Bodie the Greyhound

by Mike
(Perth, Australia)

My Partner and I fostered a couple of retired Greyhounds from a local adoption programme. It soon became apparent that ours was to be their forever home, we adopted them and gave them new names Bodie and Miki.

Our lives changed, Saturday mornings involved loading them in the car, grabbing a couple of take away coffee’s and croissants and driving down to our favourite local park. Along the way both girls would breathe in our ears and Bodie would always try to steal a croissant. The walks were always a joy and the girls loved it.

After having the girls for just over 2 and a half years, Bodie was diagnosed with cancer. Initially she responded well to treatment but developed additional heath issues and we had to make the call to say good bye. Finding a word to describe how I feel is impossible but if I had to choose, devastated.

The space Bodie made in our lives will be there forever and cannot be filled with anything else because it was made for her, by her.

It hurts so much and doesn't seem to fade.

The one thing I hope for more than anything is that she loved her short life with us as much as we enjoyed having her.

We are lucky that we met each other and became the best of friends. I try and think about the times we spent together, think about what she brought to the crew, her traits, and her little quirks. We are grateful for the time we had together because they will be among the best memories we will have and think of them with. We adopted her because we wanted to improve our lives and hers and I think it worked.

Every day I wake up and the first thing I feel is the emptiness where she would once be.

My heart goes out to anyone who experiences the loss of an animal companion and if you have felt the pain please be aware that you are not alone. However long you had with your friend, that fact that you are suffering so much means that your friend was really loved and had a fulfilling joyful life.