Our Best Buddy Milo, 2004-2019

AirmetTango

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With heavy hearts, my wife and I let our best buddy go on Wednesday. Milo was our first baby, and the kindest, gentlest soul you could ever imagine. Our constant loving companion, all he ever needed to be happy was to be in the same room with his "pack", a treat, a run in the field, or his absolute favorite - chasing and jumping after bubbles or snowflakes. His capacity to give and receive love was never-ending, but no amount of love can stop the ravages of time, and over the last couple of weeks he slowly lost control of his hind legs. We knew it was time, and made the hardest decision of our lives. We stayed with him until the end, going peacefully to run endlessly through fields full of bubbles to chase.


"Go get those bubbles, buddy!!"
 

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I am sorry for your lost sir. Yes you and your beautiful family are and will always be a member of his pack, He trusted you to make the right calls. He is in Heaven now with YOUR family, Looking down and being your guardian angel. He will also let you know he is around as he will visit from time to time. A good dog never stops loving his pack.

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I am so very sorry to hear about Milo and can truly understand how you all are feeling. Years ago a dog we had for about 15 years, Angel, passed and we cried like a baby as they truly are family and not merely just a pet, our home seemed so empty afterwards that about a month later we adopted a new pup to share our love with, Xena, she is about 6 to 7 years old now.

When you said about the "capacity to give and receive love was never-ending" seems so very true, our dogs love us and truly have a very positive effect on our emotional well being.

Thanks for sharing those pictures and thank you and your family for being "dog people" and sharing your love and your home with Milo, you gave him a loving home he may not have had otherwise if you had not gotten him and I am sure he felt and appreciated the love you all had for him all those years.
 
Looks like an awesome dog!
I know exactly that terrible feeling, we had to put down our pug recently, hardest decision we have had to make but it was the right thing to do. Just keep in mind that both the dog and all of you were better off for being in each others lives.
 
Really sorry to hear that! It's even tougher when kids are involved. My daughter recently went through this. About a year ago she lost the cat that we got the same week she was born. 1 week later she lost her grandfather. That was the worst week of my entire life, breaking her little heart like that twice. They don't prepare a father for these moments at all. I wish you and your family well.
 
Sorry for your loss

Any one that has been through loosing a close companion like that ,fully understands how you feel. What helped us most was getting another dog from a rescue shelter , the dog got a second chance at life ,and we got a very diffrent but loving new companion.
 
I am sorry for your lost sir. Yes you and your beautiful family are and will always be a member of his pack, He trusted you to make the right calls. He is in Heaven now with YOUR family, Looking down and being your guardian angel. He will also let you know he is around as he will visit from time to time. A good dog never stops loving his pack.

Thanks so much, DbblTap. Yes, he’ll always be a member of our pack, and we’ll never stop feeling him in our hearts!

Great looking pup, you will never forget a friend, family member, like this.

Thanks Digger. He’s truly a full member of the family - we won’t ever forget him. My youngest daughter will have to try the hardest to remember - she’s only almost 5. Lots of videos, pictures, and stories to help her remember though :)
 
I am so very sorry to hear about Milo and can truly understand how you all are feeling. Years ago a dog we had for about 15 years, Angel, passed and we cried like a baby as they truly are family and not merely just a pet, our home seemed so empty afterwards that about a month later we adopted a new pup to share our love with, Xena, she is about 6 to 7 years old now.

Thanks GKL. Yes, that’s the hardest part so far, I think - we adopted Milo just before we bought our home, so he’s come to mean “home” to me just as much as the house and family. Whenever I was home, Milo was there. My wife will be taking the kids to visit the Grandparents later this summer for a few weeks, but I’ll still be home for work most of that time - the house is going to feel very, very empty :(

When you said about the "capacity to give and receive love was never-ending" seems so very true, our dogs love us and truly have a very positive effect on our emotional well being.

They sure do! A dog’s steadfast devotion can truly be stabilizing, in both good times and bad.

Thanks for sharing those pictures and thank you and your family for being "dog people" and sharing your love and your home with Milo, you gave him a loving home he may not have had otherwise if you had not gotten him and I am sure he felt and appreciated the love you all had for him all those years.

Thank you, GKL, for the kind words and taking the time look. We adopted Milo in 2005 while we still lived in Arizona when he was fully grown and roughly a year old (maybe more). The family who had him before us didn’t want him anymore because “he was too big, and he runs away all the time”. We also strongly suspect the father was abusive to the him based on things one of the family’s very young childen said. Interestingly, once we got him, he never ran away ;) Anyway, I have no doubt he appreciated the home we gave him - we certainly appreciated his time with us! :)
 
Looks like an awesome dog!
I know exactly that terrible feeling, we had to put down our pug recently, hardest decision we have had to make but it was the right thing to do. Just keep in mind that both the dog and all of you were better off for being in each others lives.

Thanks zeemang. I’m sorry for your loss too - it really is a powerful weight to bear, making that final decision. Deep down you know it’s what’s best, but it’s still so easy to start second guessing yourself. Yes, no doubt - we were fortunate to have a good long time to enjoy each other’s company :)

Sorry for your loss. Milo looked like he was an excellent companion and lived a great life!

Thanks Waveoff - he really was a wonderful companion. Incredibly gentle with the girls, and everyone for that matter. I still need to find a picture my wife took - he was laying in my oldest daughter’s room who was maybe 4 or 5 at the time, and he was happily soaking up the full Barbie treatmeat. Necklaces, a tiara - she even put a tiny Barbie doll shoe on each one of his toe nails! He was an absolute saint :)
 
Really sorry to hear that! It's even tougher when kids are involved. My daughter recently went through this. About a year ago she lost the cat that we got the same week she was born. 1 week later she lost her grandfather. That was the worst week of my entire life, breaking her little heart like that twice. They don't prepare a father for these moments at all. I wish you and your family well.

Thanks waffles. I’m sorry to hear about your story, too. That’s truly awful to experience a double loss like that - you’ve definitely earned your Daddy stripes getting her through that.

Any one that has been through loosing a close companion like that ,fully understands how you feel. What helped us most was getting another dog from a rescue shelter , the dog got a second chance at life ,and we got a very diffrent but loving new companion.

Thanks David. Milo was actually my first dog - never had one as a kid, and until I was in my 30s, I was moving around too much to give a dog a good home. My wife had a dog as a young girl, but not since. And, of course, Milo was my daughters’ first dog. I’m pretty sure we’ll get another one after a little while, once everyone’s ready. As you said - it’ll be a very different companion, with an entirely different loving personality to get to know. For now we’ll savor Milo’s memory, but just like we knew when it was time for him to leave us, we’ll know when the time will be right to invite a new member to the pack :) :)
 
Very sorry for your loss. I am closer my dog (Dixie) than I am to most people.

Thanks Lee - dogs really do have a unique ability to become a deep part of us!

He sure was well taken care of, and I'm sure had a great life.Sorry for your loss, I'm defiantly a animal lover and have 5 dogs myself..

Thanks wood. We sure tried - and he certainly took good care of us ;)
 
Thanks GKL. Yes, that’s the hardest part so far, I think ……... the house is going to feel very, very empty :(

Thanks David. ...For now we’ll savor Milo’s memory, but just like we knew when it was time for him to leave us, we’ll know when the time will be right to invite a new member to the pack :) :)

Wait till you all are ready for a new pup, but it might be sooner than you might think as it is tough to go too long without hearing those paws around the house after so many years.

Even after having our new very loving dog for about 6-7 years I still think of our previous dog so having a new dog did not diminish my feelings for our previous one, each with their own unique personality, but both very much loved.

At first I think I struggled with the thought of getting a new pup so soon not wanting to feel like I was diminishing how much our previous dog meant to us, but after thinking about it I thought that our previous dog had so much love that she would want us to be happy and would want us to share our love with another furry friend, in a way it is honoring the previous dog's memory because it is saying that previous dog was such a big part of your lives that it left such a void that just had to be refilled.

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The time for a new pet will come eventually and maybe by accident. For us we recently got a new cat a few months ago. A coworker who lived in an apartment found a stray cat hanging around his patio and he fed it some pizza. The cat refused to leave after that and for days when he would come home the cat was still on the patio crying for him. It cried at his window all night long keeping him awake lol. He was not allowed pets where he lived so he started asking around if anyone wanted to adopt it. Word got to me and I thought why not. Turns out this is the best cat we've ever had. She plays fetch with legos! She also plays what we call cat tennis where she will kick a lego under a closed door and we kick it back. She can do these things for hours. For my daughter, the cat didnt replace her old friend, but she made a new one and it seems to have helped a ton.
 
May Milo Rest In Peace.

I lost my dog Gidget couple weeks ago. She was born April 21 2003. A jack Russell terrier. I really miss my dog. I know you will too. The only pet I ever had and got to watch and love from pup (real young status) till death. All my others got gone. I bought Gidget for a hunting dog. She instead turned into a house dog. She hated men except for me. Loved women. Pets do have personalities just like we as humans do. I think Gidget was a lot smarter than me in a lot of ways. My wife misses her badly too. Certain times of the day Gidget would be in a certain spot. Not anymore.

You have a nice looking family.
And Milo will be talked about and mentioned for years down the road. I am positive of this.

Best regards.
 
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...At first I think I struggled with the thought of getting a new pup so soon not wanting to feel like I was diminishing how much our previous dog meant to us...

Yes! You're literally putting my precise thoughts into words! Exactly the way I've been feeling about the idea of bringing a new dog home.

...but after thinking about it I thought that our previous dog had so much love that she would want us to be happy and would want us to share our love with another furry friend, in a way it is honoring the previous dog's memory because it is saying that previous dog was such a big part of your lives that it left such a void that just had to be refilled.

And this is the perfect antidote for those worries - thanks for sharing that! Great way of looking at it, and it will truly help when the time comes to open our home to a new furry friend :yes:
 
The time for a new pet will come eventually and maybe by accident. For us we recently got a new cat a few months ago...

Great story, waffles! Yep, it's funny how situations like that unfold, and you suddenly end up with a new family member when you least expect it!

Even after having our new very loving dog for about 6-7 years I still think of our previous dog so having a new dog did not diminish my feelings for our previous one, each with their own unique personality, but both very much loved.

...For my daughter, the cat didnt replace her old friend, but she made a new one and it seems to have helped a ton.

Thanks guys - it's good to hear that kind of first hand experience. I know that's how I'll feel, and I hope to guide my daughters to think about it the same way :yes:
 
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