Hello again

[Katie]

Hello, I was a member here, but then I lost my beloved Ruff in an appalling accident. Ruff had been a life changing dog. When I got him I was obese. 3 weeks before his death I ran my first ultra marathon. He was 3 years old when he died.

I said I would never have another dog, losing Ruff was so traumatic. But I almost stopped running, I started to regain weight, I was just going through the motions.

Then Santa brought me a present. Bonnie. I am now the proud owner of a 10 week old F1b fluffy apricot/ red girl :) already I cannot imagine life without her. She cannot run with me until she is fully grown ( we are at the vet on Tuesday for vaccinations so I will discuss running then) so I am going to concentrate on shorter distances this year, and work on speed. Having not raced since Ruffs death, I am doing a short fun run in the park on Tuesday evening. Bonnie will have to stay home with my daughter this time, but soon she will come to races with us to watch :)

Ruff is in my avatar, but soon I will change it for Bonnie, as soon as I get my photos onto the computer. I still miss Ruff every day, and in no way can Bonnie replace him, but she is her own funny, unique self and is finding her own place in the family. She is great. She is clean and dry in the house, good in her crate (ruff hated the crate) and last night slept from 10:30 to 5 am!

So hello again, from Bonnie and me.

Katie in New Zealand.

PS if I have changed my avatar by the time you read this...the picture is Ruff if it's a phantom, Bonnie for a red puppy.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Welcome back and congratulations on your new puppy.  Each dog is uniqueand  will own a part of your heart, but leave a part of their heart in yours when they die.  I love my black Roo dog and my brown Tigger dog and would never exchange them. But I must admit I have a very soft spot for red dogs and yours is just darling.

Run, Katie and Bonnie, Run!

[Camilla and Darwin]

Welcome back! I'm very sorry about Ruff and I am very glad that you and Bonnie found each other!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Katie, I'm so glad you are back on DK with your new baby.  Bonnie is a doll. And thanks for sharing your story of  your time with Ruff. It is a beautiful tale of love.

[Julie and Max]

I'm so sorry about Ruff. It's wonderful that you have Bonnie now to help you keep on running!

[Sara]

Aw! Your face in that pic with Bonnie just looks so joyful. :)
Congrats on Bonnie and run, Katie, run! :)

[Holly Elliott]

Katie, I too,  lost a beloved companion, this past June. Annabelle was an 11 year old Golden Retriever and when I lost her I thought I could never endure that kind of pain again. So I was actually surprised at how over-whelmed I was with love immediately for my Findlay. I know Annabelle would be happy that I have a furry companion again. Findlay can, of course, never replace her, but, he has certainly helped this broken heart to start to mend. Good luck with your new baby. Holly

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

RIP Annabelle - such a beauty! Dogs are most definitely "healers of the heart," aren't they? My dear father died very unexpectedly 2 weeks before we brought Winnie home last April. As stressful as it was having a new (and WILD!) puppy in the house while I was deep in grief, she was just what I needed to help mend my heart.  

[Katie]

I'm so sorry to hear about Annabelle. Isn't it amazing how much love there is for our new puppies...they seem to bring their own love with them.

One problem I have with loving Bonnie is knowing that if Ruff had lived, I would never have met her. It almost makes me feel that by loving her I'm pleased I no longer have Ruff....and nothing could be further from the truth.

Thank you for the photos, Annabelle was beautiful, and Finley is as cute as they come!

Katie

[Wendy and Myla]

Katie, I know how you feel, our first goldendoodle, Zak,  died at the age of five and we were devastated!  When we decided to get Myla I was so happy but also felt guilty and that I was betraying our Zak!  What I have come to believe, is that Zak was our guiding star in picking another goldendoodle - because she was so awesome, we would only get another doodle but we also had to research the health testing  because we did not want to go through the heartbreak again!  We learned so much and really did our research on breeders before getting Myla.  Zak is buried on our property and I honestly believe that Myla can sense her and Zak is guiding her - telling her what is acceptable and what we need and that is why she was so easy to train - I know this may seem weird but Myla has been the easiest dog and just wants to please us and I honestly believe that it is Zak guiding her! 

I think that Ruff is so happy, watching you all, knowing that you are giving Bonnie the love that he would have had if he had not gone to the Rainbow Bridge. He is Bonnie's guiding star!!! 

[Katie]

Thank you Wendy, I am wiping tears from my eyes. What a lovely way of putting it.

II am sorry you lost Zak so young, but such a lovely thought, that she is guiding Mylar now. It would be great to think Ruff is still out there somewhere, watching over us. One day I shall take Bonnie up "Ruffies mountain" one of our favorite runs. We were there the day before he died, and I have not been there since.....but she needs to get a bit bigger yet, it's about 10km by the shortest route!

Katie and Bonnie.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Hi Katie.  Welcome back. I'm sorry that you lost Ruff but will be looking forward to pictures of you and Bonnie living your new adventure.