Thank you so much everyone for your support.

I love you so much Brando.

Dear Rhapsody,

I, we, have all followed your sorrow with Callaway, and then the decline of Brando. No words of comfort now, just my sorrow for your sorrow, my feeling of loss for your loss, my sadness for your sadness. I truly hope both Brando and his lifelong friend, Callaway, are looking in upon you, from some meadow paradise, sending you their love. My sincerest thoughts and condolences during this painful time of loss and memories. Brando was one of the special ones. Peace to you.

Dennis

Dear Rhadsedy,
I am so very sorry to hear about Brando. I'm new to this site, so I read some of your posts about what was going on with him. I know exactly what your going through right now. We just lost a member of our family on Thursday. I'm sure that Callaway and Brando are together...and maybe they can look after my Husker. He was the first of our family to go. Hang in there...

Maranda

Oh, Rhapsedy, I am so so sorry. This seemed inevitable, and yet the reality of it is very hard-hitting, isn't it?

Words are failing me right now. I just wanted to tell you that we are sending oodles of love in your direction.

Big hugs from Margi, Spiritwolf, and Leopold

Ladywolf is right. No matter how inevitable it seems, it still hurts, doesn't it?

I'm so sorry Rhapsedy. I have been reading your posts too and I'm so very sorry.

I am so sorry for you loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Dear Rhapsedy
I am so, so very sorry about Brando. I know how much this hurts and if I could I would take the pain away from you in a heartbeat. I'm sorry.
Sharon

I am so sorry for your loss
(((hugs)))

Hi Rhapsedy
I too am so sorry for your loss. Its bad enough to lose one but two in such a short time is like being stabbed in the heart with a double edge sword I know I am still feeling it. There isnt anything I can say to help ease the pain and the emptiness
you are feeling I wish I could. The only comfort I have is knowing that both my angels are with each other and I am sure your angels are too. Thank you for shareing yours and Brando's Journey as hard as its been. Everyone here becomes part of everyone here and feels a bond with each other and thier fur babies. I am thinking of you and your angel Brando and Callaway.

Hugs
Anna and my Angels
xoxo

Dear Rhapsedy
I am so sorry and wish that I could help to take away the pain of your loss. Callaway will have been waiting for your Brando and now together they are watching over you and your family, knowing how much they are loved.
I send prayers and love to you and your precious Angels.
Please post when you can, but we understand if you can't right now. Just know that we are all thinking of you, and will help in any way we can.
Hugs
Jan and my Angels and Pixie xx

Rhapsedy, I am so sorry, my heart goes out to you. Brando and Callaway are together now, free of all pain and old age. What a great Mom you are.

In time, fond memories will come back, they will. I know that probably now, with Brando leaving it also brings back the pain (which I know never left anyways) of Callaway as well. In time you will have great memories of you all boating together.

I will be thinking of you and your husband. Please take care of yourself and let us know how you are doing.

Much Love and many hugs,
Sonya

Hi, Rhapsedy, I am so sorry about Brando. I'm just being able to get caught up on posts. My company left to go home around Noon time today.

There is no way we can "prepare" ourselves for the loss of a beloved companion - - no matter how hard we try or think we can be. And I do so understand what it is like to lose two precious furkids so close together. Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers, Rhapsedy, and we are here for you.

Peace and blessings,
moon_beam

Thank you so much everyone. I don't know what I would do without everyone on this site.

Brando went so peacefully and it was definitely time for him. I am sad and heartbroken over Brando, he was my first dog and he had a special place in my heart. I love you so much Brando and I will always miss you.

My guilt... it's still about Callaway. I just wish Callaway would have had as peaceful as passing as Brando. I wish my vet would have given him the "pre" injection before the final injection. I am so thankful that I knew to ask for the "pre" injection for Brando, he looked so peaceful and so relaxed.

Can anyone help me with my guilt about Callaway. Has anyone experienced the guilt of their animal(s) being scared before they were euthanized? I totally understand if you don't want to talk about it but if you can give me some advice I would be so grateful.

I love you Callaway and Brando and I hope someday we will all be together again.

Love to everyone,
Rhapsedy

I can't really give you and advise but I can say that from my experience and from the posts I read here there seems to always be some level of guilt on our part when we loose our beloved pets. I was guilty thinking about taking Nikita to be euthanized. Then when she didn't make it that long and died at home I felt some guilt over that; thinking maybe I waited too long and she suffered. All I can say is that you didn't know. I had read about the pre shot while I was dealing with Nik. It was something I had stumbled across by accident but I would not have known otherwise. What you did you did out of love and concern; Callaway would not blame you.
I wish I could say something to ease you guilt and pain. Losing two I can not imagine.
All I can say is I am so sorry. I'll pray for you, you are in my thoughts.

John

I can only say that guilt seems to be universal. No matter how our pet dies, we find something to feel guilty about, and we beat ourselves up with the guilt. There's a story my mother used to tell me about when her mother had the family dog Tippy put to sleep. Tippy lived to be in her teens, and she was a big dog, and this was in the 1940s, so she was really really old. Towards the end of her life she was blind and incontinent and couldn't really walk anymore, and she didn't seem to be aware of her surroundings. My grandmother took Tippy to the vet to be euthanized, and Tippy bit my grandmother. Well, my grandmother wasn't hurt. Tippy apparently didn't have many teeth left, but my grandmother was haunted by that incident her whole life. She was convinced that Tippy was panicked and knew she was going to be put down and was struggling to stay alive.

This happened maybe twelve years before I was born, and I can remember my grandmother talking about it many times. It was a really traumatic experience for her, and she was consumed with guilt over it for a long time.

I guess I bring that up just as an example of how we can be consumed by guilt no matter how the end happens, and very often it seems like the basis of the guilt is we tell ourselves our pet was stressed or fearful at the end. I know I have been through all kinds of guilt over Flo's death, and I just keep telling myself I did the best I knew how to do at the time.

Rhapsedy,

So sorry to hear that Brando's time arrived. The raw loss is so intense and painful -- both physically and emotionally. You must be taking it extra hard what with the recent lost of Callaway, and with the resounding guilt that you still feel over him. All I can say is that you did your best with Callaway with the knowledge you had at the time. If you had known about asking for the "pre" injection and how it might help, I'm sure you would have asked for it, as you did with Brando. But you couldn't have known how his passing was going to play out. Please don't beat yourself up over it. You did your best with both your boys -- you loved them with all your heart and soul, and you couldn't have done anything more than that.

Thinking of you,
Cheryl x

Rhapsedy, I'm so sorry about Brando. My computer has been in the shop and still is. I'm on a friend's computer right now. I've been going crazy to know how he was doing and then I log on to find out he's already gone. I'm so sorry! I'm just so sorry!
I wish I had words to comfort you. I'm so glad that his passing was peaceful. That will be a comfort to you forever. I'm sorry you're wrestling with Callaway's passing. I am also still battling my feelings over Niles' passing. Niles deserved so much better. He didn't deserve to suffer like he did. I could have stopped it before it got out of hand but I panicked. I try so hard every day to push the memories of that morning out of my head. I don't know when I'll ever be able to deal with them. So, I understand you feelings about Callaway's passing even though it was a different situation than Niles'. I wish I had words to comfort you about Callaway.
My heart goes out to you now. I know you miss them both terribly. I'm so sorry.
-Donna

Hi, Rhapsedy, just want to add my reassurance that you truly did the very best you could by Callaway at all times and in all circumstances. Guilt I think is one of the hardest grief emotions to work through because it is caused by the "hindsights" which makes us think the "what if's" and "if only's." It makes us lose sight of the most important gift we have - - the FOREVER gift of our beloved companion who shared their lives with us during their physical journey with us on this side of eternity. Losing their physical presence does not change this - - but it is a MAJOR adjustment nonetheless - - both physically and emotionally.

Rest assured that Callaway's sweet Spirit is enjoying eternal peace with the angels and is showing Brando all around heaven's perfect garden. Callaway is not "trapped" in the brief moment of what "might have been" in the course of his passing, and he does NOT want you tortured by the event either. Instead, he wants you to focus on the eternal love that you share with both him and Brando - - the love that is now no longer restricted to the physical boundaries of time and space on this side of eternity.

I also know resolving the "guilt" is easier said than done. As with everything in this grief journey this is one of the many facets of the emotions we experience that need time to be worked through. I pray that in time you will be able to find a peace in your heart that will help you to be able to focus solely on the many precious memories you have of your Callaway and Brando.

Rhapsedy, I hope in some way you will find comfort and encouragement in what I have shared with you. Above all, please know you are frequently in my thoughts and prayers.

Peace and blessings,
moon_beam