We think of our dog as “Our Christmas Miracle.” That’s because two years ago, it looked as if he was dying. He stopped eating.

This problem had come on gradually, probably over the course of nine months. We found ourselves coaxing him to eat. Before, he had a voracious appetite. Now, it was a matter of hoping he’d eat.

Then he stopped eating altogether. Because he was so old, I knew this wasn’t good. (It’s also not good in younger dogs either. So please call for vet if you notice appetite loss.)

At the time this happened, he was reaching upper age limit for Cocker Spaniels. This breed has a life expectancy of about 12 to 15 years, according to one source. I’ve seen varying estimates. But a 12-year-old Cocker spaniel is considered elderly. At the time, our dog was almost 14 years old.

So we prepared ourselves to say “goodbye.” Meanwhile, I was on the phone with our homeopath. She and I worked hard to find the right remedy. Just at it seemed as if he wasn’t going to turn the corner, suddenly he did.

Saying Goodbye To Your Old Dog

It was two years ago that my husband was sitting on the couch, holding our dog in his arms. Our dog looked so sick. We could see the life draining out of him. Someone was visiting our house. She was a dog lover.

“Say goodbye to him now,” my husband told her. “I think this is it for him.”

That’s what it looked like. And I believe it would have been, if we didn’t come up with the right homeopathic remedy. Homeopathy is absolutely amazing. It can lead to deep and long lasting healing. But that’s only if you can find the right remedy. There are hundreds of remedies to choose from. Narrowing it down takes considerable skill. Fortunately, I was working with the best of the best.

It took a few tries. But, eventually, she and I found the right remedy. What happened next was wonderful. Within about a day, I could see our dog was slowly getting better. His diarrhea was clearing up. And he showed a little interest in food. Granted, I had to buy him takeout Chinese food. But at least he was eating. And drinking.

Saying Goodbye To Your Pet Dog

It’s been nearly two years since our Christmas miracle. Actually, all of this did play out over Christmas. We thought we were losing him Christmas Eve. So we put him in the car when we traveled to a Christmas Eve party, so he wouldn’t die alone.

The next day we brought him to church with us. (He stayed in the car.) That’s because we didn’t want to leave him alone.

A couple of days later he traveled with us to a family get together in a Chinese restaurant. He stayed in the car, and I managed to get him to eat a little Chinese food. Normally, I don’t recommend feeding your dog Chinese food. But under the circumstances, that’s all he’d eat. Chinese food is also what I used to help him regain his strength, after the remedy started working.

Saying Goodbye to Your Pets

Fortunately, our dog survived that incident, when it looked like the end. It also helped form my opinion on putting animals down. If we had done that, he wouldn’t have lived another two years. These two years were good. His appetite was ravenous and his energy level wasn’t bad for an old dog.

He was able to go for walks again around the block, without too much panting. (He has a heart murmur, so we’re careful with the long walks.)

But I know the time is coming when we’ll have to say goodbye for good. I’m trying to look on the bright side. We’ve had two extra years with him that we probably wouldn’t have had, if we hadn’t found the right homeopathic remedy. Anyway, I want to encourage all dog owners to learn about homeopathy, and to find a good homeopath. Veterinary homeopaths are rare. So you may have to work with a people homeopath instead. His or her level of skill is what’s most important.

When Your Beloved Dog Dies

This site was started out of my fondness for my dog, and my interest in natural healing. I like to think that the reason we’ve kept him around so long is because we feed him good quality organic people food (the Chinese food was an exception) and because we keep him away from potentially dangerous chemicals.

But I know the day is coming when I’ll have to post some very sad news. Until then, I’m enjoying every day with our very elderly dog. We’re hopeful he might even get to celebrate his 16th birthday.

Update: Our dog did see his 16th birthday in March of 2018. He’s still hanging on. But his age is showing. However, he still eats well and gets around well. We believe life is precious and would not put him down unless there was a good reason. Homeopathy and various dietary supplements seem to be working. We also feed him USDA-certified organic dog food and organic people food.