The loss of a family pet, what did you lose?

by **Hjt** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 1:41 am

Hey all,

Late last year my girlfriend lost her golden Labrador "Ollie" to stomach cancer, poor thing was strong until the end. She has a new chocolate Labrador "Rolo" that we are having a lot of fun training.

Recently I was thinking we are almost guaranteed to out live our pets, regardless of breeds. I have a cat, a dog, seven turtles. No turtles will be missed, no real attachment. The cat I saved when it was 3 weeks old and hand raised, the SOB never appreciated the effort to keep him alive during the early times. However, 7 years ago I returned from schoolies to find a small pup in the laundry.

My mum got herself a Maltese/shitzu terrier called Tia (Maria), I don't see her often and recently though she had aged a tonne, out on a bit of fat etc.

It made me think, ill see her whole life cycle.

Then today a friend who I grew up with lost his dog which was from the same litter as a dog I had that ran away in year 12. They were brothers, makes me think where he might be now, if he is still around.

My family hasn't been the luckiest with pets, but I think they are happy in the time we have them.

Anyone else lost a close pet? Or a mans best friend?

by **Mr nanotech** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 2:49 am

I know the feeling. I still think about the day i lost my dog and the day my other was put down. God that was maybe 8 or so years ago... my dog died in my arms and was my best friend, my other had an aggressive cancer and used to cry himself to sleep every night from the pain. He went into remission twice and improved.. but eventually we put him down. I'll never know if we made the right decision and i lay awake even nowadays wondering. I miss my dogs the same way i miss my family that have exited life one way or another. Its sad knowing they wont be with us forever. I have a very strong attatchment to dogs andits something that will forever be a part of my life. I consider myself lucky to have been able to spend that time with them. Even if it were only for a fraction of my life. I currently have another dog and he is probably the most important part of my life along with my girlfriend. I had a scare the other day. He sleeps on my bed.
This one morning i woke up first to see him laying still not breathing. I felt my heart sink and it was like something died i side of me. It turned out he was just i a verry deep sleep... but it really goes to show the attatchments we have to these animals.
My dog isnt my pet and im not his master. He's my friend and part of my family.
Im not sure if any of this is relevant, but i do understand you.

by **Mr nanotech** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 2:50 am

Oh and sorry for the wall of text. I have trouble paragraphing on my phone... i need tapatalk

by **Hjt** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:37 am

I understand mate, dw bout the wall of text. I made the topic from my phone.

by **marty085** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:44 am

Coincidentally, I just lost a budgie last week that I rescued a few years ago, he was being chased by a bunch of aussie mina birds. My family grew up having lots of birds, but none hurt so much as losing one that I rescued by climbing into a bush to pick up with my bare hand coz he was so exhausted.

by **lee** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 1:42 pm

My girlfriend lost two dogs within a year. One was 10 years old with a bad heart (he was the runt of the litter), and the other was 14 who just died of old age. She's currently got a 10 month old Westie/Maltese cross, and it's the first dog I've been around who is properly attached to me. She sits outside of our bedroom door crying until the door is opened, and then she goes mental when she sees me.

I have thought that she'll be gone long before I am. I'll be about 35 or so when she's at her average life expectancy. It's going to feel pretty crappy when it happens, but the only reason it'll feel like crap is because we will have shared so many good times together. I have a feeling that even when she's crippled with arthritis, blindness and/or deafness, she'll always be a puppy to me

by **Mr Morlock** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 3:03 pm

what a great topic

by **taminga16** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 6:51 pm

lee wrote:I have thought that she'll be gone long before I am. I'll be about 35 or so when she's at her average life expectancy. It's going to feel pretty crappy when it happens, but the only reason it'll feel like crap is because we will have shared so many good times together. I have a feeling that even when she's crippled with arthritis, blindness and/or deafness, she'll always be a puppy to me

Never become selfish enough to allow her to live a life with any of these ailments (if they happen) after all, what is a dog's life if she cannot be a dog?
Greg.

by **Mr nanotech** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 7:28 pm

Disagree completely. Dogs are like people and it's not fair to just euthanise based on the selfish idea that WE believe they are unhappy with their lives. They deserve dignity and respect. Just because they may suffer from certain ailments based on age or deteriorated health, doesn't give us the right to decide for them. I feel that when we make these decisions, they stop being our friends and become objects.

by **taminga16** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 7:59 pm

Mr nanotech wrote:Disagree completely. Dogs are like people and it's not fair to just euthanise based on the selfish idea that WE believe they are unhappy with their lives. They deserve dignity and respect. Just because they may suffer from certain ailments based on age or deteriorated health, doesn't give us the right to decide for them. I feel that when we make these decisions, they stop being our friends and become objects.

Josh,
Either way we are deciding for them and as such they can become objects, I have had to make the same very difficult decision twice in a little over twelve months, on the first occassion I did not want to see my beautiful twelve year old border Collie cross unable to run, play and be a dog because of a large tumor on her left lung and then my seven year old Border Collie started have seizures and was diagnosed with epilepsy, drugs would stablise him for four or five weeks at a time and then the dose would need increasing, as you may know this intervention left him a different dog, an opportunity arose for him to be treated at Vet Science in Werribee and scans showed that he had a tumour on his brain, after surgery (at considerable cost) he stabilised for about six weeks and then suffered a masive seizure which could not be controlled and the same dreadful decision had to be made again. In both cases we did all that we could for the both of them, Cassie was euthanised at home but sadly Kob'e was in such a state that he had to be euthanised at Werribee. There is not a day when I do not think of them both and they greet me everytime I turn my computer on.
Greg.
I had just re-read this post and find myself crying hoplessly, they were never objects, but very important members of our family.

by **Black_Penguin** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 8:53 pm

My aunt and uncle a couple of years ago decided to euthanise their 18yo red cattle dog due to her numerous health problems, they delayed the act to allow my cousin who grew up with her to come up from Victoria where he now lives to have one final goodbye.

by **lee** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:17 pm

taminga16 wrote:Never become selfish enough to allow her to live a life with any of these ailments (if they happen) after all, what is a dog's life if she cannot be a dog?
Greg.

My grandfather has arthritis, bad knees, macular degeneration, has lost all his teeth, and has had multiple operations for various stomach and bowel cancers or ulcers. He's one of the happiest people I know

I know where you're coming from, Greg. I don't like the idea of artificially keeping an animal (including a human) if it means massive intervention which would hugely impact their lives. I would never keep a dog alive on a ventilator when I knew its time was pretty much up anyway. It just extends the grief the owners have to go through, and it's not fair to the animal itself.

by **Okibi** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:56 pm

My lab was my best mate, loved that dog to bits. When I moved out I relied on him to look after my mum and give her company. He had a very long life and when he died it wasn't too unexpected. Pets enrich our lives so much.

by **Hjt** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 12:27 am

what a great topic

Contribute your experiences please.

When Ollie was very sick, I would lay on the rug with him and give him cuddles, deep down I knew he had to be put out of pain.

My co-workers dog is 15yrs old, a maltese terrier, dogs deff, eyes sight is at about 20% vision. He has explained many times, once the eyes go the dog will be put down, she has her good and bad days.

He has basically held off retirement for the dog, very kind of him, especially since it's impacted on his financial state with the housing market.

by **Mr nanotech** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 2:58 am

I dont understand why people put dogs down due to blindness. Their quality of life doesnt deminish at all. Clara's dog Kiera is a true example of that. She is almost completely bli d and relies on her sense of smell and hearing. Her other senses have taken over so well that you would never guess she was blind unless you saw her pupils.
She goes for walks everyday, she runs around the yard based on memory of objects and recognises family and strangers from smell. She is very special and really begs the question why people put down blind dogs.