To My Ted

[Guest tedsmom]

ted---oh ted why did you have to leave so fast so soon after i found you? you filled a gaping hole that remained after lovey left us, you brought us so much joy and laughter and even some frustration we worked thru together. you had such a rough life and all i wanted to do was make it better for you and you left without saying goodbye. why couldnt you wait? i did my best for you but i wasnt there when you left and i am so so so sorry...britty is so sad; she wont eat, she wont play, all she does is lay in her kennel and stare. marni and bullet are looking for you to play with and don't understand why you arent here. cathy says you can bite all the horses you want to if you would just come back to us. i know you are with stetson and lovey and dusty (dont bite her sweetie--she's a good horse) and they rest of your grey friends, but i am so selfish and want you to come back to us, please---we miss you so much. but i know you cant, and that just shatters my heart. cathy made me get out of the house today and go to the horse expo and i kept seeing things in the dog exhibits i knew you would like and i picked them up to buy them before i realized you were no longer with me and you didnt need them. i try to picture you running thru a field with one ear cocked up playing with the others and it just makes me cry harder because i want you here. oh ted, you were so special and went thru so much in your life and i was so lucky to have found you. everyone loved you ted and everyone is so incredibly sad. but no one is more sad than me because i loved you with everything i had. remember the crate quarrels we had when i chased you thru the garage door around to the people door 5 times before you decided to give in and go in your crate? do you remember when you met aero for the first time and you were so scared but brave enough to walk up to that big giant 1700 pound horse and sniff noses with him? do you remember how you would drop and flop right in the middle of the kitchen floor and didnt care that people had to step over you? do you remember jumping in the car and refusing to get out, so you went to work horses with me? do you remember stealing aero's polo wrap and running across the yard with it as it unrolled and streamed in the air--you were so proud at first but confused and disappointed as to why the "stuffie" unrolled? do you remember our first meet and greet together, when you were still my foster, and aunt carole took you for a walk with cousin patch and cousin lilly and when you came around the corner you saw me and loped towards me with a look of "hey egeryone, that's MY mom"--ted, that was the moment i decided to make you mine forever and everyone was so happy---jen said "oh we are so happy for the two of you--we wanted to suggest it but we didnt want to pressure you." and do you remember when we made it offical on april 1st and you had your shots and heartworm test and came home offically as a vinyard-williamson? and how later that week we all wept when we found out britty had heartworm disease and how when she was so sick from her treatment you sat with her and didnt even steal her bones? do you remember when you and britty and the kids i took a road trip and you sat in the back seat in between colten and alex and got out of the car proudly displaying a lollipop stuck on each shoulder? do you remember how finicky you were with food and begrudgingly ate it despite giving me the "you cant be serious i have to eat THIS?" look---or how picky you were with treats? do you remember digging out from under the fence and going over the fence and going to visit the neighbor and how scared i was? or jumping thru the car window into the car? and how can you forget your trademark neon yellow-green harness? i was looking so hard for the perfect harness for you to wear, but not just any harness would do for you---it had to be as special as you. and my how you worried and talked and worried some more. oh ted...how are britty and i and the boys going to go on without you? the house is empty and i expect to hear the clicking of the nails you never let anyone touch across the floor and the sound of the slide-thud as you dropped and flopped on the floor. i miss your worrying and would give anything to be able to have you here to worry all you wanted to. to know you ted, was to love you. kristi and ron are down in kentucky at the rolex horse trials and found a collar at one of the dog booths and called to see what size you wore and i told them you were no longer with us--they were devastated....you are now with their marcus---be nice to him--you know how cats can be when you want to play and they dont--everyone loved you---the group knew you were a special dog and entrusted me with your care and i failed because you are gone and i couldnt stop it. how could i not know you were going to leave me? what kind of mom am i not to know that? i am so sorry ted. i should have done more--i dont know what, but there has to be something i could have done. i failed you, sweet ted---i was given the "bestest dog", as alex calls you, in the whole world and i failed you. everyone says you are in a better place but i think the best place is here with britty and me. please know ted how much you are loved and missed-----

[Forevermybabies]

Ted hears you Molly. And he loves you. You know that Ted wouldn't want you to feel guilty, or sad. We know that you have to feel sad, no matter what Ted would want, but you don't have to feel guilty.

 

And to Ted: thank you for your wild tail wagging, and for not holding it against Angel when she growled at first meeting you. Thanks for leaning and loving the many pats and scritches.

 

Thanks for looking out for Molly as she deals with your loss.

 

One day at a time, Molly.

[Batmom]

Ted was a smart dog -- he knew who would love him without reservation, who would give him a home full of horses and other wonderful things, who would give him the chance to get stuck to a lollipop or two ....

 

I am sorry it hurts so much to lose him. There's nothing I can say to make it better. It hurts because you loved him so. He knew that -- smart fellow, remember? -- and he tried by way of return to give you some beautiful and silly memories to make you smile again one day.

[patricia]

Ted...send your Mommy some signs that you are doing fine...and that you will wait patiently for her.

[Greytlady94]

THE SPIRIT OF A GREYHOUND

 

I was standing on a hillside

In a field of blowing wheat,

And the spirit of a Greyhound

Was lying at my feet.

 

He looked at me with kind dark eyes,

Ancient wisdom shining through.

In the essence of his being,

I saw the love there too.

 

His mind did lock upon my heart

As I stood there on that day,

And he told me of this story

About a place so far away.

 

As I stood upon that hillside

In a field of blowing wheat,

In a twinkling of a second

His spirit left my feet.

 

His tale did put my heart at ease,

All my fears did fade away

About what lay ahead of me

On another distant day.

 

"I live among God's creatures now

In the heavens of your mind,

So do not grieve for me, my friend

As I am with my kind.

 

My collar is a rainbow's hue,

My leash is a shooting star.

My boundaries are the Milky Way

Where I sparkle from afar.

 

There are no pens or kennels here

For I am not confined,

But I'm free to roam God's heavens

Among the Greyhound kind.

 

I nap the day on a snowy cloud

Gentle breezes rocking me,

And dream the dreams of earthlings,

And how it used to be.

 

The trees are full of liver treats,

And tennis balls abound,

And milkbones line the walkways

Just waiting to be found.

 

There even is a ring set up,

The grass all lush and green;

And everyone who gaits around

Becomes the Best of breed.

 

For we're all winners in this place;

We have no faults, you see.

And God passes out those ribbons

To each one, even me.

 

I drink from waters laced with gold,

My world a beauty to behold;

And wise old dogs do form my pride

To amble at my very side.

 

At night I sleep in angel's arms,

Her wings protecting me,

And moonbeams dance about us

As stardust falls on thee.

 

So when your life on earth is spent

And you stand at Heaven's gate,

Have no fear of loneliness--

For here, you know, I wait.

 

Author unknown