We started having dogs in our family around 2000. Our youngest daughter was about 6 then and my wife is allergic to cats. I mostly had had cats up until then and my father and mother never let me have a dog because of their religious beliefs growing up. But then when they retired they got a huge Long Hair German Shepard. So, when I saw a beautiful young male Long Hair German Shepard-Australian Shepard mix he reminded me a lot of King my father's dog he had when he passed away in 1985. Since my wife and I had decided to get a dog I found King outside a Blockbuster (DVD rental place in the early 2000s. The same day my wife also found an older corgi-Jack Russell Terrier mix.
We decided to keep both dogs and so we did. My daughter bonded mostly with the female corgi-Jack Russell terrier mix. But, I think she was at least 10 or more when we got her. Within 3 years a baby sitter of my daughter forgot to bring her inside after dark and she fought with a raccoon and they both lost because Jack Russells are notorious fighters with wild animals. She lived another month and we had to put her to sleep because of kidney failure at the vets.
This was our first set of ashes of one of our dogs. Then three or 4 years ago my beautiful German Shepard long hair and Australian Shepard mix dog passed away at age 15 1/2. He couldn't walk anymore and he was blind and we had him put to sleep. He was bonded with our Corgi who we got as a puppy after the corgi-Jack Russell terrier died and my youngest daughter bonded with the new corgi puppy around 2005 then. The German Shepard long hair and Australian Shepard mix was about 5 years old when we got the Corgi puppy which looked a lot like a guinea pig when a corgi is a puppy they are very cute and small when puppies. But, the German shepard long hair and Australian shepard mix couldn't figure out what he was supposed to do with a Guinea pig. But, eventually they bonded and he taught her many things including fetching a ball which they both did until he was about 12 and just wanted to smell plants and flowers after that. He passed away at 15 1/2.
A few months ago my daughter's corgi likely was upset my daughter had moved away to college and she passed away so this left my yellow Lab all alone without his best friend- our corgi. I knew since he was older he likely could pass away without his corgi friend. He lasted another 4 to 6 months and passed away this last week from a burst tumor on his spleen.
Strangely enough, a tumor on the spleen is a common ailment for larger big dogs because at age 12 we thought the German Shepard-Australian mix was going to pass away from a grapefruit size tumor on his spleen. But, my wife decided to shell out a couple thousand dollars to try to save him and he lived another almost 4 years time which we all were amazed by. Also, it turned out the tumor was benign so he didn't need chemotherapy which is quite expensive and cost prohibitive for most people.
So, in the next week or two we will have 4 dogs ashes on the mantle of our library. My wife and I think it's time to get permission from family members to scatter their ashes some place nice in a forest somewhere.
I also kept my mother's ashes on my grand Piano for a year or two so my son could get prepared to put her ashes in the ocean. He took care of her for several years in his 20s and so was very bonded to my mother. He didn't get married until he was in his late 20s then. So, we finally rented a yacht and put her ashes in a place we like near where a famous actor crashed his plane into the sea by accident. She liked the singer a lot so we chose to put her ashes there a few hundred yards off the beach which is legal to do now.
Ashes of friends including my mother are hard to deal with or to know what to do with. It's hard to deal with ashes of family members for almost everyone. But, there comes a time to let them all move on into a better place. I put my father's ashes above Horse Camp on Mt. Shasta thinking I could always hike up there. But, now I'm 70 and that's quite a hike for me at this age. So, wherever you put your loved one's ashes think about how easy it is for you to visit them when you want or need to.
By God's Grace
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