surfman I am truly sorry for your loss, If i hadn't gotten a dog last year...I probably wouldn't even have understood how you were feeling. My dog is seriously like a brother to me, we play even at my age and do just about everything together. It seems that he cares for me just as much as I do him and his loyalty is beyond imagine. When it comes to companions a dog passing is nothing short of a human and sometimes even more. I try not to think of it...I just got him and it tears me up to think of him ever leaving. He is a legit part of our family and brightens everyone's mood. I can't imagine the day he passes after a god willing long and peaceful life. Stay strong.
ah man Surf...that blows. I cant tell you how sorry I am to hear this...Ive had to put down a beloved pet before and it was the worst experience ever. I can sympathize on how hard this must be. I know it probably doesnt help, but you went above and beyond what a lot of folks will do, and we should all look to you as an example of what a great pet-owner should do.
So sorry for your loss. I know that feeling when your dog is been there with you for a lot of years and now is gone, is so sad
I recently had to put my dog to sleep last month. Toughest time of my life...its hard but you just gotta stay strong my friend. your dog lived a full and happy life..and is not in pain anymore
I've been following your thread, as you are like me, we treat our dogs like they're a family member. I'm truly sad to read this. Back in 2004 I had to put down three of my dogs. They were all old, one died of cancer as well, one of diabetes before we knew how to treat it, and my Healer died of a brain hemorrhage at 3 years of age. She was my baby! Two year ago I had to put down my 13 year old Lab, The most perfect dog ever. I too sat in the room for a while with him, petting him before he was put to sleep but it was best as he was suffering really bad. I feel your pain bro. I now have a 1 year old Lab/Dingo, and although she's not like the others she has her own personality and I love her to death. Moving on is hard, but I pray for you and your buddy.
I lost my dog (14yrs) not too long ago. It coincided with the cancer thread somewhat so I never had the balls to read it. It was too close. So I stayed away. But I read this thread. It gets better in time. You did everything you could. My dog died in my arms. In the end that means a lot. Your dog died while you were at its side. As it would have done for you. You did what you could. Thats all that matters... and it means the world.
My condolences. Dogs are such a big part of my family. You did the best you could for Zoe. Sorry, man.
Thanks for the condolences and kind words, everybody. It helps. I had a bad night and basically cried myself to sleep...waking up at times only to cry some more...because I knew Zoe was not at the foot of the bed asleep. Just a lot of crying the last day. My other dog, Chloe, is not really showing signs of missing Zoe. Or, maybe I just don't know how to read those signs. She probably knows. They have never been apart for more than 8 hours. She is not in such great shape herself...as she was sister to Zoe born same day. Her arthritis is not as advanced or exacerbate by a cancer/chemo situation. I feel a little depressed today. I took Chloe for a walk around the block this morning. Even though I shouldn't feel guilty, I do feel it at some level. I could have given Zoe another right or two at high expense in the emergency clinic to try to recover. But, any improvement at this point would have been short-lived. But, all the different meds they were talking about putting her on...it was more than anything I could have imagined. In the end, I believe it was this last chemo drug that did her in. I could have probably had more time if I just stopped treatments...but you never know until it is hindsight. I could not have known. In the end, I would say the chemo only bought her a weeks, rather than months, of extra life. I'm not sure I would do it again for a dog that age. However, she did have periods where she was feeling better during chemo treatments. And, she would have not of had those without some fighting of the cancer as it would have been all downhill. The problem is you just don't know how any particular dog will respond to chemo. I think it may be some age factor but the cancer was stage IV. It was probably just too late. It's going to take time for me to stop feeling lousy. A piece of me died. Now, my world is a little different. But, it's still better to have had the satisfaction of raising pets and have to deal with the circle of life...than to never have pets at all. I'm not sure I will get more dogs after this. But, I'm much better prepared if I do. Puppyhood is just something so adorable to experience but also difficult to get through as well. Who knows what I will do as far as pets in the future? For now, I will focus on Chloe and spending quality time with her. I was reminiscing on the good times with Chloe and Zoe from all my photos and video last evening. They were such cute puppies. I remember all the energy they had. I used to let them off the leash...and they would take off running football field lengths in circles and chase squirrels. A lot of good memories there.
No man, you shouldn't feel guilty at all. Like I said in the other thread, there's no question you did everything you could. More than most. I had a thread a while back about my nightmare with a rescue shelter, when I had to put a sick dog down they gave me after trying to give it a home after a few weeks. Even that hit me hard; I can only imagine how bad it will be when it's going to be one of 'our' dogs we've had for years. Sorry for the loss man but it's pretty obvious you gave Zoe a great home and a great, great life.
i swear, dogs end up having a strong bond with their owners. it happened to me a couple of years ago. i had a dog since university, after it was decided that i would be moving to tokyo to work, i had to pack and get ready. the night before the morning of my flight, my dog had a heart attack and died. i buried her before i went to the airport to depart for what has now been years, it has led me to believe that there really is a bond invisible to the eye between dogs and the owners. i don`t know about any other pets, like cats, because i`ve never owned one. i`ve had dogs all my life, up until that point, i haven`t had a dog since, i think it`s probably due to how hard dealing with the dog`s death was for me. it`s been awhile so i don`t tear up any more, but in the beginning it was one of the worst pains i`ve ever had. good luck SG and i`m sorry for your loss.
So sorry to hear about this, Surf. I know exactly what you are going thru. Friday we had to put our dog down as well. She was a 15 yr old lab with a multitude of problems. Over the last few days she was acting much worse than normal, and yesterday morning she couldn't get to her feet to go to the bathroom. It was just time. Watching her go to sleep was the hardest thing I have ever done. Goodbye Molly, we're all gonna miss you.
So sorry to hear you went through that on the same day I did it reads like, Behad. I was amazed when you said your Labrador was 15 years old. You and I should take some comfort in knowing our dogs were fortunate enough to live out full lives.
Sorry for the loss, you did everything you could possibly do to help her. Our animals are very much apart of the family so it's beyond hard. On the positive, there is no more pain for her
wow, what a horrible week for dog owners....I feel especially bad for Molly since I have actually been licked by that dog...great dog owned by wonderful people. My deepest condolences Behad and Mrs B. My dog I had to put to sleep made it 13 years, but as a Sheltie from what ended up being a puppymill, he made it a fairly long time all things considered
Yeah, I know several people on this board had a chance to meet Molly. She always tried to act fierce, but she was just an old softie at heart. How are you feeling, Larry?
