MelodysMum

I am so sorry for your loss, and especially sorry that you didn't get to hold Tip and say goodbye as he left. You must be devastated. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your husband at this terrible time. Rest easy Tip!

Thanks CNB, Harley and k9angel, she was a very special girl, and the photos truly capture her so well. :) I am so thrilled with them. Ann, I am so sorry that you are missing Bella so much. They leave such a huge hole. I am so very thankful for these beautiful photos of Brianna. It means so much to have them. I am going to get a couple of them printed to put on the wall, but I am actually thinking of having one made into a Woven Photo Blanket by Shutterfly. :) I think they are absolutely beautiful. Hilary, thank you so much for your kind thoughts about Brianna. It means so much to know that other people thought my girl was beautiful. T&S, yes there is one who is our real heart dog. Brianna was mine, and I know that Tara was yours. These precious cocker girls really take a piece of our hearts don't they? I am so grateful to all of you who have posted on this thread. I don't know how I would have gotten through the past three weeks without your support and kind thoughts. It truly helps knowing that other people understand the grief I am experiencing. So many people don't get it. They think Brianna was 'just a dog'. Receiving validation from people like all of you who have taken the time to write such kind words means so much. Just knowing you understand means everything to me. It tells me that my feelings are genuine, that Brianna was worth it, that I have suffered an immense loss and it is all right to feel the way that I do. I will be forever grateful to each one of you for your kindness and caring.

My beautiful cocker spaniel girl who passed away three weeks ago, was called Brianna after a character in the Diana Gabaldon 'Outlander' book series. Brianna was a beautiful redhead, which is exactly what my gorgeous girl was. :) Her breeder had a granddaughter named Brianna so she was delighted we chose the name and she then used it as her registered name, so she was Brightleaf Brianna. I loved her name, it was so pretty, just like her. We also called her Annie, Anniebelle and Annie-dog. Our birds are still calling out Annie!!

The AWL have all the same powers as the RSPCA... and are probably more likely to actually come out when called. T. I have found the AWL more helpful in situations like this. We have reported horses on a couple of occasions, and they have gone out there and actually gotten back to us to let us know what happened. On the second occasion they actually seized the horse and let us know. We went to visit it at the AWL and were very pleased to see how much better it looked. You can't contact the AWL now as you have already contacted the RSPCA, but maybe next time. :) I would always trust the AWL over the RSPCA.

Miah is absolutely gorgeous Jules, and I love her name! There was a character in the old TV show, Space 1999, called 'Maya' but pronounced the same as you pronounce 'Miah' and I always loved her name! :) I am so happy for you, that you finally have your little tri-coloured cav and she is such a beautiful, special girl! Enjoy every minute of her puppyhood, they grow up too fast! :)

Ripley, my heart is breaking for you. I have tears streaming down my face as I type this. Tears for your precious Millie and for my beautiful Brianna. They were both such special girls and it is devastating to have lost them. I know exactly what you are feeling, the almost indescribable emptiness despair and disbelief, that your precious girl is gone. The pain is unbearable. Keep talking about Millie, sharing your memories of her, and let the love and support of other people who understand your loss sustain you through this difficult time. These beautiful girls have taken a piece of our hearts with them, but I like to think that they have met each other at the rainbow bridge and they are playing gently together, cuddling each other and keeping each other company until they see their mums again. It will seem like an eternity for us until we see them again, but for them it will only seem like it was yesterday that they left us. Take care of yourself Ripley and know that my thoughts are with you constantly. xxx

What a beautiful tribute! It captures exactly how I feel about losing my heart dog, my beautiful Brianna exactly two weeks ago today. It is so comforting to know other people understand. SNI, thinking of your friend and her boy Woolie, and all those others who are grieving the loss of a special friend. They give us so much joy, but the pain when they leave is unbearable.

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to write such beautiful words of comfort, support and understanding. It means so much to me to know that others understand the depth of our loss. Mudlark, I am so sorry to hear that you lost your boy to haemangiosarcoma. It is a horrible and heartbreaking condition. My thoughts are with you in your loss. Cazstaff, thanks so much for your understanding. I know what you are going through, so it means so much to me that you took the time to write. I truly hope Brianna and Buddy have found each other. I am sure they would love each other. Cheyenne_Fury, I hope that the prognosis for Zahra is good and that you get to spend lots more time with your girl. Thinking of you! W Sibs, I feel so much for you in the loss of your beautiful boy Charlie. I hope he and Brianna have found each other at the rainbow bridge. White Shepherd mom, I am so sorry for the loss of your beautiful Bella. I understand your pain and hope it eases soon. It has been two weeks since I lost my beautiful girl, and I have cried every day for her. I still see her and hear her, and everywhere I look there are things that remind me of her. I wake up each morning thinking she is on the bed with me, or I find another toy that she has left lying somewhere. After being out this afternoon I noticed her snuffle marks all over the front window, from where she sat looking out every afternoon. My husband wanted to clean the window, but I asked him to please leave it just a little longer. As we find Brianna's toys around the house we have been collecting them and placing them on her bed, which still sits in the centre of the family room. Eventually they will all be packed away, but not just yet. I was blessed to receive some beautiful studio photos of her a few days after she died. They had been taken for an advertising agency a while ago but never used, and although we had been told we would eventually be given the image files, we had not seen them. I contacted the agency, told them that we had lost Brianna and asked if they could track down the images. I was so thrilled to receive them, it felt like I had gotten a little piece of my girl back. There are seven photos of Brianna by herself, and three of her with me. They have brought so much comfort to me over the past week or so. We will be getting some of them framed, and some made into other items to remember our beautiful girl. Here are some of the photos of my precious girl. They truly capture how special she was. It means so much to me to have these photos, and to know that the look on her face in the ones of her by herself is because she was looking at me. I miss my darling girl so much! There will never be another dog like my Brianna.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Oakley looked like such a gentleman. He was very lucky to have had you to show him real love in the twilight of his life. Thinking of you all, and especially thinking of Chloe, who I am sure will miss her brother terribly.

I am so sorry for your loss. I truly know and understand the pain you are feeling, having lost my baby girl Brianna only ten days ago. I hope the wonderful memories you have of your beautiful boy are able to sustain you through the difficult days ahead. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

The joy that was Brightleaf Brianna.

I have already shared some of this on Facebook, but wanted to pay tribute to my precious girl on here as well. In the early hours of Sunday morning we said goodbye to our beautiful girl Brightleaf Brianna who was given her wings at the Animal Referral Hospital at Baulkham Hills. I apologise for the length of this, but for me there will never be another dog like my Brianna and I wanted so much to convey in this what she meant to me, and what a beautiful soul she was. Brianna had not shown any sign of being sick until the last thirty six hours when she went off her food a bit, but would still eat treats. She raced out to the car and happily walked into the vet's on Saturday morning, smiling at people she met along the street. After being diagnosed with a UTI and going home on antibiotics, Brianna collapsed that night and we rushed her to the ARH. They discovered a massive tumour (suspected haemangiosarcoma) on her spleen which had ruptured, as well as multiple tumours throughout her lungs. We knew we could not save her. My husband, son, daughter and I were all with her as she left us. The staff were so kind, they gave us a private room, and we spent several hours cuddling and kissing Brianna, saying goodbye to her and telling her how much we loved her. Thankfully my daughter had her D-SLR with her, and so we have hundreds of photos and videos of her last few hours with us. When the time came, I laid down on the floor with her, looked into her eyes and told her she was a precious girl, I would always love her, and thanked her for being my baby girl. It was only seconds before she drifted off to sleep. We brought Brianna home with us and she slept for one last time on her bed, then in the morning we laid her to rest in a beautiful, sheltered spot in our garden. We will be placing a plaque there to remember her and planting a beautiful camellia for our special girl. I hope she is safe there, she hated the rain. When Mac Formston entrusted one of her beautiful Brightleaf cockers into our care we could not believe how lucky we were. After visiting the puppies a couple of times before they were eight weeks old, the day we went to pick her up Brianna ran straight over to us whilst all the other puppies ignored us and kept playing. Brianna had chosen us, and from that moment she was our girl. Brianna was a very people-focused, smart little girl. She was dux of her puppy preschool class and won the award for the most obedient. She loved everyone, and everyone loved her. Even people who didn't really like dogs loved Brianna. She thought everyone who came to our house had come to visit her, and she made everyone feel welcome. We never got around to showing her as we had hoped. I was just recovering from a seriously broken arm when she arrived, and the following year I had major foot/ankle reconstructive surgery, so showing was impossible. Everyone commented on what a stunning girl she was though,and we would have loved to have seen her in the ring. We had several unsuccessful attempts to have puppies with her. Even artificial insemination did not result in puppies. Brianna had a false pregnancy with each season, and carried her 'babies' with her everywhere she went, even after she had been desexed. Her beloved 'bally' and 'cookie' (monster) were always by her side. Brianna was such a smart girl; she understood almost everything we said to her. Not only did she shake hands, high five, sit, drop, roll over, stand etc., if she was asked "What's out the window?" or "Where's the pussy cat?" she would race to the window in whatever room she was in and look out. She seemed to understand the concept of what a window was, for she would respond the same way even in other buildings. We resorted to spelling words such as treat, sausage and chicken because she got so excited if she heard them. If she was asked, "What do you want?" she would lead you to wherever she wanted you to go, walking ahead but turning around to make sure you were following. Usually she would take us to the fridge, and sit there smiling waiting for some leftover food she remembered was there, but sometimes she would take us to where one of her 'babies' had gotten stuck under the bed or found itself in some other unreachable place. We were constantly amazed at how much Brianna understood. Only a couple of days before she died, as she waited for a treat before my daughter and I went out, I said, "Brianna come around the other side," as she had sat in a congested part of the kitchen. No hand signals or body language to read, just a few words, but she knew what it meant. She walked around the other side and sat smiling, waiting for her treat. Brianna always knew when we were talking about her, even if we called her 'the dog' hoping that she wouldn't realise. As soon as she heard me mention the word 'bath', even to another family member, she would walk into the bathroom, and stand on her 'tippy-toes' at the side of the bath, even before I had turned on the water or picked up her towel. She was a very clever girl. At night my husband would say, "Brianna, Daddy's tired," and she would walk into our bedroom and go to sleep on her bed. Every night she went to bed with her Daddy, and then an hour or so later she would come looking for me, telling me it was time to go to bed too. Often I would be sitting at my desk typing and she would come up for a cuddle. She would climb into my lap, and curl up, content to be with her Mummy. She spent many hours sleeping quietly on the floor beside me as I worked on an essay late into the night. Waking up was special every morning with Brianna. She knew that her Daddy did not like her being on our bed, so she would wait until she heard him leave for work, and as soon as the front door closed she would wake me by pawing at my arm, then she would climb onto the bed for a cuddle and we would both fall back to sleep for another hour or two. This was a special time that Brianna and I shared, every morning right up until the day of her death. We had a cuddle on the bed and a sleep together on Saturday afternoon before she died, when I had no idea how sick she was. I miss that time with her so much! My husband has been quietly devastated by Brianna's death. He has not said much, but yesterday he suggested I might like to email myself the photos of her that he had on his phone. It took me ages to go through the hundreds of photos he had taken of his girl - Brianna sitting looking out the front screen door waiting for me to come home, lying upside down on a chair, asleep in a cardboard box, helping with the gardening, digging a hole looking for mice, or just lying on my lap fast asleep. Brianna had a special relationship with each member of the family. My son and daughter are also devastated, and we have all cried many, many tears together. Brianna loved everyone in the family, and would sit on anyone's lap for a cuddle, but she was my baby girl. Even if she was on someone else's lap, she would leave them instantly to come to me if I walked into the room. Sometimes she would sit beside me on a lounge chair as I sat in my recliner, just looking at me and crying softly to herself. I would turn to her and say, "Do you want a cuddle Brianna?" and she would come straight across to me and snuggle in my lap. As we said goodbye to her on Saturday, I willed myself to commit to memory what it felt like to hold her, to stroke her beautiful silky fur and kiss her soft head. I wish so much I could still hold her in my arms. The shock and disbelief at the suddenness of her passing is overwhelming. I am heartbroken. I just can't believe my baby is gone, and I would give anything to have her back. She was my precious girl, my constant companion and I don't know how I will go on without her. I have had a physical ache since I lost Brianna, more than I can bear, and I have felt so drained that I can hardly lift my feet to walk. I keep seeing her out of the corner of my eye, and hearing her tags tinkle on her collar as they did when she walked around the house. In our room in the dark at night I think I can hear her breathing as she slept in her bed in our room. I expect her to wake me each morning for our special cuddle on the bed, but my baby girl is not there, and she will never be again. The first morning after she died I woke up and spoke to her. It was just instinctive, something I did every day, and even though I knew she wasn't there, it just came out, "Good girl Brianna, Mummy loves her puppy." Brianna was my heart dog, we all adored her and we can't imagine our lives without her. We feel privileged to have had her share almost nine years with us, but it wasn't long enough. I thought she would grow old with me. She was not only a beautiful looking girl but she was a beautiful, gentle and loving soul. Goodbye my precious darling girl, Mummy loves you! You were the best little girl ever and I will never forget you! xxxooo

I am so sorry for the loss of your beautiful girl. Thinking of you at this sad time. Rest easy Sooki!

I am so sorry for your loss. What a beautiful tribute to a lovely girl. Rest easy Inka!

Nic, I am happy to give you this number to contact if you want it, but I can't send you a PM.

Nic, I will PM you the mobile number of one of the WIRES snake catchers. He lives here in St Clair, but may be able to help or at least give you the contact details of someone who can. That way you are bypassing WIRES. The last snake we had here I rang WIRES and they said they wouldn't send someone out because the snake would have gone by the time they got there. When I explained that it was in my chook shed they ended up getting this guy. Turned out he only lived up the road from me. He came within five minutes. :) He said it was the biggest brown snake he had ever seen! He had quite a fight with it rearing up and smashing around in the chook shed, but eventually caught it. He had people coming that afternoon to pick up snakes from him so he said he would give it to them. They were on their way to Canberra the next day for an emergency services snake handling training day and he reckoned that was far enough away. He said he didn't want a snake that big anywhere near his house! :) ETA: I tried to send you a PM, but it said you cannot receive any new messages. I would prefer not to put his number on here, so PM me if you want it. :)

My silence is definitely not for sale redangel, not at any price. They won't gag me! Something good has to come from the huge price my beautiful boy paid.I just have to make sure I do it the right way so it counts. His mates are missing him too My heart is still breaking for you Caz. I have been thinking about poor Buddy constantly since it happened. This is such a beautiful photo of him. He was adorable. What a gorgeous, happy boy.

Caz, my heart is breaking for you. You must be absolutely devastated! Buddy was such an absolutely gorgeous boy. It must be so hard for you to accept that your precious boy could be taken away from you so suddenly and so tragically like this. I think I know which grooming place this is, and it would have been the vet that I go to where they took Buddy. They are great vets and would have done everything they could to save him. I am so very sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you at this terrible time.

I am so sorry for your loss. Lovebirds are beautiful little birds, they have so much character. We lost one of ours that got out of the aviary and we were devastated not knowing what happened to him, and I have always been really upset when one of our inside tame ones have died. Thinking of you in your loss.

How terribly sad that you have lost your beautiful girl! I am so very sorry for your loss, you must be devastated. My heart goes out to you. Rest easy Stevie and wait for your mum at the bridge like a good girl.

I can't believe it was ever legal! Germany to ban sex with animals: report THE German government is about to reintroduce a ban on bestiality, after pressure from animal welfare groups. Newspaper die Tageszeitung reports that the governing coalition are soon to amend the country's Animal Welfare Act to make sex with animals punishable with a fine of up to 25,000 euros ($31,000). Bestiality was legalised in Germany in 1969, the same year that gay sex was also removed from the criminal code. After that, sex with animals was only punishable if the animal was severely injured. However animal welfare groups have pushed for the ban to be reinstated, in an advertising campaign that used dramatic examples of "animal rape". Agriculture minister Ilse Aigner has agreed to change the law to make it illegal for people to "use (animals) for their own sexual activities or sexual acts of third parties" - which also bans the 'pimping' of animals to others. However the move has aroused the ire of zoophile group ZETA. Lobbyist Michael Kiok, who lives with his dog Cassie, told the newspaper there were more than 100,000 zoophiles in Germany. "Mere morals have no place in law," he said. Mr Kiok said he was worried that if the law took effect the authorities would try to take away his dog. The amendment to the law will be debated in the German parliament in mid-December. _________ These zoophiles are disgusting! I feel sorry for poor Cassie the dog!

I have not been able to get Charlotte out of my mind since I heard about her passing yesterday. She was such a beautiful girl and it is so sad that she is gone. My thoughts are with you and your family as you come to terms with such a great loss. Rest easy Charlotte.

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your beautiful boy! My thoughts are with you.

Oh no!! I am so sorry for your loss. He was a beautiful boy! RIP Riley!

I just cried again reading your latest post T&S. I can identify so much with what you have written about Tara. I will be devastated when I lose my special cocker girl Brianna and I truly understand how much you must be missing Tara. I only hope Brianna lives as long as Tara did. That is a great age for a cocker. :) You are still in my thoughts and prayers.