Lost My Best Friend Yesterday.

[Bill D]

I guess I knew that it was bound to happen but I wasn’t prepared for yesterday. I had read an online article a couple of days ago about how you can tell if your canine pet is about to die. The article said that they would cling to you and would also look for dark secluded spots to hide.
My wife and I went out Saturday morning for breakfast with some church friends. I had fixed the morning meal for “Sooner”, my 12 year old male Chow. He was on a special diet because of anal gland problems but loved the pumpkin meals we fixed for him.
Upon returning to the house around nine o’clock that morning, I noticed that he was restless. Then he started following me wherever I went. I thought he wanted to go out so I put him out on the back patio but soon noticed that he was eating grass and attempting to vomit. Soon he was just aimlessly wandering around in circles. I let him back into the house and he began looking for dark, secluded places where he would attempt tp lie down. He would only lay for a few seconds then get up and continue his restless searching for another spot.
We called his vet and got the first available appointment for 11:00 AM which, by this time was only about 45 minutes away. At the appointed time, we had him in the vets office. She listened to our description of his symptoms and asked for permission to get an abdominal X-ray. The X-ray confirmed her suspicions; he had a twisted stomach (there is a medical term for this which I forget) and the only solution was immediate surgery. She sent us to an emergency veterinarian hospital and faxed a copy of the X-ray and her prognosis to them. Although only a five minute drive away, by the time we arrived at the emergency hospital, he was lethargic and unable to walk. The initial exam by the doctor revealed that his heart rate was very high and he was in danger of going into shock. Their primary job was to get him stabilized but by this time his stomach had suffered considerable damage and it was the opinion of the doctor that surgery would be very risky with rapidly decreasing odds for successful recovery.
Because of his age, his quality of life would not be very good even if he survived the surgery. With heavy hearts we made a decision to have him euthanized.
He was a beloved member of our family for over twelve years. He was the gentlest Chow I have ever been around and one of the most patient for putting up with my wife’s ill-tempered cat.
Give your dog a hug and an extra treat. They will be gone much too soon.

[Deano41]

Sorry for your loss Bill. You did the best you could. Losing a pet is never easy.
I've reached the age where having another pet would not be fair to the pet. They will out live me, and that would not be fair to them.

[IditarodJoe]

Sorry for your loss, Bill. We don't get to keep them forever - just the great memories.

[PWC]

I've always prayed for the time when they would juzt go to sleep and not answer the call, but it never happens. They all got too sick or hurt and the hardest decision must be made. I' sorry for your loss.

[dryheat]

What a pretty dog.

[S.A. Boggs]

I understand as with my love of my Compadre Wolf
Sam

[RED]

I lost two loved best friends within a month. The first to go was a fully registered Skye terrier. They are 2X as long as they are tall like a dachshund and some how he hurt his back and lost control of his left leg, and then the right. The vet said it would take a $4,000 surgery and no guarantees and when he could no longer control his bowels we had to get him put down. Then our other dog (a 1/2 Chow, 1/2 Corgi), was only about 9 years old stopped eating and we thought he was just upset over losing his best friend. Then he started hiding from us. one morning I let him out and he disappeared. I looked for hours and finally found him in the pond with just his head and tail above the water. I had to wade out and pick him up but I had seen this behavior before... A dying dog will often look for a spot to die. I knew it was the end for him but the vet did xrays anyway and it was cancer of the esophagus. It was the same thing that killed my wife two months later.

I found a new dog at the rescue pound and he is an ornery little fart that is 1/2 min-pin and 1/2 toy Manchester. He had been there 6 months and was scheduled to be put down the next week. He had been named 'Red' by the staff at the pound... It was love at first sight and proof positive that there is another best friend out there for everybody. Find yours and you will be glad you did.

Good luck!

[Bill D]

Thanks, everyone, for the expressions of sympathy. I do appreciate them.

No, I won’t get another dog. It wouldn’t be fair to ask any dog to share a house with my wife’s cat. Besides, our lifestyle is changing with more and more travel on the horizon. It’s just too big of a hassle to find a house/dog sitter every time we want to take a trip. Besides, like Deano41 pointed out, I might not outlive the next one.

[SloopJohnB]

Sorry for your loss, Bill. All we can do is hang on to the treasured memories of all our loved ones.

[JB White]

This reminds me of a while back when I had no choice but to put down the best dog I ever had. Anyone who has been forced to do that fully understands what you're going through right now. Summer is here and the neighbors are out on the weekends. Anytime we do a shot, the first one is spilled onto the ground in memory of that pooch. They miss him too. Couldn't have been any better a best friend and the local K9 guys loved that GSD as well.

The one shock I had was with my Rott. She was up there in years. 16 to be exact. She walked into the living room and sat down as always. Then her legs jutted out and she collapsed in a stroke. I waited nearly an hour for her to go on her own while the other dogs laid around the room just waiting as well. At 16 there was no call to the vet. Just made her as comfortable as possible until the death rattle sounded.

Bill, it totally sucks and there is no getting around it. My deepest sympathies.