I held his paw and slept by his side for 14 days in hospital. But it turned out, all the love in the world wasn’t enough to save him. Thus begins the final post on Life of Dozer.
My dearest Dozer,
You came into my life in my arms, holding you protectively. And after almost 14 years together, I held you in my arms protectively again as I said goodbye.
I was sobbing so hard, I forgot everything I wanted to say to you in our final moments together.
So I started writing this letter to you, to say all those things.
I wanted to reminisce about our wonderful times – the thousands of visits to the dog beach, all the wonderful food we sampled together, the cuddles, the neck-scratching-sessions, our road trips.
I wanted to thank you for spreading the joy that is you with readers all around the world, for happily coming along with me to meet readers at events, book signings, fund raisers, lunches, dinners, not to mention TV shows, photo shoots, and my gosh, we can’t forget our stint on Play School!
But as I sit here, typing away with tears streaming down my face, I realise that’s not what I want to say to you.
What I want to say is thank you.
Thank you for giving me your whole heart.
Thank you for giving me your unconditional loyalty.
Thank you for loving me just as I am, for all my flaws, for never caring what I weigh, what I wear, what I look like.
Thank you for always being there, my one constant through the good and bad times.
Thank you for making me smile, even on the hardest of days.
And thank you for trying so hard to stay with me as long as you could, fighting to heal until your very last day. I will never forget how deep you had to dig to find the strength for your rehab walk on our final morning together.
I know that one day, I will be able to look at photos of you again without sobbing. And I know all this pain I am feeling is because I loved you so fiercely and completely, and I wouldn’t trade it for a second I got to spend with you.
But right now, four days after saying goodbye, it feels like the heartbreak will never heal, like I will never smile again.
Rest in peace, my darling Dozer. I will never forget you, and I will never stop loving you.
Love,
Your mum xoxo
Thank you SASH
To the vets and nurses at the Small Animal Specialist Hospital (SASH),
Thank you for the extraordinary care, skill, and kindness you showed Dozer. Every moment, from the medical expertise to the gentle reassurance and cheering him on, meant more to me than I can say. Knowing he was in such capable, compassionate hands gave me comfort during the hardest days. I will always be deeply grateful for everything you did for my beautiful boy. – Nagi x
Sob away for as hard and as long as you need…..Virtual hugs
Dearest deareset Nagi-
‘Somewhere over the rainbow….
Way up high..
There’s a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby’
Sending you lots of hugs and love in your incredibly difficult time 💜
Dear Nagi.
I’m so very sorry for your loss but as you will be well aware that your grief is being felt all around the world.
R.I.P DOZER.
Thank you for letting us share the wonderful life of Dozer. I shall never forget him.
Time for him to rest now xx
Love you Nagi. Love you Dozer. May we all meet again at The Rainbow Bridge. You both are/were a karmic force of GOODNESS. *NamYaHoRegeKyo”. Peace.
So very sorry, such heartbreak. Your beautiful boy is loved and will be missed around the world. Take heart in your grief – there are no tears or fears in heaven; to him it will be but the blink of an eye until you are with him again xo
I am so very sorry, Nagi.
🌈🌈🌈 Go find Cooper, Nougat and Callie at Rainbow Bridge, sweet boy. They will keep you company until we get there. 💕💕💕💕
Crying here….so sorry for your lose……lhad to put my black spoodle girl down last July. She had a massive skin yeast infection. Even with treatment it continued to get worse l miss her everyday…..but l do have another spoodle girl named honey. They are the best most affectionate, shadow dog bred. She will be m6 last dog but hopefully we still have a few more left. I love your recipes Nagi……😘🌺🪻
My heart is breaking for you. They touch our hearts with their unconditional love and leave a void when they go. I still feel my Lotte around me and talk to her often. Six months down the track and missing a loving companion so much, we now have little Bonnie who is bringing us so much joy.
Wishing you so much love at this terrible time 🥰
Heartbroken!! I spent as much time reading about Dozer as reading your recipes. I always read the Dozer blog first. So sorry for you.
Dearest Nagi, I empathize with you having had to say goodbye to four of my furbabies. It was the hardest decision I ever made to send them over the rainbow bridge, but their bodies got tired, and I had to set their souls free to run around over the rainbow bridge with the other fur-angels, I have their names and pawprints tattooed on my back as my legacy to them and to show them I will always love them, even if they are not by my side anymore. I have their ashes in a pot so that they are with me, even though I cannot see them. I am fortunate enough to see them in my dreams. And I firmly believe that one day I will be re-united with them, as you will be with your precious Dozer. Sending you all the strength in the world to get through this difficult time. Lots of love, Bronwynne in Cape Town, South Africa.
I am so sorry to hear of your loss of your precious Dozer.
I understand your sadness- my best friend is my magnificent Doberman, Logie.
My condolences,
Meredith
Dear Nagi
I don’t know you ( except through your posts and amazing recipes) but I wanted to say how sorry I am about Dozer… but I also wanted to say, how lucky were you to be loved so unconditionally by him for all those years.
The pain eases.
But the constant hole in your heart tends to stick around.
Xx
I’m so sorry to hear that your beloved Dozer, has passed away. As an owner of 3 dogs who have passed, I totally understand that your emotions are in bits at present. Retrievers are the most. Empathetic and loving pets, and I’m tearing up writing this.
Cherish the wonderful memories of a much loved family member. RIP Dozer xxx
R.I.P. Dozer and condolences to you, Nagy. You gave Dozer the best life, if only all animal lovers were you. xxx
Dearest Nagi, words cannot express the sadness that I feel for you. Dozer loved you unconditionally as you did him and he will always, always be in your heart ♥️🐾♥️
Thank you for sharing the joy of Dozer with us Nagi.
Nothing prepares us for the pain of loss of our beloved fur family. Grief can be all consuming.
Thousands of us are thinking of you right now, it may not help a lot, but we are sharing your love. X
Dozer and Nagi,
You shared so much joy on the world. Skipping the recipes and going straight to your photos/stories was the best part of our morning so many times.
Pets are family and we’ll miss you.