I talked to Mom and she gave me the news that buddy had passed. I am so sorry to hear about this as I know how special Buddy was to you and all of us. He was an amazing dog and one of the smartest that I have seen. Again, I am sorry for your loss, but try to remember the great times that you two had together.

Take care,
Eric

Before I go to bed, just want to tell you I'm thinking of you. Wish I could be with you but I am in spirit and hope you can feel my love. Buddy was great dog with a BIG heart and we all will miss him.

Love you, Mom

I am really sorry to hear about Buddy. I really do appreciate the call. I have wondered how he was doing... I went through my pictures of him a few days ago. I missed him a lot...miss him a lot. Please don't feel guilty about what could have been... You couldn't have known. I'm sure he knew how much you loved him. In many ways, I always thought you guys were connected... He's still with you now. It's true. Buddy was always a happy dog, content with what he had. He made living look easy...when at times we feel it is not. I sensed something was wrong- something had/was changing...with you. I miss Buddy.

Love,
Ang

I am so sorry! :( Buddy was so lucky to have you . What a beautiful tribute to him. You are in our thoughts.

Kim, John and boys

I am very sorry to hear about Buddy. Thank you for telling me how he was doing his last some days and how he passed away. I suddenly woke up before 5am this morning, it was before 10am there in Hawaii, I would like to believe he came here to tell me he had to go even though he had never met me. It must be impossible for you not to be sad, as I am sad too...but I would like to say to you, please don't to be sad. I believe this: all creatures which has a spirit were born with a body on the earth to learn something, when they finished learning it on this stage, they would go back to their home. Why do we experience such cruel, sad, hard, difficult things? Because we have to learn something from them, but we also experience happy, graceful, beautiful, touching things at the same time. Why do we have a separated body? Because we experience the inconvenience, but we were all one in our real home. Now Buddy is happy as he finished learning and go back to real home, "real home" is inside of you, Mark. Real home is everywhere.  You know what Buddy learned in his life, as you also learned the same things during being with him. There is a meaning you and Buddy met and were best friends in your life. Yes, now Buddy is at peace, safe, happy and healthy. His spirit is always with you, and he will be born again when the time comes. This is called "Rinne tensho 輪廻転生" which is the thought of Buddhism.  I can see that you really loved Buddy and Buddy loved you so much from the pictures you sent me before, and of course he knows it, he was a happy dog as he was loved so much! You and Buddy has power what makes people smile :) So please don't be sad. :)

Kasumi

Beautiful Mark, it is just beautiful. Everything seemed to happen too fast, but it probably would have a so much harder on him and you if his conditioned dragged on. What a wonderful poem expressing Buddy and the gift of his life! He did what he came to do. Live a good life and be a comforting and loving soul to whoever was lucky enough to love him.

Hang in there, love and light,
Pat

Pat shared the news last week that Buddy was sick and then over the weekend that he left this world. Good that he retired in Hawaii - many a dog and person would love the same opportunity for warmth, sunshine, comfortable breezes and long beach wanders with an old travelling friend. You gave him the good life - and I am really sorry he's no longer with you - super tough to lose a companion like Buddy.

Peace,
Amy

Oh Mark, I feel terrible. I thought of you so much this last week and now I know why. I'm so sorry I didn't listen to that small voice and just pick up the phone and call you. Of course you obviously were where you needed to be and in a way I'm glad I didn't take any of your time away from spending it with Buddy. Oh I'm sooooo very glad I got to spend time with him... even just the 2 of us driving to meet you that day and then playing on the beach before you got there. I just wish I realized his strength and ability and trusted to let him off his leash before you got there. Poor guy must have wondered what the heck was wrong with me...taking him all the way to the beach and then keeping him on his leash like that! I'm at work, but couldn't hold back the tears. I can understand what you're going through and what life will be like for awhile now. I had to put my (mom's) cat down a year ago. He had diabetes that I treated diligently (up every 6 hours to test and provide insulin and driving home at lunch each day to do the same) but in the end he had advanced heart disease and I had no idea until I couldn't get him regulated. It was devastating to me so my heart goes out to you. Oh my friend...I'm so sorry for your loss. He was such an awesome friend. So young at heart and full of energy. He loved you dearly and I'm glad he didn't have to suffer long. I was blessed with a place called Peaceful Paws who took a paw print of Mister and gave him back to me in a beautiful little box with his paw print in clay and this Rainbow poem attached. I'm here if there is anything at all that I can do.

Love always-
Your friend,
Karen

Hang in there, man... you're doing everything correctly in your grieving-your poems even made me cry this morning! I miss him, too! We had so many memories together running on the Strand, taking care of him at your old house in Manhattan Beach, walking him around the neighborhood near the sand dunes, and of course, fun with pomegranates! He's such a good boy, and he's still very much alive in our memories today. You're a great pet parent, Mark.

If you're okay to think about it, Buddy's passing will only make you a stronger individual, too. Morning is a part of life that we all must go through. Really, even after his life here, he's still being a good best friend to you-continuing to shape the man you are today into the better man you'll be tomorrow. No doubt he misses you just as much, too.

Sam and I will keep you both in our prayers,
Kev

So very sorry to hear this. There really aren't words when you lose a dear dog. Just time and fond memories. It will be very difficult for awhile but you will get through it. Hope you can take some time for yourself. I was shocked out how the death of our Doberman (Dixie - not sure if I ever told you that story - just very odd coincidence as I met her/Patrick when she was 8) affected me. I knew I would be tremendously sad since she was my running buddy, office manager and namesake. But I just figured since I'd "only" known her 4 years and Patrick had her for 12 that I wouldn't be as broken up. Even with crazy Rebelle I miss her a lot. And now we're the weird people with the ashes over the fire place and I'm even weirder because I speak to her whenever I'm over there dusting. Hopefully there is some peace in that Buddy passed naturally. We had to make the decision to put Dixie down because she had a horrible cancer that was causing her lungs to fill with fluid and making it difficult to breathe. While it was the right thing to do given her amount of suffering and very poor prognosis it was a terrible decision to make. One of the saddest parts is that she was ready and we could just tell - she gave us permission to do the right thing which was just so sweet. And also an interesting life lesson that dogs seem to know when it's their time.Hang in there. You gave him a wonderful life (12 great years and how cool to spend your last months in tropical paradise!) and the best medical care possible which undoubtedly kept him comfortable.

Dixie

I was so sorry to learn of the passing of your faithful companion. Buddy was a great personality in the Big Santa Anita Canyon. He will truly be missed. Please hang in there during this difficult time and if there is anything I can do, please don't hesitate to ask.

My sincere condolences.
Take care,
Leonard

I was in Madison when I found out about Buddy. So sorry to hear the news. So sad when you lose someone who for so long gave you so much and asked for so little in return.

Your friend,
Bob

Sorry to hear about Buddy, I loved him he was so good when he was at our house. Tell Mark sorry to hear the news and tell him that I thought he was a terrific dog.

Patti

I was so sad when I heard of Buddy's passing. I feel fortunate to have known Buddy while he was here on earth. Like his master he had a great heart, a great soul, a great intellect and most especially abundant love to be shared with everyone he met. I know that "Rainbow Bridge" has been over commercialized and trivialized, however I believe firmly in the concept. When we all exit this earthly vineyard we get to bring together all those who we loved in this life and that certainly includes our dogs. Your poetic tribute to Buddy could easily be incorporated into an updated version of "Rainbow Bridge"; it was beautiful. For the next several months you are going to experience a huge void in your life. It will be difficult but you will deal with it. Treat yourself to as many memories of Buddy as you can recollect. He will always be there as a part of your soul. Kathleen suggests that you visit the Kauai Dumb Friends League. Apparently it is a nice facility. Visit with a dog that might be lonely. Take a vacation, take a trip somewhere, write down Buddy's Story while it is still so fresh in your mind, organize all your pictures of buddy into an album. As you must know all your friends are standing by and ready to provide any support to help you get through this painful period in your life.

Don

It is with great sadness that I have discovered your message about "Buddy" today as I do not visit this email account as often as my other one. Pets are more than just pets. A strong bond is gradually built and we start to know their own personality traits that made them so enduring to us, and more than just pets. There are amazing levels of communication for those who are aware.  Having experienced the loss of one of our own pets after our move to Oregon, I fully understand the extend of your sorrow, especially considering the twelve years of companionship you and Buddy build together. You wrote a beautiful email which did made me very emotional. It is a great testament to Buddy's strength of character and wonderful personality. As you wrote so eloquently, Buddy lives in us. Such strong bond never fades out of memory. "Animals" have a simpler and straight forward way of looking at their environment and us, humans. They don't have all of these layers of pretense or falsehood. They are true to themselves, always. This is what makes such companionship so special, unique and richly rewarding for those of us who manage to establish that connection of the spirit with them. Again, I am truly sorry for your loss. We are thinking of you and Buddy, and assure you of our friendship.

- Carolyn + Jacques

Arnie and I just returned from vacation and read your sad news about Buddy. We are so terribly sorry. Only those who know the joy of having a friend of the 4-legged variety can truly understand the pain of losing one. They really are members of the family. Your words brought tears to my eyes. You and Buddy had a wonderful friendship and you gave him what so many dogs (and cats and rabbits and etc) do not have in this world...a loving home. I realize (from your description) his illness seemed to come on suddenly. While this makes all of this such a shock, it also means his suffering was short as well. I believe there is a blessing in that.

Take care, and please know we are thinking of you,
Liz (and Arnie) Streland

We heard about Buddy. I am so sorry for your loss, I know you loved your puppy.
I know I would be heart broken if we lost our Sadie.
Hope you are doing okay. We do have some mail for you as well.

Much aloha,
Mindy and family

I just wanted to let you know you're in my thoughts and prayers. I hope you are doing okay considering. Buddy had a great life and a phenomenal friend / owner in you. You were blessed to have a great companion and he was blessed to have you taking care of him. Take care, and I look forward to talking to you when I return to the States.

Warm regards,
Tom

Buddy passed away this morning on the first day of Spring in his sleep, somewhere between 8:30 am and 12 pm. He was being treated for a sudden and severe case of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). For more information, click here:

http://www.pets.ca/encyclopedia/diab_ketoacidosis.htm

Either we somehow missed that Buddy was diabetic or there was an underlying infection or cancer that prompted the DKA. Usually if dogs are not identified as having diabetes, lacking the proper levels of insulin, the dog will burn protein and the ketoacidosis process will start. It went maliciously fast in Buddy, taking less than two weeks to take effect. Just this past Sunday he was swimming at the beach, enjoying the water and doing what he loves best. By Wednesday we were at the vet after he had what appeared to be a seizure.

Buddy was alert and sitting up the last time I saw him Saturday afternoon before the clinic closed. I spent as much time as I could with him the last few days. I told him how much I loved him and thanked him for being my friend. I gave him many hugs, kisses and ear scratches. I am thankful I could say goodbye to him and still see his spirit during our visits.

I sat down on Buddy's bed tonight, crying admittedly and not unexpectedly so, wrote down my thoughts about my dog and best friend Buddy:

Any day was a good day to Buddy
Any beach was a great beach
Any body of water, no matter the size,
Even a puddle, was a treasure to Buddy
Any trail, rock or ledge
No matter how steep big or precarious
Was meant to be explored by Buddy

And so for 12 years
This is how he lived,
How we lived...together
He and me, I and him
Best of friends
My confidant, supporter and comforter
Always read to go
Any where...as long as it was with me
Which would make any kind of goodbye between the two of us always difficult,
Even if that goodbye is merely physical

Buddy lives on in me-in my tears, my laugh and smile
He lives on in you, those who have been touched by his spirit
He lives on in the water, the rivers, streams, lakes and oceans that were imbibed with his life force

Buddy taught me kindness, patience and love
I owe him more than I ever gave him
I will always remember the glimmer in his eye that leapt at the mention of going swimming, for a walk, the Power of Greyskull or Thundcats, Ho!
And all he ever asked of me was to be in my presence

Thank you Buddy
For being my friend
For always being there for me
For your undying spirit
Your unconditional love
For just being you
You made me a better person and enriched my life
Thank you for the gift of you
I love you always Buddy
You are my dog.
You are a great dog.