FAIRMOUNT — If you’ve ever lost a pet to death, you understand how long the pain lingers.

For James Darr of Fairmount, it’s still difficult to talk about his dog, Thorne, a year after the Rottweiler’s death.

“He was there for me every morning and night,” Darr said.

The two used to have coffee together in the morning and read the paper in the evening.

Last fall, the 9-year-old dog developed a knot on his leg, which turned out to be bone cancer. Darr took Thorne to three radiation treatments at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

“They were just excellent,” he recalled. “They treat you with respect.”

But the prognosis wasn’t good, and Darr made the heart-wrenching decision to euthanize Thorne on Sept. 11, 2006.

He handled the grief on his own, but, in hindsight, he would recommend a pet owner seek counseling or call the pet-loss hotline operated by vet students at the U of I.

“Any help would be nice,” he said. “I know how people get attached to dogs. They’re part of the family.”

The hotline, in its 10th year, takes calls from pet owners who are grieving the death or even the loss of an animal who disappears. The hotline workers will send out packets of information with tips on how to handle the loss.

They also will mail a condolence card, and another on the one-year anniversary.

When a person loses a pet, friends and co-workers might be sympathetic at the time. But they don’t remember the one-year anniversary like the owner does.

Darr and his wife, Melanie, got Thorne when he was a 4-pound puppy. He grew into a 140-pound gentle giant. He loved kids, and he especially bonded with Darr.

“They’re great dogs,” Darr said of Rottweilers. “They just love people.”

The dog was in good shape, and seemed healthy at Darr’s son’s wedding last summer. Because of the dog’s size and a tendency toward lameness, Darr kept a close eye on Thorne.

One day, he noticed the knot on the leg, and took the dog to Dr. Wes Bieritz. The vet diagnosed it as bone cancer, but referred Darr to the U of I for confirmation and treatment.

They tried radiation, but Darr said, “I promised myself I wouldn’t put him through pain.”

Making the decision to euthanize was difficult, he said, adding, “We struggled with that. I still do.”

He knows it was the right thing to do, but wonders whether he should have waited a little longer.

Still, he said, “You have to think about the animal.”

In his final days, Thorne stayed indoors at night. Darr got used to their routine.

What he likes about dogs is they love a person unconditionally. “If I have a good day or a bad day, he’s still there for me,” he said.

The good news is that Darr has a new dog in his life — a 2-year-old Rottweiler named Eli, who joined the family three months ago. Darr found Eli through the Rottweiler rescue group in Champaign. The dog had been running loose in Ford County and was skin and bones when Darr adopted him.

“He’s a big goofy dog,” Darr said affectionately.

As Darr and others will tell you, a pet becomes part of the family, and its loss leaves a void. When people grieve, it’s real, and those feelings shouldn’t be suppressed.

If you’re grieving for a pet now, you might want to call the CARE Pet Loss Helpline at 244-2273, or toll-free at (877) 394-2273. You also may e-mail griefhelp@cvm.uiuc.edu.

Volunteers answer the phones from 7-9 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Another good resource is the helpline’s Web site, which offers a lot of tips and reading lists. Its address is http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/CARE/

Contact Mary Wicoff at 477-5161, send an e-mail to mwicoff@dancomnews.com or write to Commercial-News, 17 W. North, Danville, IL 61832.

ELSEWHERE

See Page 1D in the YOU section for a story about the University of Illinois Vet-erinary Teaching Hospital’s services and the pet-loss helpline. You’ll also find details about a benefit on Friday to raise money for the helpline.