Old habits are hard to break...

[Dr. DTVT]

As some of you may know from my Facebook feed, my dog died last Wednesday on the first night of my vacation.  Today is my first day back at my house (got back at 1 am).  Today I have:

Carefully stepped around my dog in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom
Openned the front door to let him take his morning dump
Put water in his water bowl
Closed the gate to my porch when I got home from work (only ever done for my dog - otherwise its left open all the time)
Moved my arm so I he could put his head in my side while I scratch behind his ears - and proceded to scratch air

and worst of all...I waited for him to greet me when I got home...

[73109]

That really sucks dude.

My condolences, but hey, the greatest comedian of all time once said, "That's it! The meaning of life. A series of dogs." Maybe that holds the answer.

[lonestar]

I feel you, man.  It's the little 'forget-me-nots' that make loss so hard to endure.  Hang in there bud.

[Hyperplex]

Really sorry for your loss. Kinda don't know what else to say; as a fellow dog-lover I can't fathom the loss. Hang in there.

[El Barto]

Yeah, that sucks.

Out of curiosity, did you or would you have wanted to know while you were on vacation?  I kinda think I'd rather find out after I returned.  We actually had this situation come up with out boss a few years ago.  I went with don't tell him, but was outvoted. 

[Dr. DTVT]

I'm fine, I was more or less intregued at how 5+ years of routine gets ingrained.

El Barto, I was there when he died.  I took him with me on vacation.  He normally stays at my mom's when I go back north while I do my thing.

[73109]

I had a cat die while we were on vacation. It sucked, but it wasn't a surprise. the cat was well over 14 and in pretty bad shape. DTVT, if I remember correctly, you only had your dog for 6 years. When did you get him? After all, 6 years is a short time for a dog.

[El Barto]

El Barto, I was there when he died.  I took him with me on vacation.  He normally stays at my mom's when I go back north while I do my thing.

Well, that raises a different point of curiosity.  What exactly do you do with him after that happens on day 1 of your vacation. 

I'm not trying to be callous bastard here, I'm just curious how things like this play out and you seem to be alright with it. 

[Fuzzboy]

Well the vet office near my house I think does cremations fairly quickly. I've seen people drop off their deceased pet and pick up the remains within an hour or two there.

Also, I'm sorry about your loss DTVT. I'm sure those little habits make it a bit harder to move on

[PuffyPat]

I know how you're feeling man. I lost my dog a few months ago, and went through a very similar thing. It takes a while, but things will return to 'normal'.

[King Postwhore]

Man that sucks Mason.  We put our first cat down on Dec 22nd.  That Christmas was so hard.  My wife and I were so lonely in such a happy time.  It never goes away but remember all the good times.

[Dr. DTVT]

@numbers - he was a retired racer, he 2 weeks shy of his 9th birthday.

@El Barto - There is a company near my mom's town that does cremations, and even late night pickup.  He died around 10 pm, my mom called the place about 20 minutes later (I was still useless), and they picked him up an hour later, and had the ashes were delivered the next day.

[wolfking]

As some of you may know from my Facebook feed, my dog died last Wednesday on the first night of my vacation.  Today is my first day back at my house (got back at 1 am).  Today I have:

Carefully stepped around my dog in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom
Openned the front door to let him take his morning dump
Put water in his water bowl
Closed the gate to my porch when I got home from work (only ever done for my dog - otherwise its left open all the time)
Moved my arm so I he could put his head in my side while I scratch behind his ears - and proceded to scratch air

and worst of all...I waited for him to greet me when I got home...

Losing a pet dog is so hard, I've been there, it's tough, time is a healer my friend. 

[EPICVIEW]

soooo sorry for your loss...losing a pet is sooooo difficult. : (

[kári]

I'm sorry to hear that.
Losing a pet who has been with you for years can be very painful.

[Sketchy]

Gah, I'm really sorry man. My dog died in November and the worst bit was seeing one of the other dogs going to wake him up.

Really sorry man...

[TimmyHiggy]

I remember losing the best cat ever. We had him from when his mum gave birth to him under my sister's bed. I used to come home from play school, sit on the sofa with him on me and we would fall asleep together. He used to always come see me if we were in the house together, weekends I would wake up with him asleep on the bed with me.
By my last summer before going to uni, he was getting to be quite old, and was always a bit of a daredevil with crossing the road, and he got hit by a car. I know it sounds dramatic, but home has never been the same since.

[VioletS16]

I have a retired racer too. They are such sweet dogs and you did him such a favour by rescuing him.

Also, about 6 years being young for a dog:
Some dogs only average 5-7 years of life. Great Danes don't live long at all. And if the dog became really sick...
Or maybe he bought it when it was like 6 when he got it.

[Dr. DTVT]

I still expect him to come bounding down the hallway when I'm in the living room, I still expect him to want some attention when I'm at the computer, and every time I hear a noise in the house I'm not sure of I expect him to be the cause of.

[hefdaddy42]

Sorry about your loss.  I've had loved dogs die before.  My current dog is my favorite dog ever, and I know the day is coming.