I had to do this to 4 dogs and a cat. Best animals a guy could have. This video shows great animal owners get it. Dignity for a old friend... LiveLeak.com - Dog With Cancer Gets Epic Last Meal
What a great send-off for the good boy. We've put down a good many suffering animals, including the best dog I have ever had. She was a female English Shepherd, a loved member of our family for 11 years- our "only child" for 6 of them. She was so sick that I had to put her into the truck and carry into the vets office the day we put her to sleep. She was too weak to eat her final meal.
I had a pair of dogs that still bring a tear to my eye when I think of them. Chuck was a male corgi and George was a female wolf that I got as a pup from a rescue in central Alaska. George was expected to die (the runt of the litter) and we had to hand feed her until she became strong enough to get around on her own at which time she became a holy terror, gutting furniture and so on. Corgis are herding dogs and some instinct in Chuck kicked in and made him take over the training and disciplining of George. Pretty soon, George obeyed Chuck's every command and Chuck was a very well trained and pleasant house dog and wouldn't tolerate anything less from George, even when she became many times larger than Chuck. Chuck was always the alpha. They were both smart, but George had a special knack and desire for pleasing her "pack" members. I'd hook her to a harness and she'd drag the kids around all day on a big plastic sled. Chuck would generally ride on the sled with the kids... I found a dog-pack and would take her hunting and since we filet deer in the field around here, I could load her with fifty or so pounds of meat which she was delighted to pack out for me. She had a radar for bears and would slam herself against my knees and point out with her nose where a bear had passed and refuse to let me proceed in that direction. When I finally did get mauled by a bear (a fly-in hunt without George along), I lay in bed for a couple of months feverish with various infections from the bites and lacerations as they tried various antibiotic regimens to knock down each new thing that popped up. Both George and Chuck huddled next to me in bed worried and afraid. George even refused to eat for much of the time I was sick and lost a lot of weight. They grew up with my children and passed away a few years apart as the kids left the nest. I miss them. View attachment 18316
I dread the day our beagles have to be put down. I've actually had nightmares about it. I dunno if I'll ever have another dog after these two go.
I always feel same, but I'm big for get a puppy immediately, One of our pet dogs died recently, I came out of hospital to have this little one pushed on me...You never forget, but when someone else needs the attention it works wanders...My advice...replace them at once.
Great story Kodiak. I have two Corgi's and a Black Lab. The female Corgi, Bella, is the Queen and rides "herd" on the other two. Cody, the male Corgi, tries to Alpha on the Lab but Cassia just ignores him, hilarious. Smart dogs all three. My Golden Retriever Bandit was a great Joy and I lost him 25 years ago. Can't imagine how hard the future will be. Tommy, these dogs like their greens too.
Feel you 36. Best wishes eh. ..I've changed smelly cats[14yrs old] diet. Raw chicken, hamburger. Canned cat food...Reduced his dry food.. He has put on weight..Eats about as much as a medium dog-twice the litter [because he is eating more wet food containing moisture than was provided by the dry kibble- prolly the reason he previously had crystals]..have noticed he does not have the high temperatures as often, his bm's are not as runny/smelly...He actually plays again, comes and sleeps beside...Glad I decided not to go with the medication route. ...Look at your pets food ingredients. What is first on the list... Where did I read that someone says dogs first started to be domesticated after eating our garbage...Kinda makes sense. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/23/science/la-sci-how-dogs-evolved-20130124 edit:-Specifically wolves ingesting carbohydrates.
Good post Pops...Soooo glad to hear smelly cats doing well...ive put my boy onto fresh meat (eats better than i do)...he seems to be actually losing weight! Has more energy...and loves being kept occupied scraping every last morsel off the bone...They are carnivores after all... Dunno about the garbage thing though...the generally accepted "beginning" was taking pups home/back to the cave...they (fortuatisly) have a face that humans cant ignore (most babies have by design)... Just last year they found an ancient cave painting, deep, deep into a cave system...More extra-ordinary than the painting was the discovery of two paw prints right next to the human foot prints...this was dated as 70 000 years ago...we two go back further than we thought...Long enough to evolve together somewhat...
Poppy, good to hear your old friend is doing better ! Hats off to you for being a good owner. I hear it's bad when the cats get the crystals, good save pal. CAC... Ever give him a pig knuckle ? Buy em cheap, boil em, and old Fido is good for hours.
Thanks eh...Raw diet is much closer to what they'd eat in the wild for sure. Thinking pet food manufacturers/vets don't want people to know that cats/dogs wouldn't normally eat -sweet potato, blue berries, wheat etc that are listed as beneficial [filler] ingredients on labels....Does it surprise anyone the oldest cat on record was 38?... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creme_Puff_%28cat%29 If anyone has a hyperthyroid cat [Johnny's symptoms: fever/loose smelly bowels/runny nose/loud bawling after eating/lethargy/vomiting], first thing is to replace the lost muscle mass. Their body is feeding on itself as the metabolism has sped up...Some vets say to reduce protein intake. Which made no sense. They were thinking that carbohydrates and protein exacerbated the condition. Upon researching, some vets say to replace the lost muscle first [with high quality protein] and deal with any other stuff once kitty gets back to a decent weight...Hoping for another 5-10 years out of the old boy.
