Jack our Beloved Great Dane

There’s a part of having our wonderful pets in our lives that challenges us. That’s when we lose them. Sunday morning, April 7, 2013 at 4:13 am, Jack, our beloved Great Dane passed away from complications of his heart disease that he was recently diagnosed with. At the young age of 4 ½ he died in my arms at home as peacefully as I could have ever hoped for. I hugged him and told him how much I loved him and that it was OK. He seemed at peace and God chose his time to take him to Rainbow Bridge.
It was a Great loss, Jack was so young but being with him in the end to hold him as his time to pass on was at his own home, in our room with just me to comfort him for hours, made it somehow easier to lay him to rest that morning. I lay on the floor with him for hours and he put his head up into my chest, I hugged him so very close as he took his last breaths. I cried but I was also thankful because his disease has NO cure, only treatments to help the symptoms as much as possible but the end result is, they rarely live long after diagnosis. He was no exception to this and I admit I carried anger too because he died so young. I feel he was cheated but I try to believe God wanted him back for a greater purpose than I know.
Jack had DCM (right sided heart failure and left sided was becoming obvious as well). He also had a few other severe issues come up over the past couple days related to this disease but our vets had him on medications, he was comfortable: Jack was very well loved.
Having a Great Dane means having a breed with a shorter lifespan than most breeds but his was much shorter than I ever expected nor would have wanted. Jack was truly a very calm and sweet natured Great Dane who loved people & life unconditionally.
I spent my Sunday burying Jack up on my 20 acres in the Okanogan mountains where he could be free with the wildlife, trees and nature. I can see his final resting place from my home. The amazing thing was, it began to snow beautiful pure white flakes, just like him, as I was digging his resting place and laying him to rest.....
Over the many years, I have lost several wonderful four legged family friends and I have carried with me their urns. This is such beautiful country, I have decided that they will all eventually lay their finally resting place here. With Jack I placed 4 of the urns of my special dogs. Sparky, my very first Great Dane from many many years ago and his buddy Sweety, the Great Dane. I also placed the urn of Whisper’s mum, Emma girl and my sweet love Miss Prissy, my heart Dalmatian, whom I shared 13 glorious years with will now forever be in these mountains as well as she too lay within the earth, in her urn with them.
There is no loved greater than the devotion of a dog in our lives, each one of them has proved that to me time and time again. I will have my heart broken in the future as I have more dogs in my family who will likely not outlive me! It never ever gets easier to lose any one of them no matter how long they have been with us, there’s never enough time to share with them and grieving is a necessity. I am thankful I can lay their vessels to rest in this incredible country side and know that they are at Rainbow bridge awaiting the ones who love them, playing….Jack is running free in those green fields again like he once did as a puppy. I was blessed to have the 4 ½ years we did share.
Thank you Jack for everything you gave to me and sharing your life with me and my family, you are truly missed. Tears will be shed for you many times by several people and I will always remember the fun times we shared with you as a part of our family. I miss you so much. The spot by my bed is empty now and as I went out the bedroom door tonight, I told you “goodnight” just as I always have, even though you were not there physically.
God speed my friend until we meet at Rainbow Bridge.