Hardest goodbye

As Hound owners (or Hound slaves) one of the hardest, most heart breaking decisions you will ever have to make is saying goodbye.  

People deal with grief in different ways, there is no right or wrong way to cope with the loss of a much loved family member, be them on two legs or four. 

All of us girls who run the rescue have experienced not only our own personal losses, but the losses of Hounds in our care, most recenlty Jo and her adopted Hound Cleo. 

Cleo had been diagnosed in February with heart disease and a mass in her chest.  Cleo kept on going yelling at the world and anything in it until the 3rd November.  In some ways Cleo’s passing was planned, she had been to the vets the week before for a check up and it was decided that the reality was her quality of life had deteriorated and was only going to continue, pain was begining to start and the mass was taking up too much room in her chest. 

Cleo’s final journey was arranged 2 days before.  Whilst some may feel this to be calculated, it helped that her family had that time to reflect, cuddle, laugh, cry and of course feed Cleo more cream cakes.  It gave friends and family the chance to see her one last time. 

Some people do not have that luxury, that option and emergency vets are needed, everything happens in a blur; the loss could be through an accident; sudden unexpected death……but the end result is the same:-

Grief; Heartbreak; Guilt; Loss; Emptyness; Coping with Hounds who are left behind; Feeling that you talk too much about them; Friends not understanding your loss; Family members all delaing with it differently……..every emotion is valid….every feeling you feel is valid……

It does not matter how you need to cope with your loss, you will find a way in time, and if we can help you in any way we will try. 

We have a “Rainbow Bridge” memorial page on our website.  If you would like to add your Hound to this please email [email protected] with a picture and a few words.  We don’t care if your Hound wasn’t a BRNGB hound, we would be honoured to be part of your Hounds memorial and your healing from your loss.  It’s a place you can visit and share with your friends, or not if you would rather. 

We also have a Facebook Page “Friends of Basset Rescue GB” which is a community of basset lovers, friendships are made there, stories are told, love and compassion is given, again your hound does not have to be a BRNGB Hound for you to join. It’s a Hound community where you may find comfort, love, laughter…….and it’s not just for the hounds who have crossed the bridge, it’s for anyone with a love of Basset Hounds. 

Links for both are below. 

As a small charity all we can offer you during this awful time is love and compassion, if you are struggling and you don’t know where to turn we have included some links which may help you travel the road of what is one of the most painful losses a Hound owner will experience.  

Be kind to yourself and your feelings, it’s not an easy road to nagviate, but you do not have to navigate it on your own

#nobassetgetsforgotten