"Tonight we truly wined and dined with Kings and Queens" - Vicent "Dusty" Rhodes
I don't really know where to start, 'lost for words?' How unlike me, particularly on my Live Journal. It's been a long time since I've updated on here, I've never felt the need to, to be honest. That all changed today.
Soul King "Bowser" Campbell
Tuesday, 9th March 1993 - Friday, 14th December 2007
It still hasn't quite sunk in yet, but on Friday, Bowser past away. We knew it was coming soon and we, as a family, decided the best way to do it and at 18:50pm he fell asleep for the last time in my arms.
Words can't describe how it felt being in that tiny room at the Vets with my Dad. After much deliberation between my twin and I we decided that it was better if I went with Dad and he stayed with Mum at home. I don't think I could have coped being at home and having the job to remove all of his belongings into the garage.
After it happened I had such a feeling of guilt, something I felt I would never be able to shift. I fell asleep that night the quickest I've ever managed to "drop off" and I woke up early feeling happy. I left the house and the sky was beautiful. I knew then that I need not feel guilty anymore.
My dad keeps saying how funny it is that something like a dog can make a family feel this way. We all loved Bowser as we love each other, he is always going to be part of this family. If there is one thing we can remember him for it is for showing this family how to show emotion to each other and to bring us closer together.
I always remember the feeling of sitting in the waiting room at the Doctors with Matthew and our parents. I was so scared. We had this phobia of dogs, we were terrified of them, any shape and size. We went into the Doctors and I still remember I was 8 years old and wanted to slap the Doctor for the classic line "you should get a dog,". I was sitting there like, nodding away, listening going "yeah we're scared of dogs...any medicine for that?", and when I heard him say to my parents to get a dog I suddenly sprung up thinking "you have to be bloody joking!!". He wasn't. We got out of the Doctors and we went to the local shop for a sweetie since we were so brave, I choose a "Caramac" bar which I never tried before, I hated it. Go figure. It wasn't a turning out to be a good day.
I remember our family talking about what sort of dog to get, I was very much uninterested. I did however have a small spot for a "Westie" but no one other than my Mum jumped on that idea with much enthusiasm. A friend at my dads work recommend a Miniature Schnauzer and I always remember my dad using the yellow pages and going online to find a breeder that had puppies to sell.
We drove from Inverness to Leeds and back again in the one day. Matthew and I stayed in the car as Eddie and my parents went in to "pick" a dog. I sat in the car after we started to drive home so scared. Matthew was much braver than I was, he took a strong liking to him straight away, I was less than pleased. I felt like I was an outsider in my own bloody house.
I'm not going to sit here and bore everyone with stories about Bowser Campbell, there are almost 15 years of them! One thing I will say however, is I remember the day I fell in love with Bowser and even when I wasn't keen on having him in the house, he always showed his love to us.
We are all going to have our own memories and favorite stories with Bowser, I'm finding out things these days that I didn't even know about him! I guess we all have a different bond with him. I personally will always remember him for bringing so much happiness into our lives, even through sad times. I remember sitting in my bed after school in tears sometimes and I'd hear the sound of his collar and my door would open slightly and the next thing I knew Bowser was sitting on my bed next to me. He always seemed to know when I felt sad. When we were younger and walking him, if there ever was a bigger dog in front of us, on a lead or not, Bowser would always put himself in front of us, always. He always did what he felt he had to do to protect us and to keep us save. It's been a privilege having him in my live for so long and in the future. His legacy will live with us forever and if I had to go into that room again tomorrow, or any day, I would do so without hesitation because we did what was best for him and I like to believe he knows that. I was the last person he saw before he past away and I'm proud to call him part of the family, a King, a brother.
We will never forget you Bowser.
And one last thing. Some people seem to be amazed or impressed at what I did that night. I remember this quote:
"One thing you will discover is that life is based less than you think on what you've learned and much more than you think in what you have inside of you right from the beginning""
Soul King "Bowser" Campbell
Tuesday, 9th March 1993 - Friday, 14th December 2007
It still hasn't quite sunk in yet, but on Friday, Bowser past away. We knew it was coming soon and we, as a family, decided the best way to do it and at 18:50pm he fell asleep for the last time in my arms.
Words can't describe how it felt being in that tiny room at the Vets with my Dad. After much deliberation between my twin and I we decided that it was better if I went with Dad and he stayed with Mum at home. I don't think I could have coped being at home and having the job to remove all of his belongings into the garage.
After it happened I had such a feeling of guilt, something I felt I would never be able to shift. I fell asleep that night the quickest I've ever managed to "drop off" and I woke up early feeling happy. I left the house and the sky was beautiful. I knew then that I need not feel guilty anymore.
My dad keeps saying how funny it is that something like a dog can make a family feel this way. We all loved Bowser as we love each other, he is always going to be part of this family. If there is one thing we can remember him for it is for showing this family how to show emotion to each other and to bring us closer together.
I always remember the feeling of sitting in the waiting room at the Doctors with Matthew and our parents. I was so scared. We had this phobia of dogs, we were terrified of them, any shape and size. We went into the Doctors and I still remember I was 8 years old and wanted to slap the Doctor for the classic line "you should get a dog,". I was sitting there like, nodding away, listening going "yeah we're scared of dogs...any medicine for that?", and when I heard him say to my parents to get a dog I suddenly sprung up thinking "you have to be bloody joking!!". He wasn't. We got out of the Doctors and we went to the local shop for a sweetie since we were so brave, I choose a "Caramac" bar which I never tried before, I hated it. Go figure. It wasn't a turning out to be a good day.
I remember our family talking about what sort of dog to get, I was very much uninterested. I did however have a small spot for a "Westie" but no one other than my Mum jumped on that idea with much enthusiasm. A friend at my dads work recommend a Miniature Schnauzer and I always remember my dad using the yellow pages and going online to find a breeder that had puppies to sell.
We drove from Inverness to Leeds and back again in the one day. Matthew and I stayed in the car as Eddie and my parents went in to "pick" a dog. I sat in the car after we started to drive home so scared. Matthew was much braver than I was, he took a strong liking to him straight away, I was less than pleased. I felt like I was an outsider in my own bloody house.
I'm not going to sit here and bore everyone with stories about Bowser Campbell, there are almost 15 years of them! One thing I will say however, is I remember the day I fell in love with Bowser and even when I wasn't keen on having him in the house, he always showed his love to us.
We are all going to have our own memories and favorite stories with Bowser, I'm finding out things these days that I didn't even know about him! I guess we all have a different bond with him. I personally will always remember him for bringing so much happiness into our lives, even through sad times. I remember sitting in my bed after school in tears sometimes and I'd hear the sound of his collar and my door would open slightly and the next thing I knew Bowser was sitting on my bed next to me. He always seemed to know when I felt sad. When we were younger and walking him, if there ever was a bigger dog in front of us, on a lead or not, Bowser would always put himself in front of us, always. He always did what he felt he had to do to protect us and to keep us save. It's been a privilege having him in my live for so long and in the future. His legacy will live with us forever and if I had to go into that room again tomorrow, or any day, I would do so without hesitation because we did what was best for him and I like to believe he knows that. I was the last person he saw before he past away and I'm proud to call him part of the family, a King, a brother.
We will never forget you Bowser.
And one last thing. Some people seem to be amazed or impressed at what I did that night. I remember this quote:
"One thing you will discover is that life is based less than you think on what you've learned and much more than you think in what you have inside of you right from the beginning""