Friday, February 22, 2008

RIP - Jackson Rod Stewart

Our family dog was hit by a car yesterday. It was really my son's dog. He slept with him every night and DJ is devastated! I feel so sorry for him I don't know what to do. We were hit with a "wintery mix" yesterday and he is a white poodle. We live on a gravel road and the people down the road come and go at least 100 times a day. I swear they never stay put. They don't have jobs or anything, so I guess they don't have anything better do it. It really wasn't their fault, Jackson was running beside their truck and they had to go faster to make it up the hill in the snow and ice (at least they had a reason to be charging up the road this time) and they didn't see him. DJ heard him yelp and ran over to him and he was still breathing but only for a few seconds. He died in DJ's arms and he was out of his mind with grief. He was crying and screaming and jumping up and down, throwing himself on the ground in the ice & snow. It took me about 30 minutes to get him in the house and he cried all night long. I just don't know what to do to make him feel better. He even had two friends spend all night and he basically ignored them all night. Thank goodness they had each other to keep them occupied.

He really feels like it's his fault. It's his OCD talking telling him he hasn't been good enough, he hasn't been going to church, etc. That's why God took his dog. How can I compete with OCD?

This dog went in and out whenever he wanted. We live in the country so our dogs run free. If he sees DJ outside, he runs to the door and bumps into it until you get up to let him out. DJ was outside shoveling off the driveway so he and his friends could play basketball and he moved my car. He wasn't doing a very good job because I could see out the window that he was getting my car stuck in the snow and ice in the front yard so I opened up the door to tell him to just leave the car where it was and Jackson ran outside. He feels like if he wouldn't have moved my car, I wouldn't have got up and let the dog out. He is so wrought with guilt - he's sleeping now, but I'm hoping he feels better today when he wakes up.

Also, when we got Jackson from the pound, he was already named Jackson. We started calling him Jackson Rod Stewart because on Hannah Montana - Hannah's brother's name is Jackson Rod Stewart so we started calling the dog that when he was in trouble or we were just playing around with him. He was such a good dog. The only one we've ever had that was already housetrained and would let us know when he needed to go out. He was very smart. Jackson will be missed by the whole family and I pray that God will bring comfort to DJ and take away his unnecessary guilt.

6 comments:

3carnations said...

I'm so sorry to hear that! It's so hard to lose a pet, and it must be so much harder when it's an accident, and the guilt he's feeling...Poor guy. I hope he makes peace with it and starts to feel better soon. :(

Michelle said...

I am so sorry!! I hope that DJ feels better soon, but I know that it is never easy to lose a pet.

kathi said...

Oh, hon, I'm so sorry. Breaks my heart, I've held many a cat and dog as they'd passed and it's something that you'll remember always. I've always forced myself to remember the good times and to be thankful for having had the pet in my life at all, because the alternative would eat away at you. Encourage him to remember and talk about the good times, and to know that Jackson will be waiting for him with his tail wagging. Tell him that Jackson is running free and loving every minute right now, and that one day DJ will be running beside him again.
Lifting you all up in prayer.

Not so evil Shenanigans said...

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers. He is still pretty torn up about it, but I'm trying to get him to focus on the good times. I've also told him maybe Jackson is Uncle John's dog now as an old great uncle passed last summer.

We researching new dogs now, but he doesn't really want to think about it yet. We'll wait until he's ready. Thanks again!

ccw said...

(((Shannon and family)))

I am so very sorry for your loss. Losing a pet is one of the most difficult things in life (or so I think).

kathi said...

Been thinking about DJ and wondering how he's getting along?