RIP Benny

I saw that post earlier today.  It's always heart wrenching to lose a dog no matter how it happens.

I have a terrier who is almost 14 years old and is in heart failure.  We know the day is coming soon when we will lose her but its still hard to see.

We had a bichon that we got when he was six weeks old. He lived 18.5 years. The last couple of years were tough as he was blind. But he knew his way around the house and could find his way to his food and his bed. the last few months we had to give him his water out of a bowl at the sink so he could hear it running. It was the least we could do after the great years he gave us. The last day he had several seizures that just were so sad. The last one came at 2 in the morning. We brought him to the pet hospital where they put him down. My wife said never again. She never wanted to feel that pain again. A year later she walked into a pet store and found a white havanese with one brown ear. She thought he was so ugly nobody would ever love him. So much for "never again". We are definitely Florida old people now. We don't leave the house unless our dog goes with us. 

Dogs > People and i rate that a 10.0

Been there, it sucks. Part of the deal sadly. Rarely do owners outlive their pets. We lost ours of 15 years in Nov 2023. Took me a whole year to work up the balls go get another one. Now I have two. Don't regret it at all. They give a lot more than they take. DFH.

I've been through it with dogs, cats, and horses. It's never the same, and us owners are never the same. The little mutt I have now is my best boy. We got an invitation to go to a cabin this weekend, and my first words were, "Can Milo come?" I agreed to go when they agreed he could come, too.  He's only five, but when I read stories/posts like these... geez, I already dread the day.

we treated our first dog as our kid. Would holler at him, tell him to shut up, tell him to get in his bed, get out of our bed, and then hug him like he could do no wrong. We treat our new one as our grand kid. Never holler at him, make sure he is spoiled to death, don't want him to whine, let him sleep with us, truly the most spoiled dog alive. I am sure our first one is looking down from Doggy Heaven and thinking WTF.

So sorry for Adam. I lost my avatar Memorial Day weekend. I'm tearing up reading all this. He was my shadow for 15+ years. Even got to bring him to work. Finally looking for a new child. He will remain my avatar as long as he remains in my heart.

We said goodbye to Gimli our Boston Terrier on Christmas Eve.  He was 16+ years and we got him at 9 months old,  Best boy ever.  Holidays are gonna suck from now on.  Even though we knew we had to do it is still sucks.

He couldn't hear, only had one eye, and was having seizures but he was still awesome til the very end.

Life without a dog is possible, but meaningless.

Life without a dog is no life at all.

My deepest sympathy to all who have been through that soul crushing time.

After we lost our previous Lab a few years ago, I swore I never wanted to experience that pain again.  My daughter talked me into getting another about a year later and it was the best decision ever. Jordy (my avatar) is my constant companion and there's a lot of truth to when I tell my kids he's my best friend. Can't imagine life without him and already dreading the time when we say goodbye.  I always say I don't trust people who don't like dogs - Schefty just moved up several notches in my book.

Lost our German shepherd Ruthie last year after only five years. Respiratory thing. Still grievibg.

RochNyFan, I've always loved your avatar.  Even gone to your profile to see him more clearly. Hello Jordy! He's perfect! Best wishes for a long friendship. YA, what a gorgeous gal! So sorry it was so brief.

I've had to put 2 dogs down over the years, both about 14 yrs old, very heartbreaking. Would love another but my age at 72 plus major mobility issues due to severe arthritis won't allow that to happen. It sucks.

I hear that DD.  At 52, now I am noticing how much of a physical toll it can be when caring for senior dogs.  We started to realize just how much stuff we had to do for Gimli over the past few months--carrying him up stairs just so he wouldn't fall, lifting him up on furniture/beds, having to bend down lower to help him with things.  My back and hips have really started to ache.

But I would do it all again for him and any dog we have.

I'm with you, DD and Maynard. I got Bandit, a wire hair Jack Russell, when I was 50. He was a handful. Now, having just turned 66, it's a different game for me. We brought home a wonderful 7 month old pitty mix over Thanksgiving.  He was such a great big ball of love. It broke my heart to have to give him back. He was approaching 50 lbs, and a non stop bulldozer. He wouldn't go up the 17 stairs to our unit. I can't do that anymore. Our next pal will have to be under 20 lbs, and maybe a little older I guess.

@lovepack posted:

RochNyFan, I've always loved your avatar.  Even gone to your profile to see him more clearly. Hello Jordy! He's perfect! Best wishes for a long friendship. YA, what a gorgeous gal! So sorry it was so brief.

Thanks for the kind words, Lovepack. My daughter sealed the deal the Christmas before we even got him by giving me his Packer ID tag with his name engraved.  Looks like you've got a pretty cute pup yourself!.

@YATittle posted:

Lost our German shepherd Ruthie last year after only five years. Respiratory thing. Still grievibg.

That sucks, sorry man!

We got a GS/Lab mix in 2020. When you see her, she's just a GSD. She will be 5 on May 5th.

Did she spend any time being kenneled? My niece has two Golden Doodles that went to doggy daycare pretty regularly. They would get kennel cough from time to time but nothing serious. Late last year Ruby (about 3 YO) came home on Friday with kennel cough. It escalated quickly over the weekend and she ended up dying of a seizure when it just got to be too much. So sad.

@PackerHawk posted:

That sucks, sorry man!

We got a GS/Lab mix in 2020. When you see her, she's just a GSD. She will be 5 on May 5th.

Did she spend any time being kenneled? My niece has two Golden Doodles that went to doggy daycare pretty regularly. They would get kennel cough from time to time but nothing serious. Late last year Ruby (about 3 YO) came home on Friday with kennel cough. It escalated quickly over the weekend and she ended up dying of a seizure when it just got to be too much. So sad.

No she was never in a kennel but vet said there is a dog respitory thing going around at the time that really hits shepherds hard. She was so damn smart, had so much personality. Loved people. Still mourning

Yeah, Skye is the smartest dog we've ever had and it's not even close between #1 and #2.

They are, without question, the best thing God ever made.

For sure! I like dogs better than most people. Hate when we have to lose one for whatever reason.

Just hate the lifespan. Why are turtles living so long? Come on, man!

All dogs are better than most people.

@EC Pack posted:

All dogs are better than most people.

It’s a low bar

Yeah, my dog probably spends 2 hours a day licking her asshole. She's still more charming than Pakrz. Like you said, low bar.

Well that’s not very nice.

When I lost my 10-year-old Maggie (black lab/treeing hound) unexpectedly, I lasted maybe two weeks and told Mr. QuietOne that we needed a dog. Maggie was just a sweetheart and I still miss her. (Her story of being abused is probably on this site somewhere.) Charlie (yellow lab) was almost two years old and we would be his third owner.  Found him on that site Home-to-Home. He suckered me in with that whoa is me sweet doggy look. He's an inside dog so we had to get adjusted to that again. (Maggie had to be outside because of her past.) First owner - neglected his dogs. Second owner - rescued from first but couldn't handle an energetic lab. (His other dog - a Bassett hound.) Charlie is crazy but he's a lovable guy. The kennel where he goes if we go on vacation loves him. They see us drive up, she opens the office door and Charlie runs right through the office and into the "party room" (Younger dogs.) Then you hear a bunch of dogs barking. "Charlie's here!"