NFT: Didn't want to hijack the other dog thread, but

I've been dealing with with loss of my yellow lab, Jack. He lived an incredible 16.5 years, and he was with us for 15.5 of them. Like many labs, Jack was a beautiful, gentle soul that didn't have any aggression in him, he was just 65 lbs of love.

We made the decision to put him to sleep (about a month ago) when the pain meds weren't working as well as they used to, and we couldn't bear this sweet soul from being in pain any longer.

There have been many that have eulogized their best friends here, and in recent years, I've mentioned how I knew this day was coming for my boy as well.

The grief of losing Jack has been unlike anything I've ever felt. We were so fortunate to have our vet come to our home and put him to sleep where he was comfortable.

On his last day, I reverse-seared a filet mignon served over an egg. It may have been the finest steak I've ever cooked, a perfect medium rare. And he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Every dog is special to the ones they belong to. Jack will forever be my heart dog.

I want to finish with this: The day after he died, my wife and I drove to Siesta Key, where we had taken Jack with us on a few occasions. We went to Siesta Key Oyster Bar, where we had also taken Jack a few times, and he loved their French fries, of course.

There was a band playing, and just after we sat down at our table, with our thoughts dominated by our memories of him, the band played a cover of The Weight, the classic song by The Band.

Our hairs stood up when we heard verse 4, as we turned our heads to look at each other with shock:

Quote:

Crazy Chester followed me And he caught me in the fog He said, "I will fix your rack If you'll take Jack, my dog" I said, "Wait a minute, Chester You know I'm a peaceful man" He said, "That's okay, boy Won't you feed him when you can?"

Given the timing, the lyrics, and the meaning of the song, I could only conclude that this was a message just for us, that our sweet boy was being taken care of on the other side.

I talked to the wife in the husband and wife band that was playing and told her that our boy's name was Jack and we had just laid him to rest, and they played that song as soon as we sat down. And she said, "You know, it's funny, we always play that song in our first set, but today we didn't, and played it in the second."

I hope this give some comfort to all those that have experienced this kind of loss, because I now believe they are on the other side waiting for us.

RIP my sweet boy, my heart is broken but I'm so happy to have been his daddy for 15.5 years.