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
Such beautiful words Nagi 💙
Take comfort that he felt your love all the way to heaven…..
Thankyou for sharing him with us, we are all heartbroken 💔
Nagi- that is the most beautiful tribute to your gorgeous Dozer. Take care and thank you for sharing..
Oh Nagi,
As I sit here at my work desk with a million tears streaming down my face, I keep remembering meeting you and your beautiful boy and what a lasting impression you made on me. Absolute and unbridled love for each other for all to see. Thank you for sharing him with us. My deepest condolences to you on the loss of beautiful Dozer. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I’m in tears here reading this. Dozer was so loved and had the best life a dog possibly could! You have him everything! You are the best dog mama! Sending hugs. ❤️
Dearest Nagi, your words are beautiful just like Dozer. There is nothing like the pain of losing a dog but it is so worth it for the complete joy & love that they bring to our lives. I am hugging my Goldie just that little bit closer today. sending you all the love in the world xx
Dozer was fortunate to have had your love and you were fortunate to have had his. Treasure the memories forever. Your heart will mend ♥️. For now I send you a warm embrace.
Ohhh Nagi
My heart bleeds for you. I know the heartbreak you are feeling. My border collie Lizzie and my German Shepherd CAS were my soul mates, and saying goodbye is so devastating. My only advice is to get yourself, when the time is right, for you is to get yourself a puppy to give most of the love you have, but always knowing how much you loved for your dearest Dozer.
Lots of love – Joan Merry ❤️❤️❤️
So many sweet memories to hold
Unconditional love is taught to us by our puppies, it is a rare love.
May we all try to emulate the love received by our dogs, the world would then find happiness.
Sending hugs and love. Dozer will be so missed. xoxo
Nagi, I am so sorry to hear about Dozer. He was such a love. I enjoyed seeing him as much as reading/seeing your recipes. I will say a prayer for him. Bless you, Nagi, and all of your memories of Dozer.
Dozer you beautiful beautiful Boy, You go and run free with all your paw friends up in the sky, I’m sure you will visit your Mummy in her dreams, All my love to you Nagi xxx
Its just so bloody hard when they leave, hugs to you xxx
So many sweet memories to hold
Unconditional love is taught to us by our puppies, it is a rare love.
May we all try to emulate the love received by our dogs, the world would then find happiness.
Tis very hard losing a best friend ,so much Fun,Play Love and Comforting cuddles.
So many good and lovely memories to hold in your ❤️.
Forever Loved 🌹❤️🌹❤️
My heart is breaking as yours is.
what amazing beautiful memories you have to recall on. Bless you Nagi and RIP sweet Dozer.
Arohanui ki a korua, ko Nagi, ko Dozer. Haere rā Dozer, Moe Mai ra! My deepest condolences to both you and Dozer, Nagi. Goodbye Dozer and sleep the long sleep. I hope you can see a way through this painful time, Nagi as it is so hard to lose such a loyal and faithful friend. My best, Prue- a dedicated admirer of both of you- you make the world a far better place.
Nagi I am so sorry to hear about Dozer. I lost my dog a couple of years ago and there isn’t a day I don’t think of him. I even slept with his soft toy up until recently.
You can only think how lucky Dozer was to have you as his mum, and I am sure he knew it.
My heart goes out to you.
Please accept my sincere condolences to you and your family and your Team of fantastic chefs and food creaters. The loss of your furry food producer must hurt you deeply but be thankful you did everything you could for him. We have to accept that the lives of our pets are just not as long as ours, so sooner or later we have to part company, which is always very sad.
Be brave and cherish all the wonderful times you had for the past 14 years.
Your dedicated followers offer you all the support, thoughts and prayers they can give to you during this difficult time.
Thank you for caring so fantastically for him. He had a tremedous life.
Fond regards,
Colin
Montagu, Western Cape, South Africa.
So sorry for your loss. I hope you can take some consolation in knowing that Dozer lived his very best life with you
Dozer was fortunate to have had your love and you were fortunate to have had his. Treasure the memories forever. Your heart will mend ♥️. For now I send you a warm embrace. RIP. Dozer.