What a horrible HORRIBLE day today turned out to be

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DreamTheaterRules said:
First of all, I almost feel guilty for bringing this here in the way I did, when we’ve lost a forum brother who was a dear friend to many here, and at least one of us has lost his spouse recently. I hope nobody is offended that we’re so upset about a pet.

I know not everyone loves their pets to the degree that we do. Our last Golden was over 13 years old when he passed, and by then was clearly older with health issues, etc. So while it was every bit as terrible, we knew it was coming some time. Big Ru was only 7 years old, and seemingly completely healthy. This is just a gut punch out of the dark.

And I know how emotional things are right now, but Rudy really is the best boy ever. Everybody who ever met Rudy loved him. I saw two neighbors outside today and both asked what was going on yesterday. I saw one early afternoon and the other late afternoon. Both cried on the spot when I told them. My wife didn’t get off the couch or out of her pajamas all day. And poor Roxy is just lost. She will just jump up off the couch and walk around the whole house, going in every room, and every time she goes outside she walks the whole back yard. She’s clearly looking for him.

I’ll try not to keep doing this, just don’t really have anyplace else to vent my emotions. Sorry for that.
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Who care what anyone thinks. I know you’re trying to be respectful. All my dogs have been the absolute loves of my life. One in particular. He was a big strapping male Doberman. He had cardiomyopathy. We did everything we could possibly do for him. When we lost him I thought I would never recover from the hurt and the loss of my beloved Dudley.

Talk about this as much as you want to or need to! We are all here for your support!
 
DreamTheaterRules said:
First of all, I almost feel guilty for bringing this here in the way I did, when we’ve lost a forum brother who was a dear friend to many here, and at least one of us has lost his spouse recently. I hope nobody is offended that we’re so upset about a pet.

I know not everyone loves their pets to the degree that we do. Our last Golden was over 13 years old when he passed, and by then was clearly older with health issues, etc. So while it was every bit as terrible, we knew it was coming some time. Big Ru was only 7 years old, and seemingly completely healthy. This is just a gut punch out of the dark.

And I know how emotional things are right now, but Rudy really is the best boy ever. Everybody who ever met Rudy loved him. I saw two neighbors outside today and both asked what was going on yesterday. I saw one early afternoon and the other late afternoon. Both cried on the spot when I told them. My wife didn’t get off the couch or out of her pajamas all day. And poor Roxy is just lost. She will just jump up off the couch and walk around the whole house, going in every room, and every time she goes outside she walks the whole back yard. She’s clearly looking for him.

I’ll try not to keep doing this, just don’t really have anyplace else to vent my emotions. Sorry for that.
Click to expand...

No need to apologize for any of this. That's part of what we're here for, to support each other.
 
d4rkst4r said:
Sorry for your loss, that "hole" never truly goes away, but I believe it's because it's filled with memories. They're family. Ours is 15+, got him from a family that was breaking up when he was 9 months old. Turned out to be the best dog I've ever had. Now he has Cushings Disease and he sleeps, drinks, wanders, pees, repeat. It's now incumbent upon me to pick the day. It feels like I'm selecting an executuion date because I'm tired of cleaning up the messes, as he's not in pain. If frequently going to the bathroom is a punitive act, I might as well jump up on the table with him. Still trying to figure out what a "good day" for something like this is vs a "bad" one?
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The dog I spent my formative years with was a whippet fox terrier cross. To say he was fast would be a gross understatement indeed.
As he grew older he obviously became weaker, and like your friend he was making "mistakes" around the house which I would dutifully clean up.
One morning I found Paddy (Paderewski) incapable of standing and navigating stairs and such. Our household at the time consisted of me, my older sister, and my mother.
Neither my mom or sister could bring themselves to go, so at 16 years old it was up to me.
I picked up my childhood friend and put him carefully in the back seat of our car.
You know the rest of the story. We've all been there.
Still a painful memory.
Somewhere I still have 8mm film of him doing 30+ mph beside the car...
 
dmatthews said:
The dog I spent my formative years with was a whippet fox terrier cross. To say he was fast would be a gross understatement indeed.
As he grew older he obviously became weaker, and like your friend he was making "mistakes" around the house which I would dutifully clean up.
One morning I found Paddy (Paderewski) incapable of standing and navigating stairs and such. Our household at the time consisted of me, my older sister, and my mother.
Neither my mom or sister could bring themselves to go, so at 16 years old it was up to me.
I picked up my childhood friend and put him carefully in the back seat of our car.
You know the rest of the story. We've all been there.
Still a painful memory.
Somewhere I still have 8mm film of him doing 30+ mph beside the car...
Click to expand...
That is a beautiful and heartfelt story! Thank you for sharing. Many of us can relate to some or all of this.
 
I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the kindness. I keep wanting to tell more stories and talk about it, but for now I'll just say, I must be getting weak in my old age. We have always been big dog lovers, and the last few have hit me harder than ever, but they all got to live to an old age and we had some idea it was coming. So while just as painful, you can somehow justify it in your mind and make it easier to except. And you can remind yourself that you didn't want them suffering, etc. But this one is just a complete blindside hit and we're both taking this harder than ever.

In this world of "what have you done for me lately" affection, I have no shame in loving something this much that is so loving and devoted without wanting anything in return except for you to love them back. I promise you we did that to the best of our ability!
 
I am so sorry. I love a good dog but they always leave a hole in my heart when they pass. It sounds like you gave him a great home and a wonderful life and you should be proud of that.
 
DTR, so sorry for the anguish you've just gone through - and undoubtedly will continue to revisit regularly.

I don't know what's worse, losing a pet suddenly or seeing a slow decline until you have to make a decision "today or tomorrow, too late for yesterday".

Pets are hard to lose - they aren't around as long as the typical friend or family, so you feel like they go too soon. Plus, as in cases like this, you get to make the decision for them, which adds to the anguish.

We had to put down one of our dogs just over a year ago, right before Christmas 2021, and I still think about her. She was the first dog that was "mine" - all the other pets in my life were/are still family, but Truffle was a Daddy's girl.

:(
 
d4rkst4r said:
Sorry for your loss, that "hole" never truly goes away, but I believe it's because it's filled with memories. They're family. Ours is 15+, got him from a family that was breaking up when he was 9 months old. Turned out to be the best dog I've ever had. Now he has Cushings Disease and he sleeps, drinks, wanders, pees, repeat. It's now incumbent upon me to pick the day. It feels like I'm selecting an executuion date because I'm tired of cleaning up the messes, as he's not in pain. If frequently going to the bathroom is a punitive act, I might as well jump up on the table with him. Still trying to figure out what a "good day" for something like this is vs a "bad" one?
Click to expand...

I went through something similar 10 years ago when my Chow had severe liver disease. The vet couldn't explain how he survived over a year with only a tiny part of his liver not consumed by tumors. He slept most of the time but when he was awake we took him to lunch (a cheeseburger a day! with appetite stimulants) and played with him and our younger dog.. one day the Chow grabbed the cat's head and the puppy grabbed the cat's tail and played tug-of-war, the cat purring the entire time. My Chow was happy and affectionate all the while. Then one morning he let me know it was time...

Love and enjoy your guy, when it's time you and he will know.
 
So sorry brother. You know you’re exactly where I am at the moment. We lost our 16 year old Cairn Terrier last Monday. The only thing that helps me through it is knowing we gave her the very best life we possibly could in every way. There’s a lot of comfort in that for me. Hang in there bud. Bro hugs.
 
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DreamTheaterRules said:
First of all, I almost feel guilty for bringing this here in the way I did, when we’ve lost a forum brother who was a dear friend to many here, and at least one of us has lost his spouse recently. I hope nobody is offended that we’re so upset about a pet.

I know not everyone loves their pets to the degree that we do. Our last Golden was over 13 years old when he passed, and by then was clearly older with health issues, etc. So while it was every bit as terrible, we knew it was coming some time. Big Ru was only 7 years old, and seemingly completely healthy. This is just a gut punch out of the dark.

And I know how emotional things are right now, but Rudy really is the best boy ever. Everybody who ever met Rudy loved him. I saw two neighbors outside today and both asked what was going on yesterday. I saw one early afternoon and the other late afternoon. Both cried on the spot when I told them. My wife didn’t get off the couch or out of her pajamas all day. And poor Roxy is just lost. She will just jump up off the couch and walk around the whole house, going in every room, and every time she goes outside she walks the whole back yard. She’s clearly looking for him.

I’ll try not to keep doing this, just don’t really have anyplace else to vent my emotions. Sorry for that.
Click to expand...
Bring it.
That’s what friends are for.
 
DTR I don’t even know you but now I do. Anybody that loves their animals as much as we do is a beautiful human being!! No doubt about it. I can already tell that if you lived in this neck of the woods we would become fast friends IRL. A lot is to be said about human being by the way they treat their animals! ❤️
 
Lola said:
DTR I don’t even know you but now I do. Anybody that loves their animals as much as we do is a beautiful human being!! No doubt about it. I can already tell that if you lived in this neck of the woods we would become fast friends IRL. A lot is to be said about human being by the way they treat their animals! ❤️
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I leave all of my animals outside: rabbits, squirrels, deer, fox, beaver, turkey....
 
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