The only thing worse is losing a child.
One of my most beloved shepherds I've ever had, had terminal cancer a couple years ago. The night before I was scheduled to go in and put her down at the Vets, I knelt down beside her, closed my eyes and said a prayer,
"Dear God, please take my precious Jessie gently and peacefully in her sleep tonight, I can't bear the pain again of having to watch them take the life out of another one of my Shepherds."
I kissed her goodnight, stroked her head softly, gave her a look in her eyes telling her I loved her with all my heart and went to bed.
At about 6:00 am I felt a rush of chilled air above me and jolted up out of bed. I ran over to her, saying her name but she was motionless and had incredibly passed on in her sleep as I had prayed for.
