Saying Goodbye Times Four

[oldE]

This has been a year many of us would like to forget but it will be for us the year of "Goodbyes ".
In April my wife's young Icelandic mare developed a torsional colic.There was nothing we could do and after 24 hours we made the final decision.
A month later one of our two brother cats was diagnosed with cancer.
In July the older of our miniature donkeys decided she had had enough. Some years before she came to us she had been abused resulting in a neck fracture and arthritis in several vertebrae. Pain medication could only carry her so far.
Yesterday our 33 year old Icelandic had a heart attack and left us. We have been bracing ourselves for this for a couple of years. His teeth were pretty much worn out and arthritis made it hard for him to get around, but he was game. The wife said he held on as long as the grass was good.
My wife is the horse lover and she has suffered much through all this.
There is one bright spot. Last month she bought a young Icelandic mare she has been working with through the summer.
I guess life goes on.


This was the young mare that died unexpectedly. She was to be my wife's 'retirement horse '.
Now we start over.
Best
Les

[GH85Carrera]

Sorry for your loss.

[HobieMarty]

So sorry for your loss. It is always hard to say goodbye to our four legged family members. In June of this horrible year, we had to say goodbye to our beloved Bentley, he was a toy poodle and was 14 and a half years old. This has been the worst year ever.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[oldE]

You might think one gets used to it. Maybe I am, to a degree. Over the past four decades the list has run to eight horses and donkeys, eight dogs and over a dozen cats.
We volunteered at an animal shelter for years and every now and then some would come home with us. I knew the wife was into horses when I met her. I just wasn't looking forty five years down the road.
Hang in there everyone.
Best
Les

[cabmandone]

2021 can't come fast enough. Time to put this one behind us.

[masraum]

My condolences to you and the missus, Les. Losing animals suck. I've got very limited experience with horses, but the little experience that I do have made me think that they are intelligent animals that I think you could form an attachment to as much or more than any dog or cat.

[vash]

Awful news! So sorry to hear if all this.

[oldE]

Originally Posted by masraum

My condolences to you and the missus, Les. Losing animals suck. I've got very limited experience with horses, but the little experience that I do have made me think that they are intelligent animals that I think you could form an attachment to as much or more than any dog or cat.

Steve, So true.
In 2007, the wife and I visited a horse farm where our Icelandic originated near Vernon BC. They took us out to visit the herds and in the mares' enclosure, one came up to me and it felt like she would crawl into my pocket. I think I could have easily just put my hand under her chin and led her anywhere. It turned out she was a half sibling to our horse. I'm not a horse person, but that was the closest I have come to forming an instant bond with an animal.

Best
Les

[KFC911]

My condolences ...

[billybek]

That is a tough year!
Sorry to hear of you and your wife's loss(es).
I am looking forward to looking back at 2020 myself.