Bond

by

It is hard to believe a month has passed since we lost Kona to cancer. They say time heals all wounds and I suppose that’s true. While I still miss him terribly, that will never change, I am learning to live with the hole he left in my life. Recently, I met someone who could not comprehend grieving the loss of a dog. “He’s just a dog” they said. I feel sorry that they have never know that special bond with a dog, one who could accept you for who you are, no questions asked, and just love you. Just a dog, who had the power to make you smile every day. Maybe if everyone could experience that bond, the world would be a better place.

29 thoughts

  1. Oh Dear Lord!!! I have been going through some difficult things in my personal life, and I have not been on here in a couple of months! So, this morning, I decide to take time to see what Kona has been up to, and I find this devastating news! I guess I’m in a bit of shock!!! I just cannot believe this! WHAT is going on with all this cancer!!! I’m so very sad for you! Your last 3 dogs now have lost their lives due to this hideous disease! Not only our beloved pets, but I cannot believe, just this year alone, how many people I know are fighting cancer, or have lost their fight to cancer! I just don’t even know what to say! I know what it is like to lose a loved one to cancer, and also my beloved Goldens! I know how much it hurts and I’m so sorry for your pain AGAIN!!! You both are so amazing!!! You take in these special angels and give them life again. I know you will find another angel when the time is right, and I look forward to some wonderful posts and pictures of your next baby! Kona was so blessed to find you as you were so blessed to find him! God Bless You Both, and just know that others are thinking of you, praying for you, and feeling your pain!

  2. Sweet friends.
    Our hearts remember, and eyes tear. We saw this post a few days ago, and apologize for the late writing.
    Thinking of you. So glad for the days you had all together, with smiles, hikes and laughs. The best days stay in our eyesight everyday, even if thay are long ago.
    Please keep in touch.

    Sweet hugs,
    Sierra Rose

  4. Those who cannot understand the profound grief we feel at the loss of “just a dog” are not people that have a large place in my world. I may have to work with them and I will respect them as a person, but I will never feel the tug of humanity I feel for those who share my world of dogs. We have lost three Goldens, two to cancer in our adult lives and I will fight with every spare penny I have this evil disease. May we someday find a preventative and a cure for those humans and four legged companions we have loved and miss every day. Kona brought such joy to so many of us through your photos and adventures and we thank you for continuing to share his legacy in your work with rescue.

    • Thank you Valerie & Crew, we too hope there will be some cure for cancer soon. Both dogs and humans would benefit as it is the same in both species in many cases. All three of our Goldens were lost to cancers that are exactly the same in people so a cure for one is a cure for all.

  5. Oh dear God in heavens, this was the last bit of news I expected to find when I clicked in here. My heart fell into the pit of my stomach and then jumped back up in my throat. It’s stuck there. I am so tremendously sorry about the passing of Kona. So terribly, terribly sorry. Please accept my sincerest and humblest of apologies for not having visited your blog in some time or I would have reached out right away. Tears have not stopped flowing for beautiful, red Kona. What an evil creature we have been given in cancer. May handsome Kona frolic in fields wonderful beyond his imagination, and may he rest peacefully as he awaits his mama and papa someday. I wish for many things when I’m deep in prayer and meditation, but the thing I pray for the hardest is that there be a reunion for us and our beloved beasts in whatever lies after our death. I cannot imagine our lives without our creatures, so why should I imagine an afterlife without them? What love and compassion and patience you showed your sweet, gentle, playful boy. I wish I could hug you both. I know the love you have for him, and the grief you’re now enduring. Kona, I will miss the perfect subject you always were for your mama’s lens. I hope you know what a source of joy your photos were for me as I sat in my dull, dog-less office. A Kona shot never, ever failed to bring a smile to my lips. I love you for it, and for simply being you, a great dog. Rest well, sweet Kona, rest well. We will miss you.

  7. I am sad to say I used to be one of those peopleuntil we adopted our Golden, Sophie 6 years ago. Since I have found so much more than “just a dog”. P.S. The photo created some tears. We miss Kona too and are grieving with you.

  8. It was “just a dog” with whom I have shared my greatest dreams & fears with.
    It was “just a dog” who comforted me when no one else knew I was in pain.
    To have loved & been loved by “just a dog” is a gift.

  9. Comments like that are exactly why dogs are so special – they just love us unconditionally – no insensitivity or judgment. We’re so sorry that you had to deal with such unkindness during this difficult time.

  10. Have met many people throughout our 40 years of love with Goldens that have the said the same to us. I found this little poem and I think it says why it is not “Just A Dog” much more eloquently than can we.

    JUST A DOG
    From time to time, people tell me, “lighten up, it’s just a dog,”
    or “that’s a lot of money for just a dog.”

    They don’t understand the distance travelled, the time spent,
    or the costs involved for “just a dog.”

    Some of my proudest moments have come about with “just a dog.”

    Many hours have passed and my only company was “just a dog,”
    but I did not once feel slighted.

    Some of my saddest moments have been brought aobut by
    “just a dog,” and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch
    of “just a dog” gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

    If you, too, think it’s “just a dog,” then you probably understand
    phrases like “just a friend,” “just a sunrise,” or “just a promise.”

    “Just a dog” brings into my life the very essence of friendship,
    trust, and pure unbridled joy.
    “Just a dog” brings out the compassion and patience
    that make me a better person.
    Because of “just a dog” I will rise early, take long walks and look
    longingly to the future.

    So for me and folks like me, it’s not “just a dog”
    but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future,
    the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.

    “Just a dog” brings out what’s good in me and diverts my thoughts
    away from myself and the worries of the day.

    I hope that someday they can understand that its’ not “just a dog”
    but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being
    “just a man” or “just a woman.”

    So the next time you hear the phrase “just a dog,”
    just smile,
    because they “just don’t understand.”

    ~Unknown Author~

  11. We lost our sweet golden 6 months ago on Oct. !st. I am still amazed how remarkable it is that ” just a dog” had such a profound effect on me. She allowed me to feel more love completely and unashamedly. When she first came into our lives I had never been around a golden. I remember how I had to get used to her adoring eyes. I felt as though she was looking right through me, as though she could see to my very soul. I have never experienced that with any other dog. A golden, I do believe, has the secret to what God intended us to be. They are so obedient to who they are. Hardly, a day goes by that I don’t mourn her. I miss her terribly. She left a huge hole in my heart. I love all animals and especially dogs, but a golden is one to be fully experienced.
    I am so very sorry about your loss of Kona. Way too soon. It feels as though you just lost Spencer. My heart goes out to both of you.

  12. Hey there…
    I really know how you feel…it is what prompted me to start writing my book, MAXDOG…to give voice to the incredible bond which can develop between a human and their canine companion. Your grief is real. I found that writing helped me affirm my own grief and to make sense of the heartbreak I was experiencing and the whole which wouldn’t heal .
    A friend encouraged me to purchase a journal and to simply write all the memories (by hand)…after years of blogging behind a keyboard, it was extremely cathartic. Not only that, but it provided the foundation for Max’s book. I will always be grateful to her for suggesting this to me.
    Having said that, we all grieve differently. Owning a dog brings inevitable heartbreak, but after experiencing what they teach me, I wouldn’t change it for anything.
    Kona will never be forgotten…
    My thoughts are with you at this difficult time.
    Sending lotsaluv
    MAXMOM IN SA

  13. Someone once told me that if you look more closely at the hole that it’s actually just a missing piece of a much larger thing. That much larger thing is the love and relationship you were able to have with Kona. I know that one of these days I will be going through the same thing with one of my dogs and nothing anyone says will make me feel better. Grieving is not fun. We miss Kona too!

  14. Where do you begin with someone who feels like that and then even worse, has a need to question your grief in that way? I heard that said to me once too and I was left speechless and wondering. Keep the faith and as you know only too well, time is the only saving grace. xo

    • My experience is about 50% will eventually get it and the other 50% are a lost cause, not coincidentally, those last bit are the same people who do not contribute anything to society either.

  15. Ive met people like that person and I agree its sad that they never felt the love of a dog. Im still very sorry for your loss. I as well hang on to hope that time heals wounds.

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