Max,
Sorry to hear about your loss. I too, have been through that several times with what I like to refer to them as my "four-legged kids"
Here's a prayer and a story I always like to send to maybe understand or at least ease the burden of the grief I know you and your wife are going through right now.
God bless
Prayer for a dog
Treat me gently beloved master, and I will love you with a full and happy heart.
Show me patience and I will learn to understand your every word and action. I will even protect you with my life if yours is at any time in danger.
Speak to me often, for your voice is music to my ears and I await even the simple sound of your footsteps, knowing soon you will be near.
Shelter me from nature's bitter cold and wet and I in return will warm your feet beside the hearth. Or, if life should be unkind, I will find a place of comfort for us both, for your pleasure is my dearest wish.
Play with me, for I seek your challenge just as I seek to please you. I will follow a thrown ball to the ends of the earth if you choose it and I will swim the seven seas just to see you smile.
Fill my bowl with fresh water and see that I'm well fed, for I cannot speak to ask you and am completely at your mercy. But my trust in you is so complete; I know you will never do me wrong.
And beloved master, when I grow old and the time comes to say farewell, hold me gently in your arms and I will go without a whimper. For with you I am safe and secure. A dog who gave love and received it with a grateful heart.
A Man and his Dog
A man and his dog were walking along a road.
The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him
that he was dead.
He remembered dying and that his dog had been dead for years.
He wondered where the road was leading them.
After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of
the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken
by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.
When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch
that looked like mother of pearl and the street that led to the gate
looked like pure gold.
He and the dog walked toward the gate and as they got closer, they
saw a man at a desk to one side. When they were close enough,
he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
"This is heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the traveler asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, I'll have some ice water sent right up."
The man gestured and the gate began to open.
"Can my friend," gesturing toward the dog, "come in too?" the traveler asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."
The man thought for a moment, and then, turning back towards the road,
continued the way they had been going.
After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, they came to
a dirt road which led through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed.
There was no fence. As they approached the gate, he saw a man inside,
leaning against a tree and reading a book.
"Excuse me!" he called to the reader. Do you have any water?".
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there". The man pointed to a place that
couldn't be seen from outside the gate. "Come on in."
"How about my friend here?". The traveler said, gesturing to the dog.
"There should be a bowl by the pump" said the man.
They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an
old fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.
The traveler filled the bowl and took a long drink, then gave some to the dog.
When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man
who was standing by the tree waiting for them.
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is heaven," was the answer."
"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the
road said that was heaven, too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and the pearly gates?
Nope, that's hell."
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"Nope, I can see how you might think so, but we're just happy
that they screen out the folks who'll leave their best friends behind."
Author unknown
