bubbad

This time of year gets a little hard even though Bubba has been gone for ,soon,9 years. There isn't a day that goes by without him crossing my mind. In April of 2002 he was diagnosed with lymphosarcoma and my heart slowly died with him. He survived for 7 months but I knew each day brought me one day closer to the end. It is torture to love a dog so much and lose him so young. He was a show dog. He was such a dog that if you met him once you remembered him always. He had his quirks. Like WOOFing in Grace's ear till she ran from him. He did the same thing to the cat,just sat beside Snitt , got close to his ear, then started to WOOF. Like this,WOOF,WOOF,WOOF,WOOF,for as long as Snitt would sit there. He had a voice that shook your very bones if you were too close. There are many fond quirky memories of him but the one that I treasure the most was the spring of 2002 right before he was diagnosed, I had him to the Harrisburg Dog Show,one of the largest shows on the east coast usually getting more than 2500 entries of dogs. Animal Planet is at the show every year recording things. I was sitting with Bubba in an out of the way place,just chilling,and as I looked at him his tail started to move ever so slowly, actually just the white tip was moving and he was looking off in the distance. I turned to see what he was looking at,there was a man with a walkie talkie several hundred feet away and he was looking at Bubba. He started to walk towards us and Bubba's tail moved faster. As he got closer he said to me,"Can I pet him"? By this time Bubba was on his feet and I said,"If you don't he is going to WOOF at you." Just then, Bubba lets out the loudest WOOF ever. Then he asked if he could use him in a little snippet for the show. Of course I said yes and as it turned out Bubba was the only Basset used in the whole taping of the show itself.It was a cute snippet and I taped the show when it was televised. So I have him with his 10 min. of fame forever. Anyway, here is a poem I wrote. Bubba (April 17,1999 - December 31,2002 ) Bubba Dog ,I miss you. So much sometimes I cry,I wonder why you had to go,I still don't quite know why,You were only three years old, You had more life to live,It isn't fair for you to leave,You had more love to give. There was no making deals with God, To keep you here with me, There was nothing I could say or do to change your destiny. I helped you come into this world so full of constant doubt, Now, I have to face the fact ,that I must help you out. The hardest thing I've ever done is letting go of you, But ,You,with all your dignity, Helped me to get through. And so we took the trip we had to take,The one where you can't come back home and caused my heart to break. I promised you no suffering,when you've had enough ,But when you told me it was time,Things got really rough. My heart is torn to pieces,My life is different now,Everyday I think of you and wonder and wish somehow, you could come back to me, and once again be whole but I know that cannot happen and I feel it to my soul. There is an ending to the story above. For a couple of years I could not bring myself to go to the Harrisburg show. Two years later I am there,not showing,just walking around and I said to my husband,"If I could find that guy who asked to film Bubba and he remembered him that would proove to me that Bubba was truely a special dog,I mean,how many shows is this guy at during a year,how many dogs does he come in contact with,how in the world would he remember one dog out of thousands"? I found the guy and showed him a photo of Bubba and said,"Do you remember this dog"? He looked at it and said,"What, did he win something"? I said "No, he WOOFED at you." He got this look over his face and smiled and said,"I asked if I could pet him and you said if I didn't he would WOOF at me." Up till then I could not have recalled the words we spoke. He remembered.

Scully

What a touching poem you wrote for Bubba; thank you for sharing. Made me completely tear up. Bubba sounds like he was a very special hound, and it is sad that he had to go at such a young age.

I lost my heart-dog Scully to lymphoma in October 2009, so I can relate to how you are feeling.

__________________
Mom to Larsen, Ninja, and Scully (ATB ~ forever in my heart)
www.countercruiser.com

AmyB

What a nice poem you wrote, & it captures well what you go through at that awful time. Both my babies, Sadie & Spencer had cancer & had to be helped to the Rainbow Bridge also. Even though you know that is the best thing, it is the hardest decision to make, & one that I feel changes you forever. Sadie's been gone 4 1/2 years & Spencer just 4 months. I think of both of them daily, throughout the day. They will never leave my heart. I wish you peace. I can't imagine how hard it was to lose one so young. I was blessed to have Sadie 11 years and Spencer 14 years. Still, now matter how long you have them it's never long enough.

__________________
Amy, mom to
Sadie (ATB, 6/9/06) & Spencer (ATB, 8/19/10) - always in my heart
and Clifford (gotcha date 7/2/11).

jaleely

ah, you're breaking my heart for you. When i got bowser, just about 7 months ago i knew my life would never be the same, and i would never love a dog more. He is a little piece of my soul and we'll always be together, just like you and Bubba. I have to admit, already I've thought many times "how will i possibly cope when he's gone?" and the answer is, i won't. I will move on, and do different things, but that special presence in my life won't come back. I really can say i understand your loss and i really don't know how to make it better. if you ever find out, let me know, because i will be just like you. I wouldn't wish what you've gone though on anyone. He should be able to be here with you now, and i'm so so sorry he's not. *hugs* You're keeping his memory alive though...and even now he's touching people, though you : )

gsally

Bubba's waiting.................on the other side of the bridge!.............He'll "woof" at you when you get there!

PEACE!

shallhb

Such a bitter sweet memory....and such a nice remembrance of him.

__________________
Sharon Hall

Grace (puppy in training)
Bella, UD, VER, TD, RE, CGC
Pearl,UD, TDX, RE, CGC (Waiting at the Bridge)
Samantha, Theodore, CGC, Louella, Zeke and Arty, Bassets All; (All Waiting at the Bridge)

lvnMattie

The poem was great!! You didn't need that man to prove to you how special Bubba was.. You knew he was special and he always will be special. I am sure he is at that rainbow bridge WOOFing away waiting on you but his biggest WOOF will come when he sees you again!! Thanks for sharing you time with Bubba with us!!

murraysmom

Thank you for posting about Bubba. When I was in my 30's living in Virginia I had a mixed breed dog named Molly who was my back packing companion and the love of my life. She passed away in 1992 at the age of 17, and her ashes are in a container in my bedroom to this day, along with a picture of her standing on a mountain in the Blue Ridge. She's been gone for 18 years, and I still tear up at times thinking of her.

Bubba was way to young to go, I know you've posted about him in the past and I've always felt bad that he left you so soon. His spirit is with you, and I believe that some day you'll be reunited with him. Peace.

Boomer's Mom

Thank you for sharing about your Bubba; he sounds like a special dog indeed.

In August 2009, I lost my 13 year old Australian Shepherd/Heeler mix to cancer, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about her. Or look at her picture and tear up.

Even tho I have my Boomer now, my Daisy still holds a special place in my heart.

bubbad

I am blessed to hear all the stories you have to tell about your bassets or any dog that has had an impact on your lives. When Bubba died I felt like a part of my identity went with him,that was very tough because I didn't know what would come next. I felt like everthing I was personally striving for was not finished and now never would be, but, we do go on however hard ,and try to pull ourselves back together. It helped to place a memorial on another site with photos,it helped to talk to a counsler .My husband recognized I needed someone to listen and help me make sense out of something that made no sense to me. Most family members never understand that relationship unless they have had one too.So to say he was just a dog ,get over it was not going to make me feel better. We all have another in our lives now and need to cherish our time with them. I know I could never not have one in my life,even as hard as I know it is in the end. Thanks for listening.