Thread: Family Pet

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Sorry to hear of your loss.

I know what you are going through. We had to do the right thing with our little Dashund that we had for 13 years. Like your dog, ours went fast she had lost 75% of her kidney function. They become a big part of the family, the Vet said she could live a little longer but she would only suffer. When we decided to have her put to sleep, it was a sunny day in January the ground was not frozen, and I knew what I had to do. I dug a hole where the other pets that had gone before her rest now. Before we took the last ride with her I walked her through the yard one last time. The Vet let us stay with little Libby while they gave her the injection. You think I can take this and it will be for the best but when it was over the tears fell. It’s a sad thing to lose a companion; animals are so forgiving. Like you said Bobby you give them your hand in a friendly gesture and they will always return the kindness.

Richard

Bobby, sorry to hear of your loss. It is always devastating even when you know it's coming. We lost our little Lhasa Apso (Dazzle) last July. She went from normal to very ill in just 3 days. After 24 hours in the hospital, the vet told us she would never recover and recommended putting her down. We had Dazzle cremated and got her ashes. She nows watches over us from the fireplace mantel. My wife said she didn't want to go through that again so we didn't look for a new one. But the sadness didn't go away, so last November we got another little Lhasa. Dazzle was a delight, but the new one (Snickers) is hell on 4 little feet. (She herds the cats too, but she also nips them).

As we age it seems each one gets a little harder to part with especially when they have been a big part of your everyday life. We still miss Dazzle and sometimes catch ourselves calling the new one by that name. She just looks at us like we've lost it.

I think that is the right thing to do, wait until you feel it is the right time to get another pet. Your heart will tell you when that time comes. I am a big fan of going to the Humane Society for one. You save a life that might have been put to sleep otherwise. 3 of our cats, Scooter, Sniffy, and Chewy came from there, and every so often I look at them and realize they might not be alive if we hadn't adopted them. What a shame that would be.

I wish my Ex-wife was a cat person because I would love to see her take in the cat we have been feeding outside my shop. She(he?) is a really sweet little cat and comes to the shop at dusk every night to eat. Luckily, some people from the Ballet School a few doors down have started feeding her also, and even bought it a dish and spend time petting her every night. My heart breaks for these poor things.

Don

I think that is the right thing to do, wait until you feel it is the right time to get another pet

My wife's father's little Sheltie (they got her the same day as we got Dazzle) passed away in her sleep. He said that he and his wife, both in their late 60's/early 70's didn't want to replace her. But less than 10 days later they had a Havanese puppy As it has turned out the puppy ownes them.

BTW, Don if you would like a few more little felines, we have a few to spare. We have nine barn cats and 4 of the calico's are pregnant. I can bring some down to you this summer. Good way for me to see the "T" and share my wealth.

Uh, I think we are going to be out of town that week.

Don

Bobby, I'm sorry for your loss!
We had to put Sierra, our first dog as a married couple, down last winter ayear ago, over Christmas. She was the greatest, a greyhound lab mix. Sweet nature, true peace keeper. If my wife and I had an argument she would siddle up between us to stop it. She had an in operable brain tumor, and managed to last 6 months on steroids, before her quality of life just wasn't there. I wanted another right away, because the house was so silent in her abscense. A month later we went to a shelter 150 miles from here, because we saw a dog that looked just like her. Unfortunately she was agressive, and indifferent. As we were getting ready to leave, a volunteer brought Pretzel out to us. He was a completely different dog than what Sierra was. He was perfect! Happy, playfull and a soleful face. He's been with us just over a year now, he was on the youthanasia list, living on borrowed time. We are so greatfull we were able to save him, and he us!
Sierra at the beach:

Pretzel the new guy:

What a nice looking dog, and to think that he was so close to being put down just because of so many animals in the shelters with no one to give them a nice home.

Richard

Yeah
It chokes me up to think about it. He was all curled up in a ball when I walked past his cage, and his head looked like pit bull. Poor pits have such a bad rep, that it caused me not to look at him, for fear he was too agressive, I'm ever greatfull to the volunteer! His story is a sad one. He was found wandering around in the country. The animal shelter called the number on his tag, and found out the renters had skipped town and rent! He was malnourished and had horrible ear infectuions and mange spots. Then he was adopted by a family who kept him for a week, and the returned him, because he liked to chase cats. They wrote a great letter about how well he did with their kids and family but that he wouldn't stop chasing their cat so back he went! I can't imagine how terrified he was. We adopted him, driving home realizing we didn't know what food he ate, so we stopped at a Petco, where he heard a squeeky toy go off, and tugged me 3 ilses to get to it. I bought it for him. When we got home he played with it for two hours, the shear joy on his face is hard to forget. He still has it, thow it's busted.

.....Bobby, so very sorry to hear of your loss..... Bill

It is so sad that most pets have such sort lifespans. When my kids were about 6 I thought I was being nice and bought Dan a Hamster. He was the coolest little guy, a Teddy Bear and didn't have a mean bone in his body (some of them bite, etc) Every morning he would sit up in his cage and I would feed him some pieces of fruit from my Breakfast. Just a cool little guy.

But after a year he started to get sick so we rushed him to the Amimal Hospital and they gave us the bad news, Hamsters only last about a year or so. Dan and I cried together, he was heartbroken and it was a tough lesson for a 6 year old.

As I have mentioned, I am dreading the day when my cats get to that stage. They are getting up there and I see them slowing down quite a bit.

Don

Don we also have 3 cats in the house 2 about 6 yrs and 1 about 3 yrs . We have had a couple others who lived with us till there end . Another tough situation with them also. The hamster we did for the daughter thought it went fast. I sure didn't know that about hamsters.

Well wife is doggie shopping been online looking at the local breeders . She is looking into same bred these sure have went up in the last 11 yrs but oh well . Me with my hobby she deserves what ever i can give her .

I never knew that about Hamsters either, or I would have never gotten one for a 6 year old. The vet told us "he is just dying from old age" and he was one year old!

I know what you mean about replacement pets. The first though some people have is to go get another one to take the place of the one you just lost. But how can you replace the memories of a family member. However, after a while things start to heal and you will find yourself able to start considering a new member of the family.

It is never easy though. Most of the people on here have lost a pet or pets who were the world to them.

Don