My dog has epilepsy and he has been treated by the same vet for 4 years now. She pulled out the stops and tried really hard to find a good combinaion of medicines for him. The medicines are no longer working and tomorrow he will be PTS ...It is his time and when he was getting a bath to clean up after messing himself he gave me "The Look".....

Because she took such good care and tried everything dispite being unsure (had a lot of long converstions with a neuro in England...we live in NI) I woould like to send her and the staff a Token of appreciation.....from My Dog..who is oddly enough called Token.....so it would be a Token from Token.....I wont give it tomorrow because I'll be a wreck....maybe in a weeks time...

Any ideas what would bee appropriate to give???

Ta

So sorry to hear about Token. My thoughts will be with you tomorrow. I'm not sure what gift you could get but a heartfelt card or letter telling a bit about Token and thanking the vets for what they've done I am sure would be gratefully appreciated. I am guessing over the 4 years your vet has got to know Token well? Maybe you could give a gift that has some personal significance to Token?

I'm so sorry. Will be thinking of you both and sending you much love

Colleen

Will be thinking of you both . God bless ..

Jill

Really sorry to hear your sad news, we will all be thinking of you both. Love and Hugs Lois x

How about getting them a picture of Token, blown up or maybe a framed photo.

When i lost my first dog last year, i had a plaque done for her and when i lost my brother at the start of the year i had a plaque done for him and they sit side by side on my new bench.
Love and Hugs
Lois x

Will be thinking of you

Hayley

Hi Freewayz,

I'm so sorry to read about Token - tomorrow will be a very difficult day for you and you are being incredibly brave and loving for your boy.   Never easy but always the right thing.

You're being so caring about your vet and staff too which is lovely, particularly at such a terrible time.  I think the nicest thing you could do would be to give them a framed photo of your special lad - I'm sure they would appreciate it as they must have formed a deep and lasting bond with him too over the years of treatment.

May God bless you tomorrow with strength of mind, body and spirit.  Please give a gentle hug to Token from me.
Teri x

Not very original but chocolates for the vets/nurses to share always goes down well. Along with a lovely letter & picture they could put up in the surgery's waiting room.
Keep a look out for when rescue centres and places do memorial nights. They normally do things like light a candle and put memories/thanks/rememberances on pieces of paper and hang them from trees and suchlike. You could mention her in one of those.
Sorry to hear the bad news. Hope all goes OK.xxx My thought are with you.x

I'm so sorry to hear about Token.  Even though you are doing what's best for him, it doesn't make it any easier.  My thoughts are with you.

I agree with everyone else, a photo and maybe some chocolates or a box of biscuits would be a nice thank you to all at your vets surgery.

Simone x

I  am so sorry. Thinking of you

My thoughts are with you.  Your doing the best thing for him.  I know it's hard.

thinking of you both.

i think freds mums suggestion is a good one, or maybe a donation of some kind to a charity if they support any?

We have some doggy magazines that regularly run contests for naming your favourite Vet.  Even if your Vet doesn't win the runners up get a little notice with one of the nominating letters enclosed printed.  Maybe you could look into that in your area.  A Thank You insert in your local paper might be appreciated too, and would provide valuable advertising for your Vet.

I took a home made, real cherry pie into our Vets once and most of them were on diets and I don't think much of it was eaten.

So sorry to hear of your sad time with Token.  And by the way, I think that is a lovely, lovely name.

Thank-you All for your ideas. Token is now gone and was surrounded by his family....even the kids wanted to go in and be with him when he went. They are 18 and 17..but never had to go through this before so I am very proud they chose to stay.

I have decided to send the nurses the biggest bunch of flowers I can find...and to his vet a nice Belgian Shepherd figurine so she can remeber him.

His vet did not see him off but her husband did and he was very kind and told us how much they enjoyed him as a patient and he said SHE had formed an attachment of sorts after taking care of him for 4 years. Token was also a patient who expanded their understanding of epilepsy and they are now aware of alternate treatments and also will no longer be a practice afraid to try the unconventional....when the standard treatments don't work.

Thank-you all for you sympathies ..It is greatfully accepted and it helps ease Tokens passing a little bit.

Ta
Cheers
Jules

ONLY WANTED YOU

They say memories are golden
well maybe that is true
I never wanted memories,
I only wanted you.

A million times I needed you,
a million times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you
you never would have died.

In life I loved you dearly,
In death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a place
no one could ever fill.

If tears could build a stairway
and heartache make a lane,
I'd walk the path to heaven
and bring you back again.

Our family chain is broken,
and nothing seems the same.
But as God calls us one by one,
the chain will link again.

--- Anonymous ---

Hugs xx

Colleen

That's a very thoughtful and precious gift from you and Token :)  I'm sorry, I hadn't realised he was a BSD.  You've done so well by him and I hope that sooner rather than later all your memories are of happier times with your boy.

I thought I'd add this poem - I've always found it very moving.

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie -
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear.

When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find - it's your own affair -
But . . . you've given your heart to a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!)
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone - wherever it goes - for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear.

We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept'em, the more do we grieve;

For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-time loan is as bad as a long
So why in Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?
  RUDYARD KIPLING

Run free Token and enjoy making many new friends who eagerly await your company at the bride.
Teri xxx

Thanks..Love the poems...My Fav Story long before today is this one:

A Man and His Dog
A man and his dog were walking along a road.  The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.
After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother of pearl and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.
He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a beautifully carved desk off to one side. When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
"This is Heaven, " the man answered.
The old man was really tired and very thirsty so he asked for a drink of water. "Of course. Come right in," the gatekeeper smiled,  "and I'll have some ice water brought right up." The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
The old dog looked up at his master's face, tail wagging. "Oh, and may I have a bowl of water for my friend here," the old man said gesturing toward his dog, "he and I have come a long way together."
"I'm sorry, sir," was the quick reply, "but we don't accept pets here. You'll have to leave him outside."
The old man was really tired of walking and very thirsty but he could not think of leaving his pet behind.  Head down, he turned sorrowfully back toward the road.  After awhile he came to a narrow dirt road, which led him through an old wooden gate, and into a farmyard.  The fence was mostly on the ground and the gate looked like it had never been closed as grass and wild flowers grew all around it. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.
The traveler and his dog walked through the gate and approached the man.  "Could I trouble you for a drink of water," he asked.
"Sure can," replied the man.  "There's a pump over there in the yard.  Come on in and help yourself."
"How about my friend here?" the traveler motioned to the dog.
"Sure, he's welcome too.  There's a pan by the pump if he's thirsty," the reader said.
The tired old man and his aged dog walked through the gate and sure enough there was an old-fashioned hand pump fastened to a wooden slab.  A long handled tin dipper hung on a piece of baling wire beside it.  On the top of the pump, was a big, metal pan that would hold all the water his dog might want.
The traveler filled the bowl for his dog and then took a long drink of the cool water.  He had never tasted anything so good he thought and suddenly all his aches and pains vanished. He felt like a young man.
As he reached down to pet the graying muzzle of his dog, he saw to his amazement the grey was gone from his dog's hair and broke into a laugh as his dog sprang up to the top of the well and licked his master's face.
Filled with wonder, the man who was no longer old, strode back to the tree where his host sat reading.  "What place is this?" He asked.
"Why, this is Heaven," came the answer.
Confused, the traveler scratched his head, "I never thought Heaven looked like this.  I came to another place back down the road that I thought was surely Heaven.  The gatekeeper invited me inside but he wouldn't let my dog come in, so I just kept walking."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's the front door to Hell."
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?" the traveler asked in disbelief.
"Oh not at all. I can see how you might think so, but we're just happy that they screen out the folks who'll leave their best friends behind."

I'm just dropping in to say I am sorry to hear your sad news and I am sure Token is now enjoying himself without a care in the world.

That's a lovely story - I know as a groomer I am forming personal attachments to my clients, there's a couple I know I will cry when I get the sad news, so I am certain the vet was fond of him too and will appreciate your present. Run free Token. :-(

I am so sorry to hear of Tokens loss.  You did all you could for him, and in his last moments, you and your family were there for him, and he knows that he is truely loved. 

Run Free at the Bridge Token, always waiting for the day your family comes to join you in your romp through the hills.

Rainbow Bridge

- Author Unknown -

Just this side of Heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor: those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing: they each miss someone very special, someone who was left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent: his eager body begins to quiver. Suddenly, he breaks from the group, flying over the green grass, faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into those trusting eyes, so long gone from your life, but never absent from your heart. Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together...

big hugs and well done for doing the best for him, hope your all ok

I've come in late here as I avoided the subject due to the fact that my VET died suddenly and unexpectedly just over a week ago, and as so often when you think you have all the time in the world, I never gave him any of the gifts I had planned on doing, as a thank you for all the wonderful help and friendship over the years. I so regret that. So I didn't know what was behind the subject here -sorry. From one BSD owner to another, a big hug to you in your loss.

My deepest sympathies to you Freewayz.

I'm probably way too late for a suggestion, but a friend of mine wanted to do a similar thing a couple of years ago and ended up getting a cherry tree for the surgery. They planted it out the front of the surgery, at the edge of the car park, and it looks lovely. I can't drive past without thinking of her and her dog.

I think quite a few of the other doggies clients have made use of it too over the years! Its a lovely gesture from you to your veterinary practice and whatever you decide I'm sure that they will appreciate it greatly.

B.B

Freewayz I think your ideas for gifts are just great.  Just wanted to say that I've had a weep for Token myself, and I'm proud of you for loving him enough to do the right thing.   Hugs.  Jean