Pets of SJ.com

He or she looks like a Heeler mix. I love that doggie smile.

 

Smile? lol it looks like his or her eyes are saying "I wish these fuckers would drop me a little something!"

 

BTExpress, if pets want to stay, they do as long as they can. At 17, Dikusha evidently wanted to be with y'all.

Not sure if the going away to die thing is a myth or not. I have a friend who is an animal behavior scientist who says canines and felines have a tendency to do that. My 19-year-old Boy Named Tzu walked into the kitchen, spent a little time with my mother, who was his favorite human, and then walked into the mudroom/laundry room and curled up and went to sleep for good. Eugene O'Neill, my OES/Beardie mix spent time in the backyard sunning himself, went to his man-den under the honeysuckle bush for a while, ambled up for scritches, and then sprawled out on the garage floor and died. We had an appointment for at-home euthanasia the next day, I guess the big guy was letting us know he had other plans.

There will always be a Dikusha-shaped hole in your world, but in time you'll think more about how happy he made you. Then, another friend will find you

 

It’s dusty in here all of sudden.

 

All this time we assumed our other dog (Snezhok) would relish being the only dog and getting more attention.
But I sense he misses the "rivalry." He's nowhere near as excited about getting treats, because there's no one to try to steal them from. There's no one to compete with. There's no one to try to bully.

Of course, if/when we get a younger dog, Snezhok (no spring chicken at 13+ years old) may find himself getting bullied.

 

That might be the case at first. The right dog might try some boundaries, but they will figure out their place in the pack, so some of that bullying might turn into just goading the old man. Some dogs are just mellow that way.

 

Closure is elusive with pets. It's pure loss, maybe the purest there is. These animals give us everything they've got.

I really think the only way to conquer the grief, or even to be able to pretend you can, is to get another one when you are ready for it.

I've heard many people say "I can never have another one, the pain is too bad" - well, I'm sorry but you're only hurting yourself with that one.

 

BTE, my heart goes out to you. I can’t imagine.

 

Here are our two rescues in a rare moment of peaceful coexistence. Gulliver (left) was rescued while in his mother’s womb. He’s from China and as the story goes, his mother was on a truck headed for a slaughterhouse before she was rescued. She had 13 puppies on January 17, 2019 and with the help of an awesome organization they all found their way to loving homes.

Daisy (R) is another story. My wife had her when we met. Her neighbour was walking through a park and found her tied to a tree, with a sign that said “Free Dog.” The neighbour scooped her up, and my wife took her in. She was about six months old, the vet guessed, and was in rough shape. My wife would take her in her purse and feed her pumpkin from a syringe for the first few weeks she had her. She’s fine now, 10 years old, but still gets nervous around people.

Dogs are the best, man.

 

Here’s the guy who sleeps next to me every day and greets me at the garage door when I get home.

 

So unfortunately we are losing our 16yr chocolate lab tomorrow (her photos is somewhere earlier in this thread). My wife and kids brought her into our house 12 yrs ago as a rescue and she has been the most loving, protective companion you could want. Always happy to greet you with a wag. She has been my wife's first dog ever and she has been her constant companion from day one. Unlike our Aussie above who instantly bonded with me (apparently as a puppy he picked up I was the house leader), our lab bonded instantly with my wife, so she's followed her around every day and always wanted to know where she was in the house. She has been the ideal lab, never straying, never wandering, always mild except when some unknown potential intruder came into the house, then easily calmed down when visitors were welcomed by us.

Very sad in reflection but I am happy for my wife because for the past 6 mos. my wife has been essentially a 24 hr caretaker. I told my wife this weekend that not to be selfish but I just wished we could have our life back where we could do stuff together without her being homebound (my wife can leave max for 2 hrs.) Our lab lost the ability to control her bowels and my wife has to be nearby to hopefully get to her before she soils herself and has to lie in it. Our lab also has lost most of her hip muscles and struggles to stay upright while also losing her sense of direction and location and gets stuck in places. We agreed it would be solely my wife's decision as to when to do this and she finally decided this weekend.

She brought us so much in these past 12 yrs. Just wanted to share.

 

Sorry, @qtlaw - she lived a long good life.