Comments on: Lifestyle Tip: Deal With It … http://juliemurphree.org/?p=815 Julie's Fresh Air is a web log about American Agriculture and a celebration of country life. Buy my book, Fresh Air, on Amazon to experience more about country life. Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:54:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: D. Barber http://juliemurphree.org/?p=815&cpage=1#comment-4420 D. Barber Fri, 08 Feb 2008 01:32:35 +0000 http://juliemurphree.org/?p=815#comment-4420 Reading your article is helping me learn to deal with it, I guess. We lived on our stepdad's Colorado farm, my last couple of years in high school. The dogs that tended to survive were a red heeler/dalmatino mix called Popcorn (white with red spots) and a blonde/german-shepherd mix, that could chase down a jackrabbit for supper (had to catch his breath before he would kill it.) I never learned why, but was told my stepdad took them out & shot them while I was stationed overseas, and it was shortly after my mom died. I just have always held a grudge against him for that. Yet, reading about all the dogs & 4-H 'pets' you went through, I had we were on a really stable, farm & ranch. The people looking around the room in the absence of Rudy must have had few pets in their lives, just like me. We are still too sensitive about our pets' deaths, and actually do well to draw from your perspectives, to see them as less permanent parts of our lives. After all, don't we know they don't live as long as people? Reading your article is helping me learn to deal with it, I guess. We lived on our stepdad’s Colorado farm, my last couple of years in high school.

The dogs that tended to survive were a red heeler/dalmatino mix called Popcorn (white with red spots) and a blonde/german-shepherd mix, that could chase down a jackrabbit for supper (had to catch his breath before he would kill it.)

I never learned why, but was told my stepdad took them out & shot them while I was stationed overseas, and it was shortly after my mom died. I just have always held a grudge against him for that.

Yet, reading about all the dogs & 4-H ‘pets’ you went through, I had we were on a really stable, farm & ranch. The people looking around the room in the absence of Rudy must have had few pets in their lives, just like me.

We are still too sensitive about our pets’ deaths, and actually do well to draw from your perspectives, to see them as less permanent parts of our lives. After all, don’t we know they don’t live as long as people?

]]> By: Ana Kennedy http://juliemurphree.org/?p=815&cpage=1#comment-2666 Ana Kennedy Sat, 27 Oct 2007 04:41:28 +0000 http://juliemurphree.org/?p=815#comment-2666 I am so grateful to have grown up on a farm where I learned to “deal with it” through the death of animals and family pets at an early age. I still remember when my brother and I were very young and my father brought home a cute, cuddly piglet. He then warned us not to become too attached, as that little piglet would one day be our dinner. The day the pig was butchered remains a vivid memory. I also remember my mother catching one of our free-range chickens to butcher and prepare for the evening meal; it was just a part of life. Farm animals meant for eating are certainly different from pets that become part of the family. I have had a number of dogs and most of them have met their demise thanks to a car or the occasional UPS truck. Currently I live in the city and my dog, Wally, is at home on the farm. Friends often ask why I don’t bring him to live in my own home. I think it's preposterous to take my dog, who has the freedom to roam acres of land, and place him in a tiny little yard. Actually, I think I am a bit jealous of Wally and the fact that he gets to stay home on the farm! Anyway, despite the sadness that has come with losing pets, it has helped me to learn how to deal with death and appreciate the joy they brought to my life during their short stay on this earth. I am so grateful to have grown up on a farm where I learned to “deal with it” through the death of animals and family pets at an early age. I still remember when my brother and I were very young and my father brought home a cute, cuddly piglet. He then warned us not to become too attached, as that little piglet would one day be our dinner. The day the pig was butchered remains a vivid memory. I also remember my mother catching one of our free-range chickens to butcher and prepare for the evening meal; it was just a part of life.

Farm animals meant for eating are certainly different from pets that become part of the family. I have had a number of dogs and most of them have met their demise thanks to a car or the occasional UPS truck. Currently I live in the city and my dog, Wally, is at home on the farm. Friends often ask why I don’t bring him to live in my own home. I think it’s preposterous to take my dog, who has the freedom to roam acres of land, and place him in a tiny little yard. Actually, I think I am a bit jealous of Wally and the fact that he gets to stay home on the farm! Anyway, despite the sadness that has come with losing pets, it has helped me to learn how to deal with death and appreciate the joy they brought to my life during their short stay on this earth.

]]> By: Philip Bashaw http://juliemurphree.org/?p=815&cpage=1#comment-2651 Philip Bashaw Fri, 26 Oct 2007 23:10:50 +0000 http://juliemurphree.org/?p=815#comment-2651 It is no wonder we have a hard time when a trusted companion passes. We invite our pets into our homes and treat them like members of the family......like that small furry member of your family that can be mischevious! I had a particularly hard time with the passing of the best dog I have ever owned, a springer spaniel named Brooke. She was the smartest, friendliest and most loyal dog I have ever known. I guess you could say that me and Brooke grew up together in a rural town in Southeastern Arizona. In the best childhood memories I can remember Brooke was right by my side through thick and thin and believe me it got pretty thick a couple times! But as was said, although it can be difficult to deal with the passing of a pet, death is a part of life and enjoying the companionship of a pet far outwieghs the difficulty of their passing. It is no wonder we have a hard time when a trusted companion passes. We invite our pets into our homes and treat them like members of the family……like that small furry member of your family that can be mischevious!

I had a particularly hard time with the passing of the best dog I have ever owned, a springer spaniel named Brooke. She was the smartest, friendliest and most loyal dog I have ever known. I guess you could say that me and Brooke grew up together in a rural town in Southeastern Arizona. In the best childhood memories I can remember Brooke was right by my side through thick and thin and believe me it got pretty thick a couple times!

But as was said, although it can be difficult to deal with the passing of a pet, death is a part of life and enjoying the companionship of a pet far outwieghs the difficulty of their passing.

]]> By: Liz Foster http://juliemurphree.org/?p=815&cpage=1#comment-2650 Liz Foster Fri, 26 Oct 2007 20:25:12 +0000 http://juliemurphree.org/?p=815#comment-2650 We had animals on the ranch and I cried a few times when dogs or cats were killed. We had a lot of abandoned dogs that the people in town would drive out and just drop off. Once we had a poodle looking dog dropped off. My dad didn't know what to do with it because it definetly wasn't a cow dog. Well the Schwan's ice cream man came to get our order one month in the spring and accidently ran over it and killed it. He felt so bad that we got free ice cream for the entire summer. Dealth was always a fact of life. Nothing wrong with it. I did enjoy the ice cream though. We had animals on the ranch and I cried a few times when dogs or cats were killed. We had a lot of abandoned dogs that the people in town would drive out and just drop off. Once we had a poodle looking dog dropped off. My dad didn’t know what to do with it because it definetly wasn’t a cow dog. Well the Schwan’s ice cream man came to get our order one month in the spring and accidently ran over it and killed it. He felt so bad that we got free ice cream for the entire summer.

Dealth was always a fact of life. Nothing wrong with it. I did enjoy the ice cream though.

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