I am so grateful to all those who commented and sent hugs when Themba died. The blogging and Twitter community have been so very kind. Many who sent good wishes are strangers, dog-lovers, caring people. Thank you.
I have also found the same care and sadness amongst friends and acquaintances, people in the pub, other dog walkers. And it's true, it really does help to talk about it, to laugh and cry together. To share the pain, and the joy of the memories.
Themba had been getting weaker for months, and we had a adjusted our walks, making them shorter and slower. I only fully realised this when I took Brin out last week, and found myself huffing and puffing back up the bridle path. We will definitely be doing more long walks from now on. We also returned to some of our old haunts, and bumped into Chiton and his Mum. Sadly, they lost their Issy last month - it was old age but Chiton is very lonely. We have been friendly for ages with the lovely Daisy, a Boxer dog from the same breeder as Themba. Darling Daisy passed away last month too, and her Mummy is heartbroken, as the vets never found out what was wrong with her. Please keep these lovely dogs and their humums in your thoughts, too.
Talking of the pub, it seems that is the place to be seen these days, so not wanting to miss out, I have put in two appearances of late. If you don't go, you don't find out the gossip; like who lost all that weight? Who just turned 70? And who bought the house next to the pub? Of course, I know the answers to these questions, but I'm not saying.