<p>Justamom, EK and vballmom, I am so very sorry. </p>
<p>There is saying that goes something like, “grief is the price we pay for love.” In the first stages, that price can seem far too steep but as time goes on, as the peace of good times remembered replaces the sharpest pangs of grieving, we get to experience that love over and over again in our memories. </p>
<p>I’m so glad that your dogs were well loved and, in turn, that you were well loved by these wonderful dogs.</p>
<p>Good luck with talking to your D. We had a close call once with our dog. I didn’t tell my D what serious condition our dog was hoping for the best and not to alarm the kid. The next day it got worse and we weren’t sure if the dog will be alive when my kid came home from school. In the end, it all worked out. It would have been unbearable to our kid to go from just a little sick, will be ok tomorrow to no longer. I learned my lesson then.</p>
<p>I’m so sorry for your loss.</p>
<p>This thread breaks my heart. My D2 has been away for the last six weeks and will return on Monday. When she left, our wonderful sweet maltese was having problems standing and his leg would often slip out. We took him to the vet and were told that he had a fractured hip. D2 left for her camp job thinking that was the problem. After two weeks, I received a call that my mother has breast cancer and within the same hour, our dog had a seizure at my feet. </p>
<p>Our boy is only six and has been my constant companion as I work at home. He’s my fifth child and good or bad, I’ve treated him like a baby. After his seizure (which was unexplained at that point) I took him to the emergency animal hospital. I had to leave the next morning to go to a different state and go with my mother to her doctor’s visit, so my dog stayed with the vet. He got an MRI and a spinal tap and they concluded that he has GME Enchephalitis, which is incurable, but can be managable for a period of time. Since D2 was away, I was grateful for the time that he might have so that she could say goodbye.</p>
<p>When I returned from helping my mom, our dog came home. He was with us for a week, and then had five seizures in one evening. I brought him to the animal hospital in the middle of the night after staying up all night with him so he wasn’t alone during a seizure. I expected that we would have to put him down. When I went in to say goodbye, he was sleeping and his seizures had been calmed. He stayed one more night and I brought him home again. </p>
<p>He’s on a lot of medication and is nothing like the dog he used to be, but does not seem to be in pain. Today, for the first time, he vomited a lot and I thought, again, that I was losing him. This came in the same hour that I received a telephone call telling me that I needed to come back in to see a radiologist about my own mammogram. </p>
<p>I held him while he vomited, but then suddenly he calmed. He’s now sleeping and has eaten and drank water. Since he is not in pain, it’s hard to think about putting him down although clearly his quality of life has been dramatically reduced. He takes medications 7x per day and really can’t do any of the things a dog would do. Since D2 is coming home on Monday, I am hopeful that he stays stable until she comes home. I feel like she needs the opportunity (if it presents itself) to say goodbye. She knows that he has been sick and knows that it has been bad at times, but I haven’t decided what to do if our dog passes while she is away. She is at a camp where she works from 7 am to 11pm “inspiring” and motivating high school and middle school students. She is so proud of her job and needs to be at her best to perform well. When I told her that he was sick, she said that it was all she could do to prevent from breaking down. She is a very emotional child (of age 18) and will have ten days between the time she returns from camp and becomes a live-away freshman at a nearby college. </p>
<p>My mother’s surgery is Monday (we are hopeful that her breast cancer was caught early enough) and D2 comes home Monday night. My mammogram recheck is tomorrow afternoon. This has been an incredibly hard couple of weeks and the need to slowly say goodbye to my precious little dog has been heart-wrenching. When I look him in the eyes and tell him how grateful I am to him for all of the years we have had I am unable to hold it together. It’s amazing how everything can change so quickly. I am worried about how D2 will react. We’ve been dealing with this for almost a month, and it is so hard.</p>
<p>"Just"amom - my thoughts and prayers are with you. I never knew how hard the loss of a pet could be until I started the process. I know my little boy will not be with us much longer and it is just so painful. I am hopeful for tomorrow, hopeful for Monday for my mom and dreading telling D2 all of the news. More than that I am dreading what I know is coming. Pugmadkate - your words are inspiring.</p>
<p>LaurenTheMom - big shared hugs coming your way. </p>
<p>My D will be landing in a little over 2 hours and I am weepy and have the worst stomach ache. Thankfully my best friend of 36 years came over today and we went for a very long hike down to the beach, across the sand, and into the tide pools. We worked up a healthy sweat and that helped. But she has left and I now sit waiting, pretending to read and stay distracted. </p>
<p>I need a diversion!</p>
<p>LaurenTheMom and "just"aMom - sending good thoughts to both of you. I loved the stories about "just"aMom’s dog. Hold on to those good memories - they will carry you through the sad times as you talk with your D. And I’ll be keeping Lauren’s mother in my prayers as she comes through surgery. I’ve been through a similar situation and it is very tough. Hang in there and be good to yourself!</p>
<p>"just"amom - big shared hugs right back at you.</p>
<p>Best of luck with your D. It’s so hard to share the sad news about your beloved dog - but remembering all of the good times and knowing that you did so much good in his life will be of comfort to you. I feel so grateful to have had the time that I’ve had to love our little dog so much and I will never forget his unconditional love. You are so lucky to have been blessed with your boy who made such a difference in your life - when you needed him most. I’m sorry for your loss.</p>
<p>My first dog died at 16 just before I came home for Christmas break - freshman year of college. I still remember the last time I saw him. A friend came to pick me up for our trip back to school and my dog ran down the driveway and jumped in the car with me! It was noteable because I don’t think he had really run in over a year. I still believe it was his way of saying goodbye to me…</p>
<p>Now my son is getting ready for his freshman year. He is my only child and I am a single mom. Our sweet lab is 12 years old and really showing her age. I hope she has many years to go but I am trying to prepare myself that she won’t be around forever…</p>
<p>Hugs to everyone that has loved and been loved by a furry child!</p>
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<p>I had the same feelings – I lost my 65 lb. Aussie mix last September — and I already was painfully aware that I was not strong enough to lift her in an emergency. </p>
<p>
I couldn’t last two weeks in my empty house – so I went to the local shelter just to see what was there… and of course I fell in love. I got a small bichon/terrier mix, about 14lb. I had never owned a small breed dog before – (before the Aussie mix, I had a Rottie) But my little dog is extremely loving and cuddly and a perfect match for middle-aged me. She is also very high energy – so yes, I do have to still take her for daily walks (good exercise for me) – but she also gets plenty of energy running around the back yard, or just racing back and forth along the hallway in my house. </p>
<p>Of course she was lonely and I didn’t want to spend my entire day playing doggie tug (her favorite game) … so I adopted a 2nd pound dog as a companion – even smaller. The 2nd dog is a very sturdy terrier mix, but only 7lb. – also very active – but the dogs spend all day playing with each other so I don’t have to worry too much about entertaining them. (As I write this post the are happily engaged in dog-wrestling)</p>
<p>So – don’t be afraid to take the plunge with a small breed dog. I always hated little “yappy” dogs – but when I went to the shelter I simply avoided the dogs in kennels who barked a lot when I walked by, in favor of the ones who just acted friendly and looked at me with eager eyes. Neither of my dogs barks inappropriately – just the normal level of barking when something happens that’s worth barking about.</p>
<p>"just"aMom – it sounds like you were a very special and wonderful dog-mom, caring for a dog who had a very tough life before coming to you. You were able go give him a safe, secure and loving home and give him a good life, though it turned out to be a short one. But then we have to remember that, compared to humans, all dogs live very short lives – they give us unconditional love, and we in turn give them the gift of caring and loving for them, all the while knowing that there will come a time when we will have to lose them and mourn. </p>
<p>If you are like me, the part of you that is wondering what life will be like without a dog probably won’t be able to hold out for long. I live alone-- perhaps it would be different if I still had another human family member in my house. But I would get up in the morning and couldn’t stand being in my empty kitchen. I will never forget the dog I lost last fall – a wooden box with her ashes sits on the mantel, with her collar and tags by its side – but now I sit and type on my laptop, on my livingroom couch, with a sleeping dog at my head and another one sleeping at my feet… and I can’t imagine life in my home without my pups. </p>
<p>So take whatever time you need to grieve… but don’t be afraid to open your heart again.</p>
<p>So, the reunion with D was lovely. Initially. She was bright and happy. Once she settled into the car (not long, I mean we hadn’t even gotten out of the small airport) I broke the news. She was angry at first, that I waited, I explained my side (“family rule”), and she just agreed after about 5 minutes that there’s “no good time” - we cried. She asked for details. I provided them, and we cried some more. We dropped her things home, picked up her best friend, and went out for pie. We all laughed and cried. Mostly laughed. After coming home, she started sharing stories, I gave her a few pictures I’d gathered, and we cried. Nothing horrible, just sad tears. THEN…she asked “when are WE getting a new one?” So we talked about that, and before you knew it, we were looking on local shelter websites, and we came upon “Stream” (not crazy 'bout that name), a black lab, about a year old, with some eye issue (the rescue shelter called it “cherry eye”) which is being treated, and he will have surgery and all meds paid for, for live if need be, and there was something about this boy, that we both couldn’t stop looking at him. It’s amazing, but almost every dog in the rescues are small breed. And pit bulls. We’re more the medium/large types. Anyway, I sent an inquiry about “Stream” (gonna change that name if he comes here), and we’ll see what happens. I am not going to jump in, I am simply putting my toes in the water (stream?). We went to bed feeling OK. It was tough, but my kid is a champ!</p>
<p>I’m so glad things went as well as they did. You’re right there is no good time to break the news. I have to talk to my family about such a “family rule” - I think it’s a good one. Best wishes to you in your Stream inquiries!</p>
<p>So sorry for your loss. It is just not fair that we have them for such a short time, but there is nothing like the unconditional love from your furry friends.</p>
<p>The task has begun of starting to tell people. We had our doggie with us for such a long time, and she had such a big life, that many people in the neighborhood knew her. Although they knew that she was getting up there, they always asked about her, and now I have to tell them that she died.</p>
<p>I bought fresh dog food almost every other day at the grocery store, yesterday was the first day that I didn’t- although I had to go down the aisle to get paper towels. :(</p>
<p>I am going to have some sort of ceremony after we get her ashes back - Im thinking of making sort of a meditative area ( I already have a Buddha head!) & shrine for the pets & I know there are a lot of neighbors who want to say goodbye.
She really was a well loved dog & I am going to miss her always.
Not ready for another for a while I don’t think.</p>
<p>emeraldkity4 - I think it sounds wonderful to make a meditative area. I found a “Buddha dog” statue (little, about 5 ") sitting cross-legged, that I love. It is my little doggie “shrine”.</p>
<p>D & I are doing very well and we have been sharing “remember how nuts he was” stories which have been making us laugh and remember him with pure love and joy. :)</p>
<p>My H spent a few hours talking to an older neighbor on the next block today.
Since I had ripped out all my grass a few years ago ( actually since long before) , our dog was in need of grass to roll on & this yard was her favorite by far.
No matter how she was feeling, she would plop down and roll- ( the neighbor kept it fed and watered year round - it was the nicest grass in the neighborhood).
Anyway- they were sad to hear about her passing, and are going to let us cut a piece of their lawn for her " shrine"
She will be so happy :)</p>
<p>It is really nice to be able to remember things- because when she was alive, it would just make me sad to remember the stories about when she was much healthier and more active- but now, it is a comfort.</p>
<p>Our dog died one year ago this month- still miss him at times. Be aware that you will trigger memories of your dog throughout the next year with the “first…” without him/her. It is amazing how many memories there are- and how you think about the critter at those times. Agree with the unconditional love.</p>
<p>Our dog was sick about a month, probable cerebellar disease/tumor (two physicians here- I researched online, came to conclusions based on his behaviors- diagnostic tests are fairly useless, not done and not cost effective- dog either recovers or not). Much more I could write but won’t. My sympathy to everyone currently dealing with the loss.</p>
<p>"Just"aMom, EK4, vballmom, So sad to hear about your recent losses. A dog is such a special and integral member of the family. Hugs.</p>
<p>Thanks for the hugs- it has been a hard year with my mom dying @ 75 in Dec, D2 having some issues her first year in college and this- but there isn’t anything to do , but do it.</p>
<p>I am having fun though getting ideas for a celebration, I am thinking of having the neighborhood kids decorate tiles that can go on some blocks for underneath a cement bench. I might have to put it in the front though, so they can more easily view their handiwork.</p>