I’d like for you to meet Carson. He was our very sweet long-haired dachshund and we had the pleasure of having him in our family for a little over 7 years.
He loved to lay in the sun, snuggle with Logan, and have his belly rubbed.
He was so soft and he had this funny bald spot on his chest that we always made fun of him for. You could always find him right next to our other dachshund, Perris. They were inseparable and loved each other so much. We could never decide if they reminded us more of a silly, old couple or brother and sister.
A few weeks ago he started walking around the house with his back arched all the way up and if someone got close to him, he would lay down and it just looked like he was praying you weren’t going to touch him, he was in so much pain. We were scheduled to go out of town for our family vacation, and he was going to stay with my mom for that time we were gone. When we returned, he was even worse, and I immediately took him to the vet. The vet diagnosed him with having a slipped disc in his neck and prescribed him some pain medication as well as a muscle relaxer in hopes it would fix whatever was ailing him. We also had to keep him in his kennel 24/7 and just let him relax. He was in such a great amount of pain, that even the medication had no affect. After a lot of thinking and praying, we made the agonizing decision to let him go and give him back to God. I was there with him and it was the absolute hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but I can say with a heavy heart, that my sweet Carson, is free of pain and that’s about the only comfort I can find now.
The kids stayed at their Grammy’s house that night and the following morning when they returned, I wept as I delivered the news. We all cried together and hugged each other. Emma was totally fine. She handled it well, however she’s just barely three and she still gets Carson and Perris confused, so ya know. But, Logan had a really tough time with it. He cried a lot and asked a lot of questions, understandably so. Watching Logan in pain over the loss of Carson was incredibly difficult, mostly because I knew there was nothing I could do to ease his pain, except for tell him all the things you’re supposed to tell a little boy who’s just lost their dog.
I decided that we would get out of the house that day and so we went to the pool. But, then we returned to our home which just seemed emptier, which seems silly because Carson was the easiest, quietest dog ever, but the hole he left in our hearts and our home is gigantic. I racked my brain for ways I could give the kids some closure, so I decided the next day that we would all write letters to Carson, telling him what an amazing dog he was to have in our family and how greatly he’ll be missed. We also wrote a letter to God, describing Carson to him and asking him to take good care of him for us. We would attach the letters to balloons and send them off to Heaven. Below is the letter Logan dictated to me:
We also took a trip to the bookstore and picked up some books for the kids to help them understand more about death and the loss of a pet. I think the books helped them, but they helped me too. It was refreshing to hear about death in such simple, matter-of-fact words.
The following day, we went to the hardware store and bought a baby orange tree (Logan said Carson’s favorite color was orange, so it seemed perfect) and planted it in a pot and gave it a home on our tiny balcony in honor of our Carson.
My hope is that, when the kids look back at this sad time in their lives, they remember the fun things we did in honor of Carson. I hope if eased their pain a little and that every time we water our orange tree, smell the orange blossoms, or eat some of the fruit, we’ll remember how blessed we were to have had such an amazingly sweet dog in our family. I know I definitely benefited from these things and I pray that this post will give someone else out there a few ideas to honor a lost pet.
I’ll leave the post with a few of my favorite pictures of Carson, which happened to be the last pictures I took of him.
I’m very sorry to hear about Carson. I know what you went though. I’ve had 3 dogs in the last 14 years with back problems. Our first was a dachshund, and she recovered with surgery, but died 2 years later due to a freak injury. Then we had a pekingese, who had a back injury and we put him to sleep. Just recently one of our other dachshunds Lily had a back injury and we feared the worst for her, but thankfully with rest and medication she recovered. I’m sure you’ll have some rough times in the coming weeks and months. I’ve seen the kind of injuries Carson had, so please know you did the right thing. I’m sorry for your loss. No words are enough to comfort you I know….
Thank you so much, Shannon. Your words truly calm my heart a little. I carry so much guilt, it’s painful. So, to hear from someone who has gone through this before, that we made the right decision is really nice to hear. Thank you again for taking the time to comment.
Sending my thoughts and prayers to you and your family over the loss of your sweet Carson. I love that you planted the orange tree in his honor – such a lovely way to remember him. Our pets are members of the family and it is so difficult when they leave us. Keep the faith.
Thank you Suzanne, for the thoughts and prayers and for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Your words warmed my heart.
What an absolutely wonderful tribute to that sweet dog. I’m so, so sorry for your loss and can feel your pain. We lost our sweet lab to kidney failure and while it was over 15 years ago, I still remember the pain, but also the joy and happiness that big lug brought to our lives. You did wonderful things with your kids to help them through this. I’m a friend of your Mom’s from stamping and I’ll keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.
Thank you, Susan for your words of encouragement and for your thoughts and prayers. It really is, through the support of our friends and family, we have made it through this hard time and I appreciate you stopping by.
Hi Courtney, The way you handled the loss of sweet Carson with your children was an inspiration. It is a very difficult time, losing a beloved pet. Our Sebastian has degenerative spinal disease as well as arthritis and we have made the decision to let him go tomorrow. Sebastian is 11 years old and has been the most regal dog I have ever owned. He has taken care of us, been there right by our side through sickness, broken bones, loss of family members, you name it. The pain he is experiencing now is debilitating and taking him places I am sure he would rather not go. The vet has told us we can increase his pain meds or not. He said whatever decision we make, it will be the right one. Not sure how we will make it through tomorrow but as I was reading your story it was as if I was suppose to read your words. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Henri,
Your words truly went straight to my heart. My love and prayers are with you. What is the status of sweet Sebastian? -If you don’t mind sharing?