From Puppy to Old Dog I Will Always Be There

Photo of a Leonberger puppy with a scarf
Bronco our Leonberger at three months old
Our Leonberger Bronco and me. He is standing on the sofa giving me a hug.
Bronco and me. Bronco about one years old.
Our Leonberger Bronco in Claudia’s lap, He weighs 167 pounds in the picture and is a bit overweight, but he lost weight.
Bronco in Claudia’s lap, a little bigger, and chubbier (but he lost weight)
Our Leonberger Bronco lying down in the grass. You can see shaved fur resulting from his toe amputation.
Bronco about nine years old. He had just had a toe amputation.
Our Leonberger Bronco lying down in the grass. He is very old in the picture.
Bronco closing in on 13 years old at the end of his life

With permission from Brend Saito (see comment), in this post I am sharing something she shared on Facebook in memory of her golden retriever, Odie, who passed away in May 2021 at the age of 12. The author is unknown.

“A dog asked :

“Tell me, human, why’d you record me? ”

The human replied, “You were so little and cute then and I couldn’t resist”

“But I ate your flowers, peed on your carpet and broke the expensive vase and all your clothes are full of hair from me… never thought about giving me away? ”

Again the man replied:

“I was also upset at first and had more work to do, but then when you sat down on my lap as usual, everything was fine… you don’t give your children to the orphanage because they once are mischievous. ”

The dog looked attentively at his owner and asked:

“But look, now I’m very old and I have my problems too… I cost a lot of money because you go to the vet with me more often and I need special food… I’m not as agile as I was 10 years ago… and i don’t smell like a baby anymore”

The mistress swallowed briefly and struggled with tears for a moment when she then answered:

“My love, you will ALWAYS be my baby, you have enriched my life and given me countless beautiful moments, now you are old and not quite healthy but that doesn’t change how much I love you.

You have always been there for me, comforted me when I was sad and made me laugh, you are my most precious treasure. And I wish we can spend more time together.

I will continue to do my best to make your life beautiful.

I will do everything for you my little darling.. ”

The dog gently placed its paws on his wife’s cheek and licked.

The sun shone in his eyes that shone like opals.

Satisfaction.

H a p p y.

L O V E

Perfection.

Harmony.

Anyone who has and loves dogs understands without words….

Illustration showing our Leonberger Bronco in the middle with a dog on each side. Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd to the left and Daisy our Pug to the right. Rollo says "They still talk about you". Daisy says ""I know.
Bronco is in the middle, Rollo left, Daisy right. We still have Rollo and Daisy. We will never stop talking about Bronco. Illustration Naomi Rosenblatt.