151.

    Cephalus Max

    Condolences, Betty.  Having lost a couple of ‘best dogs ever’, I know what you are feeling.

    I’m sending all the happy dog hugs and vibes that I can your way.

  156. 156.

    Kattails

    I am so sad for you. She may eventually have a successor, because we need to give them homes and to keep our hearts open, she will never have a replacement.  Such a gentle gift that she could slip away like that.  Healing thoughts to you.

  159. 159.

    currants

    Oh, Betty and Mr. Betty, I am so sorry.  I have loved hearing about Daisy Mayhem every single time.  Today, I love your tribute, sorry as I am that it needs to exist.

    Rest well, fierce, sweet Daisy.

  160. 160.

    laura

    Please accept my condolences on the loss of your boon companion and protector Daisy Mayhem Margaret Kennedy.

  161. 161.

    Tim C

     “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went,”

    Will Rodgers

  163. 163.

    eachother

    I am feeling something of what you are.  It came right through the screen to me.

    My condolences.

  168. 168.

    banditqueen

    Peace and comfort to to all of you; the time will come when you’ll catch a glimpse of Daisy in her fave spot, and you’ll know she’ll always be with you

  171. 171.

    Ken T.

    I send wishes for comfort and the joy of memories.  Much sympathy for your loss.  Florida is less one beautiful creature.

  172. 172.

    Anne Laurie

    I’m so sorry, Betty.  You make Daisy sound like a dog in a million — most of our household companions are loved, but only a few are special.

  173. 173.

    J R in WV

    @J R in WV: ​
     

    By huge coincidence, I got up V early this morning to take my kitten, Spike, to the vet for a check up.

    And just after I laid down for a nap,, having gotten up V early, Dr Vet called with blood results. He said there was good news and bad news. Spike’s blood work was all within normal levels, thyroid, kidney function, something else. So all good there.

    The bad news was he didn’t know why Spike was losing weight — I said she was always a picky eater, and that years ago they (at Dr Vet’s clinic) have given her something to boost her appetite…so he looked at the computer chart, nothing there.

    Then he looked at the hand written (real!) chart, and there it was. We’ll pick that up tomorrow, hopefully it will work as well as it did 12 years ago. At least she should stop losing weight!

  174. 174.

    Hilfy

    Thank you for the poetry, Betty.  It’s comforting to keep for future leave-takings.  Because it’s better to have them to love now, even though we know we will grieve later.

  178. 178.

    MazeDancer

    Joining the throng of tears.

    What a gorgeous tribute to your girl.

    Always thought to Daisy whenever I saw a boxer, even a picture of one.

    How great that you had her so long. How wonderful she had a perfect doggie life. Thank you for sharing her with us.

  179. 179.

    Wolvesvalley

    You gave her a wonderful 14 years, and she gave you a wonderful 14 years.

    We loved her, too, through all your stories of her.

    We’re now sad with you.

  180. 180.

    Seanly

    I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved girl. As a fellow dog owner, I took pleasure in your dog stories.

    It’s never easy getting over the loss. I still miss dogs who have been gone for a long time.

  181. 181.

    beth

    What a beautiful tribute for a wonderful dog.  My condolences on your  loss.  I still mourn the loss of my best dog ever and it’s been over a year.

  182. 182.

    Drunkenhausfrau

    So very sorry for your loss, Betty. What a beautiful tribute. I feel almost like we all shared her with you, like I hope someday I meet her on the rainbow bridge and say. Hi, Daisy!

  183. 183.

    Juju

    I just checked Ballon juice for the first time today. I’m sorry you lost Daisy. She was a great girl. She had a family that loved her and cared for her. I will miss stories about her. Give Badger a hug for me.

  184. 184.

    Soprano2

    I’m so sorry Betty. It’s tough to lose your fur babies, no matter what age they are. She sounds like a great dog.  Our cat Coco did the same thing many years ago on Thanksgiving – just laid down on the rug by the back door and went to sleep; we think she was 20 when she died. We had been having “that conversation” about her that week, but she saved us the trouble of making the decision.

  185. 185.

    Ella in New Mexico

    I’m in tears, especially when you say she blessed you all by leaving at the time and place of her own choosing.

    For us, knowing when we needed to let one of our dear friends go before they suffered too much has been a source of a lot of pain, either way. Closed Vet Hospitals on major holidays, or wrong diagnoses when we did take them in leading to painful passings were every bit as hard as when we finally did decide to let them go.

    I’m so happy that now you just have all the years of sweet memories and the knowledge she was dreaming a wonderful dream when she decided it was time to move on.

  188. 188.

    Embra

    Thanks for sharing that, Betty. It seems that a lot of people will be holding you and your family in our hearts tonight. In the face of the lessons our beloved pets have to give us, everything else seems rather trivial. You gave Daisy her best life.

  191. 191.

    Gammyjill

    You gave her a wonderful life and was there when she left it. Daisy will always be in your heart and I know you’ll always think about her with love.

  192. 192.

    stinger

    her paws twitching as if she was running in a dream

    We call this “chasing bunnies”. Sounds like she just chased that bunny right on across the Rainbow Bridge. No better way to go.

  193. 193.

    TriassicSands

    This had already been a horrible week for critter loss…and then, this.

    I’m so sorry, Betty. Sometimes, it’s just too much.

  194. 194.

    WendyBinFL

    So sorry to hear about Daisy, Betty.

    Thanks for sharing the beautiful biography and photos of your Very Good Girl.

  195. 195.

    Helena Montana

    I’m so sorry for your loss, Betty.  We know we’re going to outlast them, and yet we fall in love with them anyway.  She sounds like a wonderful dog.

  196. 196.

    Paul in KY

    Delurking to offer my deepest condolences, Betty. A very loving writeup for a very loving dog.

  197. 197.

    Betty Cracker

    Thanks for the condolences, everyone. I read every comment, and it really is a comfort to know Daisy touched so many lives.  

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