I empathize with your pain. I had to put down my hunting companion of 15+ years a few years ago...one of the hardest things I've ever done...he went to sleep in my arms. I cried like a baby.




Just prior to his passing, he had a mild stroke. I knew he wouldn't be with us much longer so I cut some of his fur from him and tied a series of flies with the hair/fur I collected from him.

After we had to put him down, we had him cremated. His ashes are in a small, really nice wooden box with an engraved plaque, the picture you see above, and a shadow box with the flies I tied from his hair...kind of a memorial and tribute to him. It sits today on the mantle over my fireplace.

Think of the good times. Here is a story about my friend and companion I like to tell and I swear it is absolutely true:

Beoun was about 3 years old at the time I was going to school at LSU. We lived in an apartment and I fed him only good-quality dog food...kept him real "regular" which is important for a large dog living in the house.

I had to go out-of-town for the weekend and could not bring him so I boarded him at the local vet, not thinking about him being fed a different type of dog food.

I came back on Monday morning, picked him up at the vet (he was all excited and jumped in the back of my truck) and brought him home and went back to work. I came back about 4:30...walked in front of my apartment noticing that the front bay window was shattered. He could not get out because there were burglar bars in the window.

I went to the front door, opened it, and there sat Beoun...ears laid back with the MOST PITIFUL look you could ever see on his face.

He had to go to the bathroom SO BAD and didn't want to go in the house...he broke the front window...stuck his rear end up against the burglar bars...and POOPED OUT OF THE WINDOW!!

I patted him on the head and said "Good dog!!"

I surely do miss him but he had a wonderful life!

P.S., He saved many a duck for me including the one in the photo.