dogs when to say good bye??

[walleye1]

MFL - I'm not a big cat lover but I sure hope things work out for yours. I hate hearing about anyone's pet having troubles irregardless of what it is.

Cook078 - Beautiful dog man! I love Shepherds. Hard to believe nobody was looking for him.   

[IceTroll]

Trev,

My thoughts and prayers are with you. Like many others here, I know how you feel and I write this through eyes flowing freely. In August of 2003 I had to make the same decision you made and put down my 11 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback, Jake. I got him in Holland when I was stationed in Germany. Jake was a world traveler and was always there for me. He was an awesome dog but he got old, wouldn't eat and could barely move. I had to have a neighbor help me pick him up and put him into my truck so I could take him to the vet. I held his head in my lap and said goodbye the best I could as the vet gave him a shot. He died in my arms but I strongly felt that I owed it to him to be with him to the very end. I am not ashamed to say that I cried harder that day than I ever have in my 41 years of life. I had him creamated as well and he holds a place of honor in my home. One month later, I was in the mountains on an 18 day archery hunt for Elk when I called my wife. I had not talked to her in a week( no cell service) but for some reason I got service that day. My wife told me that earlier that week, my other dog, a 4 year old Chinese Pug, had gotten sick on Monday and was dead by Friday. He died of some form of Encephalitis. It was truly the most devastating month of my life to lose two best friends. Life does go on and time heals the pain. I did eventually get another Pug and last July I got a Nebolish Mastiff Puppy. I will never forget my lost friends and I truly cherish my new ones. When the time is right, new friends can and will heal your heart. Here is a picture of my current pug and my Mastiff pup(he is 9 months old now and stands 32 inches at the shoulders and weighs about 140 lbs- he will be over 200 when full grown)


Take care Trev, and know in your heart you did the right thing.

IceTroll

[dukenibaitshop]

   We have to do the hard thing of putting a friend in a better place, not the best thing I have ever done. Just had to say goodbye to  Jen-A-Fur, my long time Friend of 13 years, yes hard to do, but I know she is sleeping in a far better place. Good Luck, I know you will do the right thing, and never forget the good times.

Duke Dutchess & I

[olds-Pa]

Trev,
     I am saddened that you had to put your friend to sleep. I know first hand how difficult it was. Sorry that it has taken me 9 days to tell you that. I lost my little buddy Buck 6 months ago. It still hurts a ton. I thank all the people that have posted here for giving me some insight that I am not alone in feeling the way I do. It has been like a torture chamber reading through all of this. I never dreamed I could shed so many tears at 62 years old. I guess we are all a bunch of softys at heart........olds

[walleye1]

Nice pic Icetroll! Looks like there's some gnawing going on with that log in the background!

[IceTroll]

You got that right Walleye1. The big lunk is a wood gnawing fool for some reason. I guess its better than him eating my furniture. 

[missfishylicious]

Hi all thought I'd fill you in my cat is doing much better.the vet said the blood work looks pretty good.but she has to finish her antibiotocs.must have been some kind of infection hope he's right can,t wait to see if she stays good when meds are done thanks to those who cared tight lines

[walleye1]

Glad to hear it MFL! I hope things continue to improve.

Icetroll - My Lab loves to chew up logs too. He makes splitting wood for the fireplace an adventure. I call it 'split a log and chase down the Lab to get it back'. 

[flagrunner]

Glad to hear your cat is going to be allright,keep us posted if there is any changes.Gotta tell ya IceTroll those are a couple of good looking dogs you got,they look very happy.Nice to see they are taken care of good.

[FishTrapr]

Yes Trev it is one of life's hardest decisions, as I had to make that decision with my 9 y/o Golden Retriever just before Christmas.  I can tell that you love your dog very much and as humans we have to weigh the quality of life an animal will have as they develop medical complications.
Since animals can't communicate with us directly, it's body language that is our only means of doing so.  The the toughness in making this decision and the grieving is directly proportional to the amount of love you have for him. 
There is a website that I found that has a lot of good information on euthanasia and dealing with the emotions of it all.  It helped me a great deal and I hope it will help you.  http://www.pet-loss.net/

 Good luck my friend, and  remember that you have given him many years of love and caring, something that a good many pets don't get, and you are doing the right thing to let him pass on with dignity rather than suffer.

[IceTroll]

Good to know your cat is improving Missfishylicious. Keep us posted and let us know when she is all better.

IceTroll

[buzzbomb]

It takes a long time to get over this, Trev.  I had to say goodbye to my dog over a year ago and I'm still crying about it. (Not a softy, just  sensitive).

[Cook078]

And to think that I could'nt get choked up anymore......IceTroll. ..BEAUTIFUL pups!!!  Missfishy...glad to hear your cat is doing ok....And buzzbomb, another BEAUTIFUL dog.....God bless our little friends!!


Mike

[missfishylicious]

thanks guys .she goes off medication tonight ,if simptoms return ,it could be cancer or luekimea .right now she feels well enough to hate me for chasing her down and forcing pills down her throut twice a day.They make you feel like a big meany.I'm hopeful she just had an infection but I'm glad to know you guys are here if she has to go.Darn I got something in my eye 

[PERCHPULLER]

Had my last dog die suddenly only thing that eases the loss is the smell of puppy breath and the fun of making a new best friend.

[missfishylicious]

mmmmmmm puppy breath,and warm dog neck   .......kinda like grammas attic