Posted on 01/05/2022 10:09:28 AM PST by MountainWalker
We lost our dear dog, Sully, yesterday, and I'm absolutely heartbroken. He was our second recuse dog - the older one is strangely still alive and well. So, this was our first time going through the process. I expected it to be terrible, and it's worse than expected.
He was about 13 and getting pretty rickety, falling down a lot, had trouble going up and down stairs, had poor bladder and bowel control anymore and had some dementia - staring off into walls at times. But, he was still as sweet as he was the day that we decided to keep him after fostering him through the rescue organization that my wife has volunteered for.
He had cancer surgery right before Labor Day when he was starting to get a little wobbly and the surgeon estimated that we might have bought him another year or so. It was eye-wateringly expensive, but we did it anyway without a second thought.
His arthritis accelerated quickly, however. Toward the end of his life, his lower back would slouch down because his hind legs were too weak to hold him up, especially near the end of the day, and had trouble getting comfortable even laying down. We tried some pain killers, but that made him even more clumsy.
It makes no sense, but the sharpness of pain is as much as I remember feeling when we got my father's terminal illness diagnosis. Maybe time has only softened my memory of the pain compared to now, but it's definitely in the same ballpark. Watching a helpless creature whose life revolved around you and was by your side constantly pass away based upon your call is indescribably painful. He was sleeping wedged against me with his head on my pillow next to mine on Monday night and now he's gone.
Any prayers or suggestions for how to manage the pain are appreciated. Thanks, FRiends.
Some of those DOGS go to war with our troops, go out on the streets with cops, trained to rescue people in avalanches, and even 9/11 and just bring so much love and joy into our lives...so I really don’t want to hear it. Good grief
Crying over a dog 11 years later is just wrong
The dog just died. Part of respecting people (the human body) is having compassion for grief. You may want to discuss this post with your priest at your next confession.
GEEZE some people just don’t belong on this site, Barb was just cruel!!
What a heartwarming story! Thank you for sharing.
“A dog is better than I am, for he has love and does not judge.” - St. Xanthias
I laughed at one of the comments...”cats would never do this”
Never!! Rofl
You don’t need to explain the love for your dog to such a cold hearted person, IGNORE HER!! PLEASE everyone else ignore this person also, I had a cat for 19 years when that animal died I was devastated it was honestly my best friend!! My mom passed this year I was her primary care giver she developed dementia because of Covid I refused to put her in a nursing home where she could not have visitors and not know where she was!! When she passed I grieved HOWEVER I don’t know why but my grief over my cat was FAR WORSE, perhaps because my mom was 92 and until I moved home to take care of her I lived away from home for 45 years, we talked on the phone and I went and visited but she was not with me EVERY DAY for 19 years!! I can’t explain why but the grief for that damn cat was just horrible!!!
Lord have mercy, I am sorry for your loss. My retired greyhound has entered the wobbly rear end stage and I’m afraid that he won’t make it to 14 (13 March).
I had some neighbor ladies they always had two black dachshunds, one male and one female, named Max and Gretchen. She said it saved time when she had to yell at them.
I am only a few weeks ahead of you. My pit is going on 15. Back legs giving out here and there. Been my best friend for nearl 15 years. I paid 4500 to remove remove thyroid cancer 3 years ago. Bought him a few more years. I periodically give him digvie aspirin. I dread the day but it’s soon. I understand your pain. I can barely think about the days ahead. Condolences.
I lost my mom from them giving her remdesivir in August. I lost my brother to a heart attack 1 week later.. I still sit hear crying my eyes out. My dog is going to die soon. I assure I will be crying for him too. The love is different but just as deep. I feel sorry that you never bonded with an animal like many of us have. It’s unconditional love. It’s beautiful.
Our dear pets are family and cherished as such. Heartbreaking loss. Im sorry
So true.
Wow, I’m glad and jealous that you got so much extra time after your dog’s surgery. Only in hindsight do I regret Sully’s. It was over $6000 to get the tumor removed from his anal gland and his stomach, which who knows how much time it actually got him. The vet said 2 months if we hadn’t done it, but he also said I might have bought him another year with the surgery. It took 2 weeks before he was really able to walk normally again - time that would have been better quality of life than what he had at the end.
That’s one lesson I’ve learned is that the vets only see your dog in the office. What they recommend is only based upon what they can see in front of them, and there’s a lot of guesswork in all cases. Most want to do the right thing, but they are on some level biased toward the surgeries since that’s how they make a living and usually does extend the dog’s life. But, it is a decision. And, dog years are 7 to 1 so the decline comes quickly after it starts.
Best of luck to you and feel free to reach out to me after your sweet dog’s time is up which I hope is as long as possible from now.
How cruel!
I am so sorry for your loss, and I admire the extent to which you went to alleviate his physical aches. He had an obviously good life and the best ending—curled up next to the one he loved. You didn’t have to take him to the vet and say goodbye before that last injection. I lost my beloved Maine Coon suddenly out of the blue in 2020—she was a month shy of 12, just curled up next to me on the couch as always and was still there in the morning when I came out from the bedroom. Died in her sleep. I still cry for her loss from time to time, even after getting my new Maine Coon kitten. Your dog had the best life you could give him, an easy exit from this world and his pain, and that is the best you could hope for. When you think you can handle it, the best memorial to him is to adopt another pup and give it a good life.
My sympathies. I will lose my 10 year-old Maltese in the next few days due to kidney failure.
Hope you are feeling the love and compassion flowing your way.
God bless.
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