The Day I Lost My First Dog: A Story About Bronnie
My first experience of losing a dog came when I was just 12 years old. Her name was Bronlea — Bronnie for short — a beautiful German Shorthaired Pointer. I had known her since she was a couple of weeks old, as a family friend had bred her.
I took her to obedience school every Sunday morning, she slept in my bed, and she’d hide under the dinner table to eat my leftovers. My parents eventually caught on and put a stop to that, but I loved taking her everywhere I could. She had the most stunning, gentle nature, and I adored her.
When she was around five years old, she started collapsing spontaneously and having brief, mild seizures. As a 12-year-old, I was confused and deeply upset. After it happened a few times, my mother took her to the vet. The diagnosis was leukaemia. The vet wasn’t optimistic, but they started treatment. She showed some improvement at first, but it didn’t last.
I’ll never forget the day my parents told me she had passed away at the vet. I fell to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. It was the first time I had ever lost someone I loved. Even now, writing this brings tears to my eyes. To this day, every time I see a German Shorthaired Pointer, I smile and think of my beautiful girl. Losing Bronnie marked the beginning of my lifelong fascination with dogs and my career working with them.
The Grief Every Dog Owner Knows
Being a professional dog trainer doesn’t make the pain of losing a dog any easier. In fact, I’ve witnessed the heartbreak and grief of so many clients and friends when their beloved dogs pass. Because I often know their dogs well, I feel their loss too.
For me, losing a dog is no different from losing a family member or close friend. The emotions are exactly the same. We build a lifetime of memories together. Dogs enrich our lives in ways that are hard to put into words. As a trainer, I spend a lot of time working with dogs, but my favourite moments are still the simple ones — just hanging out and playing with them.
How Dogs Have Shaped My Life
I’ve had some very tough times in my life — moments where I nearly gave up. What kept me going were my dogs and the thought of what would happen to them if I wasn’t around. That responsibility pushed me to keep going and to fight through the hard times so I could continue giving them the best life possible.
Now, at 48 years old, losing one of my dogs would hurt just as much as it did when I was 12. Time heals the wounds, but I still remember every dog I’ve loved. I make a point of talking about them often to keep their memories alive. In doing so, I celebrate the incredible impact they had — and will always have — on my life.
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