My dog

[Fez Hammersticks]

I've had him for 12 years and today I find out from the vet he has bone cancer and could last one week. It's like losing a brother.

 

[maxiep]

I don't get when people treat the loss of an animal casually. It's no different than losing a member of the family, and in some cases it's worse, because animals offer unconditional love. We'd like to get a dog, but our son is going to be two and part of our calculus is to figure out how old our son will be when the dog is likely to die. I want our son to be old enough not to have that loss destroy him.

I'm sorry to hear your sad news. I hope your dog doesn't suffer.

 

[bodyman5001]

I don't get when people treat the loss of an animal casually. It's no different than losing a member of the family, and in some cases it's worse, because animals offer unconditional love. We'd like to get a dog, but our son is going to be two and part of our calculus is to figure out how old our son will be when the dog is likely to die. I want our son to be old enough not to have that loss destroy him.

I'm sorry to hear your sad news. I hope your dog doesn't suffer.

Get the damn dog already. One of the hardest things in my life was watching my uncle put my black lab Spooky down behind the barn 5 minutes before we left Vancouver for Spokane. That was a hard road trip. I was about 10 years old that day, my dog was seeing us off and ran out into the street and got hit by a car.

I will never forget that day if I live to a hundred and get Alzheimer's.

However, it taught me to treat my animals well while they are alive and to take care of them every day. It is also the reason I always get animals from the local shelters. I want every animal to have a good home and every time we go we want to take home 10 dogs and 10 cats. We can't but we wish we could.

We currently have a chihuahua mix that is 15 years old give or take. We don't know exactly because she was a shelter dog. She has a heart murmur and we spend about a hundred bucks a month on medicine for her. She seems happy and has a healthy appetite. Some days she seizes when my girlfriend gets home because she gets so excited. It is sad but we are lucky she has lived a good six months after she was diagnosed, the vet didn't seem optimistic about that.

For Fez, my girlfriend is having a hard time with the dog being sick but she seems to feel better when I tell her that her dog has lived the best life possible in the time we have had her (8 years)

So, if you have treated your dog well and he has lived a good happy life don't let it get you too down if you can help it. He wouldn't want you to.

 

[Wheels]

so sorry to hear about this Fez. I agree with Maxiep that people shouldnt treat it lightly. I had my Husky for 18 years before he died. And coming home to not see him greet me, for the first time since I was 2 was one of the most difficult moments. I can only hope that this process is as painless, and peaceful as possible... for the both of you. You will be in my thoughts.

 

[Mamba]

Sorry man. Losing an animal is just as difficult as losing a loved one. It tears me up when I've had to see a dog get put down.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I've had him for 12 years and today I find out from the vet he has bone cancer and could last one week. It's like losing a brother.

Yep, I feel for you. We had to put Sammy down a few weeks ago. He was the best dog I ever had, He was fully a member of the family.

 

[oldmangrouch]

My condolences bro. Several of us have had to go through this lately.

I will say this: you can never replace the buddy you lost - but rescuing a dog from the shelter and giving it a loving home does carry some consolation.

 

[crandc]

I've had to part with several loved cats, one of whom nearly made it to 21 years (I was going to have a 21st birthday party with champagne for humans and cream for cats) before her kidneys failed.

Understand your dog trusts you to take care of him. That means doing what you can to see that his end comes with dignity and minimal pain. You will know when the time is right for the injection. I wish to god that humans had that option, my mother died literally by inches, I would never let a cat suffer that way.

You are losing a dear friend/family member. It is natural you should mourn. But while you can never replace a loved friend, please remember there are loads of dogs at the local shelter who would love to meet someone like you.