This ‘N That Thursday

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Today we are joining 2 Brown Dawgs & co-host Ruckus the Eskie  for their This ‘N That Thursday’s blog hop!
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This is what they have to say about the hop,

A little of this and a little of that and everything in between…

“This ‘N That Thursday is for anything you want!  Maybe you want to post about unrelated topics, or each topic isn’t quite long enough to make up a whole post, or you have awards to share, or you have one long post…anything goes!  So grab the button and join the hop!”
I wanted to share more photos from our photo shoot last week.
 This day will forever be etched into my heart. This was the last outing I had with my soulmate. I am so glad I had these pictures taken.
I don’t even know where to begin or what to say. Yesterday I joined in the new blog hop by Jacky and Peggy which was Give Cancer The Paw. I wrote that post last week, last week when Norman was doing alright. He was still limping and I could see the bone cancer was getting a little bigger but he was still managing to get around alright. I still didn’t know when the right time was going to be. I was hoping for another milestone with Norman but that all came to a end Tuesday night when I got home. I go out of town every Monday and come back Tuesday night, when I came back home Norman greeted me limping more than before, I saw that the tumor on his shoulder doubled in size. He was more unstable when he walked. John and I talked and our promise to Norman when he was diagnosed last June was that we would not let him suffer. He gave us 13 years of great memories and there was no way we would let him suffer in the end. He was going to leave this world in dignity and so Wednesday morning we took the final truck ride with breath in his lungs. When Norman’s soul went up to heaven and all that was left was his body we took another trip to the crematorium. I laid Norman to rest, a few hours later he was back by my side. I will write more about my experience doing priority cremation later. We will continue to Give Cancer The Paw as cancer will not win!
We submit our loved one into your loving hands, heavenly father.
Take care of him and love him dearly as we did.
Dress him in his heavenly body with renewed health and vigor
Once again to breath freely of sweetened air.Take care of him and love him dearly as we did.
Let our hearts be lifted and not saddened
As we commit his earthly body back,
Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust.He will live on in our memories and our hearts,
As surely as you have received our prayers.
We know that he will watch over us from heaven.We now submit our loved one into your heavenly hands.

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Stancer, Norman J

HRCH Sand Spring Norm Of Caroway MH call name “Norman”, Sand Spring Chesapeakes foundation stud age 13, (96 in doggy years) of Cambria, WI., born to eternal life November 6 2013 from osteosarcoma. He was born November 3, 2000, his parents were HRCH UH CH Cursans Plan-O-Bud SH and Caroways Tasha WD. He trained and competed in AKC & UKC hunt tests. He received is AKC Junior Hunter title at age 10 months. He went on to receive his AKC Senior Hunter title when he was 3.75 years old. After that he went on to receive his UKC HRCH title at age 6 and AKC Master Hunter title at age 7. During this time he continued to be a treasured family companion, dedicated hunter of waterfowl, upland birds and an occasional crane while hunting in Saskatchewan which he participated in 3 snow geese hunts with our good friend Mike F. He also hunted many pheasant farms. When not hunting or training you would find him curled up next to his mother JoAnn on the couch. That was his spot, to guard and protect her. He was always looking for someone to throw something for him, he had many tricks to get people to throw something just so he could retrieve, he loved to retrieve. He was always wagging his tail and putting a smile on the face of all. He is survived by his Mother JoAnn, Father John, Daughter Nellie, Son Gambler and Granddaughter Glory whom all resign at their home in Cambria. He is also survived by his other 14 children along with 22 grandchildren whom resign all over the US and the UK. Norman will live on… when you go to the Chesapeake breed profile page on the Westminster Kennel Club website you will be greeted by the most handsomest guy. Norman will be missed by all whom have met him as he left paw prints on their hearts. In lieu of flowers, give your pet a hug and their favorite treat and tell them you love them. If you would like to do more, make a donation to your local Humane Society or to the Morris Animal Foundation.

A little of that:

Who wouldn’t want to see a cute little MK during all this sadness?

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So that wraps it up for today, why don’t you hop on over to 2 Brown Dawgs & co-host Ruckus the Eskie see what their up to and grab the badge and join the hopping fun!

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47 Replies to “This ‘N That Thursday”

  1. 2browndawgs

    You wrote such a lovely tribute to Norman. Thanks so much for adding it to my hop. I hope your heart is lifted and the sadness fades with each passing day. MK makes me smile. 🙂

  2. amywern

    You gave your buddy a selfless gift of peace. Draw strength from all those wonderful memories and continue to let the other furry knuckleheads help you through the sad times. MK will always be a special gift — cutie pie that she is. 🙂

  4. Jessica @ Life with Duke

    I agree, what a fabulous tribute. I am so sorry for your loss, though I am very impressed by your decision to ensure that Norman did not suffer unnecessarily – I can only imagine how difficult that must be. Our hearts are with you during this difficult time.

  5. Jodi

    What a beautiful post JoAnn, I know your heart is broken, but still you found the words. Your strength and courage are amazing. I know Norman is looking down at you and will always watch over you.

    If you need anything, please let me know. Hugs to you my friend.

  6. SlimDoggy (@MySlimDoggy)

    A fitting tribute to Norman. I never met him, but felt close to him through your stories and through our Becca who shared his diagnosis. You gave him a loving and happy life and as you said, his dignity at the end. You have his children and grandchildren (and MK of course) to bring you some comfort and know that he’s watching over you, loving you just as he did when he was here.

  9. Jayne

    What a lovely tribute to your soulmate Jo. Again I cry as I know your heart is broken. Take comfort in knowing what a wonderful life your Norman had with you and his family and how very much he was/is loved. You are a very strong woman and I admire you. Sending big hugs and lots of love to you. xo

  11. tarynft

    Such lovely photographs. I am so sorry about Norman.

    Say not in grief
    “He is no more”
    but live in the thankfulness
    That he was….
    Hebrew proverb

  12. FleaByte

    Norman was an amazing dog who lived a long, full life. I’m sorry he had to pass with cancer, but his life and yours were so rich. Thank you for sharing him with us all this time.

  14. Jan K

    What a lovely, lovely post. Tears have come every time I thought of you after seeing your post on Facebook yesterday. You cherished Norman for his whole life, and especially at the end doing all you could for him and letting him go when it was time. We all need to remember to cherish our pets every day, because we never know when their time will be up.
    I’m glad you have your other pets to help you through this difficult time. Seeing MK’s sweet face has to go at least a little way towards healing.

  15. Jackie Bouchardj

    I’m so sorry you lost Norman to that horrible disease. I was so sad to see that he was already gone, even while I was reading your lovely post yesterday and looking at his beautiful photos. I’m SO glad though that you got those extra months with him past his diagnosis. I know you will cherish every day of that time, as we did with our Abby. We also did a family photo shoot the week before we lost Ab, and the pictures are such a wonderful treasure to me – so I’m so glad that you have those photos of Norman to also treasure. It takes a long time to get over the loss of a heart-dog. Don’t let anyone try to rush you. Hopefully you’ll have a good outlet for your grief (maybe this blog?). I know writing about Abby helped me after losing her, and I also worked on putting some of my favorite pictures of her into a scrap book. Also, talking to others who’d been there helped.

    I hope that you’ll remember him with more smiles than tears sooner than you think. You were so lucky to have each other. He’ll live on in your hearts and in his offspring. Hang in there.

  16. Donna and the Dogs

    I’m so sorry to hear the sad news and my thoughts are with you and your husband at this difficult time. The photos you shared were all lovely and I’m sure you’ll cherish them always. The tribute you shared brought tears to my eyes. Run free sweet Norman. You left quite a legacy in your wake and will be missed by all.

  17. Misty Shores Chesapeakes

    JoAnn you wrote a lovely tribute to Norman. The photos are wonderful and you can see how happy you all are in them. I hope your spirits will be lifted in the coming days when you think about all the wonderful memories you created over the years with your soulmate aka Norman. Hang in there my friend!

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  22. Dogs N Pawz

    I am so sorry. I missed this and it breaks my heart. Tears are running down my cheeks as I try to write. The tribute to Norman is beautiful. I have to believe that Phe was up there waiting for Norman to show him the ropes! RIP Sweet, Beautiful Norman. May you run fast and forever free. Sending lots of thoughts and hugs.

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  24. Dakota/Caren/Cody

    Oh JoAnn! I am so sorry that I missed this. My heart breaks for you. Precious Norman knew how deeply loved he was and will forever be. That is the greatest gift of all. Holding you close in my heart and in my prayers. Much love, Caren and Dakota

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