grieving a pet | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

15 Things I Wish I Could Do One Last Time With My Four-Legged Family Member

No matter how much time has passed, no amount is enough.

816
15 Things I Wish I Could Do One Last Time With My Four-Legged Family Member
Corrine Harding

I have only had two dogs my entire life. My first dog passed away when she was about 14 years old when I was in 1st grade, and my family got our second dog that same year. I know how blessed I am to have grown up for 14 years with you, Whiskers. A few months ago, while I was away at school, you crossed the rainbow bridge and went to your forever home. It has been a few months since you've passed, and I can't help but wish I just had a few more minutes to spend time with you, even just to relive these 15 moments.

Be greeted at the end of my driveway by you.

Greetings

One of my favorite things about coming home was having you greet me and follow my car all the way to where I would park. It always put a smile on my face to see you greet me. I would give anything for you to bark and happily chase me on my way home.

Go for a walk in the woods.

Dog Dragging Kid

You were always an active dog. When I was younger, and let's be honest even when I was in my 20's, you would drag me around with the amount of energy and strength you had. You loved sniffing around and going on adventures. Even though you made our nice gentle walk into a run, I'd love to spend an afternoon of walking, adventures, and of course being pulled around.

Watch you jump over the truck tailgate. 

Dog Jumping Into Truck Bed

Being such an active dog, you never ceased to amaze us with your abilities. One of the things I will never forget and to be honest would love to see again, is you being able to jump into the bed of our trucks while the tailgate was still up. It was hard watching as you got older seeing your strength and agility decrease, I know you are jumping over 8-foot tall fences like Colton Underwood.

Have you jump on me.

Puppy Jumping

I don't like being jumped on by dogs because of an experience I had before we had you, but you loved to jump on people as you met us. Being up close and personal was your forte, and now with you gone, I would love to be jumped on and be face to face with you.

Watch you run in your sleep.

Sleepy Dog

Even in your sleep you were an active dog, and it always made my heart happy to see you asleep with your legs moving like you were running. Thinking about it now makes me smile.

Practice some of your tricks.

Shake

Taking you to training school could only be described as interesting. With your stubborn personality and nervousness around other dogs, obedience training was hard work. As you got older, some of the tricks you were taught faded, except to be able to sit on command. I would love to go back in time to go through those tricks and spend the extra time with you.

Feed you your favorite snacks.

Slow Motion Dog Catching Treat

You would listen to me when I had a treat in my hand, and I know how much you loved to catch them in the air. Being able to have you sit and feed you a treat would give me just as much happiness those treats gave you.

Take a ride in the Ranger.

Dog Sticking Head Out Window

You enjoyed riding in vehicles, from our trucks to our side-by-side ATVs. The one thing you had to do though, no matter how big or small the vehicle was, was stand on someone's lap and stick your head out the window. Even though it hurt my legs when your nails dug into me, I would gladly let you stick your head out the window.

Play fetch with you.

Fetch

Playing fetch with you was a challenge—when you were younger if we would throw a ball or frisbee to you. You would retrieve it, but then we would spend more time trying to get whatever we threw at you back because you didn't want to let go. But being able to see you with that much energy again would bring a smile to my face as I got in an arm workout for the day.

See you chilling in breezeway.

Cool Dog

Besides running around outside, you always loved just to chill in the breezeway. I always wonder what you thought about when you sat there by yourself for hours. Sometimes when I look through the glass door into your sacred place, I hope you are there.

Have you sneak into the house.

Sneaky Dog

You sneaking into the house might have made my mom mad, but seeing you sneak around as you would crawl on your belly and be quiet as possible could make anyone giggle. Then add in the fact of you hiding underneath our dining room table always made the moment even more comical.

Feed you cheese.

Happy Dog

You and I have one thing in common: a love for cheese. It would bring me joy to bring you joy by throwing you a slice of American cheese for you to snack on.

Give you a big hug.

Dog Cuddles

You might have not always smelled the best, but being able to hug you one last time would be like a cuddle to my heart.

Celebrate your 16th birthday.

Birthday Puppy

Your birthday is on the 4th of July, which fits perfectly since you had such a firecracker personality. Buying a hamburger and putting a candle in it for your birthday always just felt so natural to celebrate you. We had you for 14 years, and you were a year old when we adopted you. It would have meant the world to me to see you with your birthday burger for your 16th birthday.

Take one more photo with you.

Corrine Harding

Whenever we would turn the camera to you, you always seemed to stop what you originally doing and look away from us. Though when we did get a good photo of you, you were posing and ready for it. You always knew your best angle and the best way to the photo 10 times better.

Honestly, I think this list could go on forever. No matter how long I had with you, it would never be enough. Losing a pet isn't an easy thing to go through, and there isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about you and what I would do if I had one more day or even just a few more minutes.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

5 Things To Do That Are Better Than Writing A Paper

Don't waste your time trying to write that paper when there are so many more interesting things you could be doing.

9134
computer keyboard
Unsplash

Writing a paper is never fun and is rarely rewarding. The writer's block, the page requirement, be specific, but don’t summarize, make sure you fixed any grammatical errors, did you even use spellcheck? and analyze, analyze, analyze.

Papers can be a major pain. They take up so much time and effort that by the end of the process you hate yourself and you hate the professor for making life so difficult. Questions of your existence start roaming in your mind. Am I even cut out for college if I can’t write a single paper? Am I even capable of taking care of myself if I lack the energy to open my laptop and start typing?

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

10 Reasons Why Sisters Are The Best

Who could be a better friend than your own sister?

5513
sisters
Taylor Hooper

I can barely remember back when I was the only child. Most would say it’s because it is extremely difficult to remember things as a toddler but I would say it's because I was bored until my sister came along. My mother always says how important the "sister bond" is and with every year that passes I realize how right she is. Instead of writing a novel about all of the wonderful things there are about having a sister I decided to list a few of them instead.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

How To Adult

You're gonna make it after all.

5928
how to adult
Twitter

It is the time of our lives that we are beginning to enter the adult world and most of us, if not all of us, have no idea what we are doing. It's like starting a video game, but skipping the tutorial. We're all just running around aimlessly hoping we accidentally do something right that moves us along the right path. Now that graduation has just happened, or is right around the corner for some of us, it's time to start thinking about how we are going to take care of ourselves once we are on our own.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

7 Signs You're A Starbucks Addict

I'll be the first one to admit I'm addicted to Starbucks.

3702
drinking coffee
Tumblr

If you’re anything like me, you love a good cup of coffee. My coffee always comes from Starbucks; I refuse to drink it from anywhere else. Over the years, it’s become one of my biggest addictions. So, if you are aware that you’re a Starbucks addict as well, or maybe you need to check to see if you’re an addict, here are seven ways to tell.

Keep Reading...Show less
people  in library
Photo by redcharlie on Unsplash

College involves a whirlwind of emotions, whether it’s from the stress of an assignment (or twenty), or from fighting with your roommate. It can be overwhelming at times and it’s important to take a step a back and calmly think things over. Maybe gain some perspective. The following aren’t foolproof tips and may not apply to you, but I was able to find success with them (hope you do too!)

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments