February 15, 2011 - It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I must tell you my little buddy, Thunder,
is gone. On August 24, 2009 as I held him in my arms he closed his eyes for the last time. Thunder is no
longer in pain and he is no longer sick. He is now at peace.
This will be the final update to Thunder’s web site. It has taken me a long time to get to this final update
and I apologize to those waiting for it. It has just been too painful to work on the site. Thunder meant the
world to me and every time I have tried to update his site over the last year and a half it struck me that
he was gone and that I was doing the last update of his site; ever. I just couldn’t go through with it. It has
been hard doing this last update but it was time I got it done.
Thunder was an amazing and special dog. He was the happiest
dog I have ever known. Nothing could dampen his spirit nor his
desire. He never met a person he didn’t want to say hello to, he
never discovered some new smell or thing that he just didn’t have
to sniff out and investigate, and there was no adventure too big
nor too small for him. H e was always ready to go anywhere and
do anything with me.
Unfortunately, old age and illness finally became too much for my pal to overcome. I had to make that
dreadful decision no pet owner ever wants to make. Thunder was in pain and he just wasn’t himself. His
love of life and the desire to go live it was gone. The greatest act of love I could show him was to put
aside my broken heart and allow him to leave all the pain and sickness behind. I was blessed to be with
him on the day he entered this world and I was blessed to be holding him when he left it.
Thunder was able to hunt right up until the end however and he
was with me on the final day of the 2008/2009 waterfowl season on
February 14th. He was only a spectator that day but he was there!
Thunder lived to hunt and retrieve. I am so thankful that he was
able to go and do what he loved so dearly right up until the end
despite health issues and injuries. He was a real trooper.
On the morning of the 24th, before going to the Vet, I took Thunder
for one last visit to his favorite saltmarsh where he made a couple
retrieves in the shallow water with my help. He was also able to walk around and investigate just like the
old days although he was in a lot of pain. That place has a lot of special meaning to us and I really think
it was his favorite place to go. Thunder left us with saltwater and marsh muck in his coat which I know
is how he would have wanted it. Thunder’s last morning would be nothing special to the average person
but it was exactly what he loved to do and thus was a fitting way to spend his final moments.
Life is just not the same without him. He was a family member
and he truly was my best friend. While there will be other dogs
in my future there will never be another, in my heart, that could
ever take the place of my little Thunder. I hope and pray that
when my time comes to leave that I am judged worthy so I may
once again wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face in
his fur as he wags his tail and licks my cheek.
I want to thank everyone who has visited Thunder’s site over the
years as well as those who took the time to write me about Thunder. It is hard to believe I started his
web site way back in 1998 when he was just 2 years old. Where does the time go?  Thank you again for
visiting Thunder’s site and may God bless you and your 4 legged friends.
Click the information icon to learn more about what a special friend he was.
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