Today is going to suck!

[gtblum]

Three days before Christmas and I have to put a 13 year old dog down.

The oldest of my lady friend's four border collies has bone cancer in her leg.

Even with what has to be excruciating pain from the swelling in her foot, all this dog wants, is to play with her tennis ball.

They don't lie, cheat, or scam you. You can yell at them, buzz them with helicopters, pull their tails, play dirty tricks on them, and eat steak in front of them. Other than your own mother, they are arguably the best example of unconditional love on the planet.

Pet your dog today.

[Scottpat]

Gary, we are in the same boat as you are. Our 15 yr. old girl still eats, drinks and everything else that goes along with it.... But the time has come (Cushing's disease, Arthritis, some senility, etc..). Last night when she did not come back to the door I went in the backyard and found her sitting on the side of the house waiting for me to open the door. The hard part is that she sleeps in our 13yr old son's room and will not go into the room untill he is in his bed. We are trying to put it off till the Christmas holidays are over, but I don't know if we can.

It is a difficult thing to do...

[hausdok]

Hi Guys,

I'm sorry for what will be terrible losses for each of you. I still get a lump in my throat when I think about my dog Bitsy. She was, without a doubt, the most loyal and selfless friend that I've ever had - no offense meant to my friends here - and it hurt a great deal when she died.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[kurt]

Boy, same here. I still have a pic of Rose above my desk.

Not much to say other than I'm sorry you're in this situation.

[mgbinspect]

Sad news, Kurt and Scott.

Hope there is some form of unexpected silver lining down the road a bit.

[Chad Fabry]

It's a tough pill to swallow. My condolences.

The dog I had from age 21 to 36 died when I was on a cruise. 13 years later I still feel guilt.

[Scottpat]

Boy, same here. I still have a pic of Rose above my desk.

Not much to say other than I'm sorry you're in this situation.

Our girl's name is Rosie! Lab / Pit bull mix, kind of looks like a potbelly pig!

Thanks guys for the thoughts.

[Marc]

I've had a few. One was repeatedly struck by traffic in front of me on a major 3 lane, one way (40 Mph) street in my hometown. I straddled two lanes with my 3/4 ton pickup in front of the dog, who was still alive, got out, locked it, then comforted her a moment and carried her to a grassy protected area nearby. It took 5 minutes to make the loop and get back there where I could park. She was already dead. I brought her home and my wife and I named her Lady then buried her alongside our other two dogs.

I don't understand some people.

Gary, my prayers will be with you and your family.

Marc

[gtblum]

Thanks guys for the thoughts.

Same here.

[Bain]

I won't waste your time with platitudes, Gary and Scott. But please know that I'm sorry.

I lost a German Shepherd a few years ago and my heart was completely broken. I had no inkling of how painful it would be until I lost that girl.

Life sucks sometimes. Sorry again.

[Darren]

Unless you own a dog, you have no idea the feelings and sorrow that goes into when you lose one.

Way back in the early 80's, my beagle unexpectedly died in my living room. The next day, I got pulled over by the cops; I was doing 50 in a 25 and didn't even know it.

Sorry guys....

[Stephen D. Gazo]

Well I gottas jump in here as well.

Last year, my 15year old Siberian wolf just starting peeing everywhere, in the house, there was more as you know, but...that is a sad drive home from the vet...three months later my 185pound newfoundlander died from torsion,,,I only know one thing about my dogs,,,when I come home they let me know they mised me and they couldnt care less how bad my day was. I now have a Golden Retriever/ Standard Poodle cross , or a GoldenDoodle, he's just nuts.

I feel for you, and I wish you all the strength to help your girlfriend thru this.

good luck

Stephen G

[Bill Kibbel]

That's quite sad. The other three BCs are going to be feeling sad as well. They'll be there for comfort and they'll need some too.

Our Border Collie turned 13 less than 2 weeks ago. We're fortunate that she's been quite healthy for so long. She's acts the same as when she was a couple months old - only a little arthritis in one knee, that keeps her from jumping for the Frisbee. At 13, she's our oldest child. My kids have been around her every day for their entire lives. When her time comes, I'm going to need to be sedated for a couple weeks.

[MMustola]

I am a dog lover also. My 10 year Jack Russell is sitting next to me on my lazy boy as I type this. My wife and I will be devastated when the day comes that our Sassy will no longer be with us.

I feel for all of you who have lost their best friend.

[Erby]

Been there done that. Will be again one of these days, hopefully a long time away.

My sympathies to y'all!

-

[John Dirks Jr]

Unconditional love is the absolute truth.

I've put two down in the past ten years due to age related complications.

When one of them would not even eat a slice of cheese, I knew there was a problem. He was wasting away with a hardened liver. He was 12+ and I'm not sure of his exact age since I got him as a stray. I could have done him better by feeding him lower protein food in his latter years. Older dogs livers can't handle the protein like younger ones can. The vet told me to get the lowest protein content food I could find but I didn't learn that until he was at least 10.

My current dog is a Beagle named Lyla. When I have a rough day, I come home and she's bonkers to see me. I wrap her up in my arms and she helps wash the stress away.

I'm sorry to hear about mis-fortunes with loving pets.

[Jim Baird]

the German poet Rilke said that we humans give dogs about half a soul but can't grant them any more, thus their parting is so hard.

[mgbinspect]

Well, I came home from the airport last night and with about 45 minutes m 17 year old Springer Spaniel had a stroke - lost much control of the rear legs, walking into walls, falling down, etc. By 2:00 AM, it was clear he was not going to get better and was completely out to lunch. So, I had to take him in and have him at down at 2:30 AM. The down side to dogs, we out live them. He had been stone deaf for three years and followed habnd signals. Good dog. So, I'm right there with ya.

[gtblum]

Well, I came home from the airport last night and with about 45 minutes m 17 year old Springer Spaniel had a stroke - lost much control of the rear legs, walking into walls, falling down, etc. By 2:00 AM, it was clear he was not going to get better and was completely out to lunch. So, I had to take him in and have him at down at 2:30 AM. The down side to dogs, we out live them. He had been stone deaf for three years and followed habnd signals. Good dog. So, I'm right there with ya.

Sorry, man.

[mgbinspect]

I knew it was coming, I just didn't expect anything like that.

[Bain]

Well, I came home from the airport last night and with about 45 minutes m 17 year old Springer Spaniel had a stroke - lost much control of the rear legs, walking into walls, falling down, etc. By 2:00 AM, it was clear he was not going to get better and was completely out to lunch. So, I had to take him in and have him at down at 2:30 AM. The down side to dogs, we out live them. He had been stone deaf for three years and followed habnd signals. Good dog. So, I'm right there with ya.

A friend of mine lost her dog under similar circumstances last week, Mike. I'm sorry.

I've talked with my friend a couple of times since she lost Kaleb, and she reminded me that the bond between humans and other species is like no other. She also talked about how some people dream of swimming with dolphins and how they describe sharing the ocean with another mammal as an experience like no other. My friend cried while she spoke, and explained that every day she had spent with Kaleb, the border collie, to her, was like swimming with the dolphins; magical, mystical, and profoundly joyful.

[Richard Moore]

Gary and Mike,

You can probably tell from my avatar that I'm a dog nut. I feel your pain. Over the last 24 years, the wife and I have had to put down four of our "children". Two had strokes at the end of long lives. Those were the slightly easier ones as they kind of told us it was time. The last, Charlie, about 6 years ago, was especially tough on me. He had developed lung cancer. Our vet said that it was operable although it might only extend his life for a year or two more. We went ahead and had the operation done. Horrible scars and he was extremely weak for some time after but then, after a couple of weeks, he suddenly seemed to come out of it and I thought I had my best buddy back. A few days after that he developed pneumonia and at one point he went outside, laid down and wouldn't move. (I'm tearing up typing this) I knew it was time but I was literally an emotional wreck and had to have the wife take him to the vet.

Our way of handling our grief is to fill the hole. We only lasted a week before finding Dudley (avatar) at PAWS. The new, greatest, best dog in the world! I know I will go through hell again when his time comes...but it's worth it, isnt it?

Your local shelters are full of dogs eager to help ease your pain if you will give them the second chance they all deserve.

[gtblum]

Your local shelters are full of dogs eager to help ease your pain if you will give them the second chance they all deserve.

Richard Moore

I agree.

Six months ago, I adopted a 9 year old Australian Shepherd (Sheena)from a family that couldn't take her with them when they moved.

Nobody else would take her and the next stop would have been her last.

I was just starting to enjoy my freedom from being happily tied down by a 17 year partnership with one of the best Snowshoe rabbit dogs that ever walked the face of the earth. Molly had been gone for two years and something made me start thinking about another dog, but there was no time to raise a puppy so, I took a chance on sheena and I'm glad I did.

I've raised more than my share of cute little home destroying puppies but, I had no idea what to expect from an older dog in an unfamiliar environment. She quickly adapted and trained me in no time at all.

Before I got her, I asked the person who had owned Sheena, how she got along with other dogs. I was told that the dog had never in 9 years been allowed to socialize with other dogs. We changed all that. This dog can't wait to take ride to play with the GF's Borders or any of her other new dog friends.

Richard's right about this. Take a chance on an older dog. You won't regret it.

And if you do and it doesn't work out, blame him.

[mgbinspect]

I've still got my hiking and wildlife photography companion, Winky, the Jack Russell in the Fetch thread/video. She's priceless and pointed me to my best shots of a rattlesnake to date. She's intensely smart and more fun than a barrel full of monkeys.