In Memoriam - Our Pets

[rootabaga]

I know many of us here are animal lovers, and while we have the annual "fatalities" threads, our pets are family and I thought it might be a good idea to post about our dear departed furriends.

What prompted this is that we had to say goodbye to our dear Molly tonight (8/26). She'd been struggling for a while, but at 16-1/2 (for an Irish Setter, that's amazing, and she was an amazing dog) you sort of expect it.

Rest easy and run free, dear girl, and know that you will be loved forever. 02/08/2008-08/26/2024

 

[The_Chief]

My condolences, @rootabaga . The hardest part of being a pet parent is knowing when it's time to say goodbye; and giving our pets the bon voyage they deserve. We lost Angel the Jack Russell Terrorist mix at age 11 in 2017 to pancreatitis and gave her a great last, best day. In 2023, Lucy the Shih Tzu-Poodle mix was a month short of her 14th birthday when liver cancer compelled us to give her a great sendoff. Now we're down to Isabella the Shih-Tzu-Papillion mix money pit, who's pushing 15. I know I'm not going to Las Vegas anytime soon because I would never have bet that she'd be the last one. She's allergic to just about everything; stone deaf; losing her eyesight; and showing symptoms of cognitive dysfunction syndrome (doggy dementia). Took her to the vet twice last week! It's a matter of time, and we know we'll be trainwrecks when it's time to say farewell to her. The Darling Bride and I have agreed: NO MORE PETS after Izzy's gone. We love 'em, they're fantastic members of the family, and they're furry little anchors. We're going traveling... we joke that we're going on a world cruise, paid for in vet bills we won't owe anymore...

 

[Milo Williamson]

It is so hard saying goodbye to our pets, our children, as we think of them, our pets are like our children.
No matter what.

 

[Unforgiven]

I'm sorry @rootabaga.

 

[Steven58]

 

[Milo Williamson]

 

[ocnbrze]

awesome!!!! thanx @rootabaga

about 4 weeks ago, i lost my best friend, Bailey.

this is my dog Bailey when he was 7 weeks old.


we had so many great adventures together. he got to play in the ocean many times. he went and played with snow. we got to see the super blooms of wildflowers in the desert as well as in the mountains. we went on many cool hikes together. we had to stop those adventures because his hip dysplasia was getting bad. but in his last years i made sure that we went on small walks when he can.

this is the most recent photo that i have from 2023. unfortunately, i stopped taking photos of him after this photo.

but i do have over 500 photos from years past. so i have plenty of memories with him.

the hardest part is i'm not sure why he died. he was only 10 years old. the only thing i can think of is that the night before, i gave him some cantaloupe with some of the rind still attached. he has had it before, but never with the rind. about 3am i heard him puking. i just figured the rind did not sit well with him and fell back to sleep. i get up the next morning, lifted my dog off the bed so that he can go relieve himself. i then took a shower, got dressed, and found my dog collapsed in the hallway with his tongue sticking out. i ran to him and watched as he took his last breath. he died in my arms. it was so sudden.....just like that he was gone.

it has been a really hard month for me. i was not prepared for it. it felt so surreal....like a dream. but once i came back to reality, the pain came rushing in. the pain was so much worse than losing my dad almost a decade ago. i did not go to work that day. i found out that my vet handles cremation thru a 3rd party. it took about 10 days to get him back. they put him in a nice cherry oak box. they also did a clay paw print with a very cool stand to display it.

i was having a hard time in my grief to have the courage to post about this. but last Saturday i decide to get a tattoo of my dog on my chest over my heart. and since then, i don't feel as sad anymore. it is weirdly comforting to have him on my chest.

my tattoo:

RIP Bailey!!!! you were the best thing that ever happened to me. you were my rock that kept me in balance. i will always love you. i will always miss you.

 

[olbriar]

Heart breaking stories guys. My heart goes out to you. It's so hard to say goodbye and impossible to forget them. A person that says it was just a pet obviously has never shared life with one.

 

[rootabaga]

awesome!!!! thanx @rootabaga

about 4 weeks ago, i lost my best friend, Bailey.

this is my dog Bailey when he was 7 weeks old.


we had so many great adventures together. he got to play in the ocean many times. he went and played with snow. we got to see the super blooms of wildflowers in the desert as well as in the mountains. we went on many cool hikes together. we had to stop those adventures because his hip dysplasia was getting bad. but in his last years i made sure that we went on small walks when he can.

this is the most recent photo that i have from 2023. unfortunately, i stopped taking photos of him after this photo.

but i do have over 500 photos from years past. so i have plenty of memories with him.

the hardest part is i'm not sure why he died. he was only 10 years old. the only thing i can think of is that the night before, i gave him some cantaloupe with some of the rind still attached. he has had it before, but never with the rind. about 3am i heard him puking. i just figured the rind did not sit well with him and fell back to sleep. i get up the next morning, lifted my dog off the bed so that he can go relieve himself. i then took a shower, got dressed, and found my dog collapsed in the hallway with his tongue sticking out. i ran to him and watched as he took his last breath. he died in my arms. it was so sudden.....just like that he was gone.

it has been a really hard month for me. i was not prepared for it. it felt so surreal....like a dream. but once i came back to reality, the pain came rushing in. the pain was so much worse than losing my dad almost a decade ago. i did not go to work that day. i found out that my vet handles cremation thru a 3rd party. it took about 10 days to get him back. they put him in a nice cherry oak box. they also did a clay paw print with a very cool stand to display it.

i was having a hard time in my grief to have the courage to post about this. but last Saturday i decide to get a tattoo of my dog on my chest over my heart. and since then, i don't feel as sad anymore. it is weirdly comforting to have him on my chest.

my tattoo:

RIP Bailey!!!! you were the best thing that ever happened to me. you were my rock that kept me in balance. i will always love you. i will always miss you.

What an amazing tribute. Thank you for finding the strength to tell us about Bailey. What a tragic time for you; I am grateful for the life you shared with Bailey and that you were with him at the end. Ten years does not seem nearly enough for a fine dog, and I can tell you that 16-1/2 is not enough either. But they go on to live forever in our hearts (which they of course stole long ago anyway!). And in your case Bailey is over your heart as well. May your gentle and cherished memories continue to carry you through this awful season. What a blessing to have had such a sweet dog. <3

 

[ocnbrze]

Heart breaking stories guys. My heart goes out to you. It's so hard to say goodbye and impossible to forget them. A person that says it was just a pet obviously has never shared life with one.

i have only told my closet people in my inner circle about my loss. i have yet to tell my co-workers (save for my boss, since i called out the day he passed away), clients and general people i know. i think it is because of the way i think people will say.....it is just a pet....like a pet goldfish or something. plus i still feel very guilty that i did not do something earlier that maybe could have saved his life. i know it is stupid that i have such guilt, but i cannot help it. i will say this that as the days go by i feel less and less guilty about it.

also i have been thinking about getting either a shelter dog or a rescue dog. i am not sure if it is too early to get one now or if i should wait until my grieving is complete whenever that happens ( or will ever happen). i think i most likely will get one before Christmas.....but i do not know, just yet.

 

[olbriar]

I've adopted shortly following the passing of a dear fur friend and I have waited. There is no replacing your loved one. You are full of love and have plenty to share. Whatever feels right will be perfect... that's my take.

I beat myself up for the longest time for not doing right by my last two doggies. A male and female Shih-Tzu were miserable when I finally gave in and had them euthanized. It was unfair and quite selfish of me to let them suffer. They deserved better. I've had to say good bye to fourteen doggies through the years. It's never easy.

 

[rootabaga]

^^^What he said.
We get rescue or shelter dogs. The shelter is always so heartbreaking to go there, though, as I want to take a LOT of them with me (in part because I know what happens if they aren’t adopted).
Rescues are often coming out of abusive or neglectful situations and they can be such wonderful dogs. Our Liam was rescued off the streets (he had no known history) and he was just the happiest dog ever. I told my wife that he was always just happy to have a home and not be on the streets.

When you feel you might be ready check out rescueme.org. That’s where we got our latest dog and we didn’t realize the kinds of abuse she’d suffered (I sometimes wish I knew more, but then I think I really would not want to know because it would be too sad to consider). But it’s an easy resource online. You may have to drive a ways, of course, but if it’s the dog you really want, why not? We drove about 1,500 miles RT to get Zoey, and I’m always up for a good road trip anyway.

Best of luck and peace to you. And please give yourself a break; you loved Bailey and you really have no idea what caused it. My niece was watching her boyfriend’s pet rabbit and it simply choked to death because it tried to eat too fast. It certainly shook her up, though. (In truth, something my wife did may well have hastened Molly’s death, but there is no point in telling her that and it’s not going to change anything anyway.)
Keeping you in my prayers, ocnbrze. Be good to yourself; you know Bailey would want you to.

 

[ocnbrze]

^^^What he said.
We get rescue or shelter dogs. The shelter is always so heartbreaking to go there, though, as I want to take a LOT of them with me (in part because I know what happens if they aren’t adopted).
Rescues are often coming out of abusive or neglectful situations and they can be such wonderful dogs. Our Liam was rescued off the streets (he had no known history) and he was just the happiest dog ever. I told my wife that he was always just happy to have a home and not be on the streets.

When you feel you might be ready check out rescueme.org. That’s where we got our latest dog and we didn’t realize the kinds of abuse she’d suffered (I sometimes wish I knew more, but then I think I really would not want to know because it would be too sad to consider). But it’s an easy resource online. You may have to drive a ways, of course, but if it’s the dog you really want, why not? We drove about 1,500 miles RT to get Zoey, and I’m always up for a good road trip anyway.

Best of luck and peace to you. And please give yourself a break; you loved Bailey and you really have no idea what caused it. My niece was watching her boyfriend’s pet rabbit and it simply choked to death because it tried to eat too fast. It certainly shook her up, though. (In truth, something my wife did may well have hastened Molly’s death, but there is no point in telling her that and it’s not going to change anything anyway.)
Keeping you in my prayers, ocnbrze. Be good to yourself; you know Bailey would want you to.

yeah not knowing was the worst. it recked me. and still does. but i'm slowly forgiving myself over it. guilt is just part of the grieving process.

and thanx guys for the kind words. it has helped a lot. and it means a lot to me.

 

[Clementine_3]

I lost my last two dogs, Tickle and Raphael, 8 weeks and 3 days apart. It broke me and I'm still broken. I was slowly working on figuring out how to move forward again when my neighbor got a 4 month puppy. I go for a walk every day and she asked me if I wanted to take him with me so I do. It's a long ridiculous story but I have a part time pup and I'm good with that for now. Mostly.
My avatar is of Lilly and I still miss her terribly, along with Max and everyone that came before him. Having pets is a long line of hurt but so worth the short time wet have with them. Wet honestly don't deserve dogs.

 

[rootabaga]

I lost my last two dogs, Tickle and Raphael, 8 weeks and 3 days apart. It broke me and I'm still broken. I was slowly working on figuring out how to move forward again when my neighbor got a 4 month puppy. I go for a walk every day and she asked me if I wanted to take him with me so I do. It's a long ridiculous story but I have a part time pup and I'm good with that for now. Mostly.
My avatar is of Lilly and I still miss her terribly, along with Max and everyone that came before him. Having pets is a long line of hurt but so worth the short time wet have with them. Wet honestly don't deserve dogs.

Along with countless wonderful memories, you are blessed to have a thoughtful, kind and empathetic neighbor. <3

 

[joe71]

Back in 2004 or 2006 our dog got ran over and killed. We were going somewhere and he ran across the street to look at something. When I saw him I called for him and he started towards me this truck literally appeared out of thin air. After the impact and the vehicle speed off, he got back up limped a few feet forward and collapsed.
We rushed him to the vet but by the time we got there I knew he was gone. The vet euthanize him because while he apparently still had a heartbeat, there was no saving him. I was a mental wreck for months afterwards.

 

[Clementine_3]

Along with countless wonderful memories, you are blessed to have a thoughtful, kind and empathetic neighbor. <3

Maybe I'll explain it better at some point but it's me being thoughtful, kind and empathetic to her, her husband and their dog

 

[ozonetrooper]

The hurt will finally go away, the memories will not, that is what I have learned.

I feel the pain of all owners who have lost/had to put down a four legged friend.

This is Honeydog, I caught her living out of trash cans in an alley and she went on to be my best friend for many many years and I finally had to put her down due to old age. She was blind and deaf and could not hold her bladder, but I still loved her !

RIP baby girl