Dog Owner Chat V. 5

[Velveteen Hound.]

:c I found out today that my neighbors dog passed away this weekend (from age) . I feel really bad about it. Not only did my dog love that dog - but one of my dogs favorite thing in the world to do was run over to that neighbor door to get a treat in the morning. (He does not run to anybody else house - Just that neighbor)

Said neighbor stated he was going to me me the rest of his previous dogs unused treats and toys. I super appreciate it, but I feel kind of awkward - what should I do in return?

[Imzadi83]

:c I found out today that my neighbors dog passed away this weekend (from age) . I feel really bad about it. Not only did my dog love that dog - but one of my dogs favorite thing in the world to do was run over to that neighbor door to get a treat in the morning. (He does not run to anybody else house - Just that neighbor)

Said neighbor stated he was going to me me the rest of his previous dogs unused treats and toys. I super appreciate it, but I feel kind of awkward - what should I do it return?

Maybe you could make a memorial donation in their dog's name to a dog rescue/charity? If your crafty you could make something to remember their dog, like a quilt with their dog's pictures on it, a memorial video, etc. Or bake/cook them some comfort food for them. Mostly the best thing you can do is let them know you're there for them if they need anything/want to talk.

[gamorasass]

My Service Dog and I passed our public access test and are officially a team! And on top of that, now that I am graduated from the program, I was offered a position as a public access trainer, so I can assist those on public access outings! Having lost riding horses due to my disability, training dogs and working with SD teams has truly filled an aching void, and I am so happy for this opportunity.

Ollie and I also signed up for agility and have completed about two months of classes now. We get to start putting jumps together next class so I'm so excited! Anybody else do agility?

[Imzadi83]

Chloe passed away yesterday.

She had what I thought was a syncope (fainting) episode but didn't recover and was floundering around unable to stand properly. I was afraid she'd had a stroke. As we were getting ready to take her into emergency she had a seizure. It could've been a lot of things and they did testing. It was hard handing her over but they're not allowing people inside due to COVID obviously. With Dad's Parkinson's it's hard taking him places so we went home. She went downhill quickly, her blood pressure dropped so low they couldn't detect it and she was unable to maintain her body temperature without support. They did blood work and x-rays. The X-rays showed a lot of free fluid and that her heart was very enlarged. There's a Frederick cardiologist practice right there so they had already scheduled her for a re-check just in case because at first the ER vet didn't think it was her heart (she never struggled to breathe).

By some stroke of luck her main cardiologist that she saw and that I respect and feel confident in was the one to see her. He was the one to call me. He told me that she now had heart failure on both sides and that only a part of her heart was beating. They had been pushing multiple meds all day trying to get her BP up but it was still undetectable. He said they could continue to push meds but after all this time (we had taken her in the morning and it was now evening) that even if they got it up there would likely be severe organ damage. (They also think something may have been wrong in her brain, possibly a tumor) He advised strongly that even if I wanted to go that route I should allow them to lift the CPR order because it would be cruel to put her though resuscitation. But he basically said it was time to consider humane euthanasia. He said to think it over and call the ER back and let them know what I wanted to do. I told them we were coming and that I wanted to be with her. I can't tell you how much I've begged and prayed over the years not to have to make that call. But when the cardiologist said they didn't how how her heart was still beating, I knew, she was waiting for her Mommy to come and take her home.

I had been worried they would only allow me inside as I very much wanted my Mom with me, but they said they'd bring her outside and do it there. A parking lot it not the place you want to say goodbye to your little girl, but in the end I didn't care and just wanted Chloe back. They brought her out, all bundled up, and I sat down with her and held her. It was hard to tell from my perspective because I was just so devastated, but Mom assured me Chloe had perked up when she saw me and she snuggled down right it my arms. She seemed calmed in my arms and seemed to sigh a little. I pet her and loved her and talked and sang to her as long as I could. Then her paw started to twitch and she had a seizure and I told Mom to call the vet. It was over, I couldn't let her go on like that any longer. The vet came out and put the meds in her IV and talked to me about what had been going on and how poor a prognosis it had been, that it can happen suddenly, that I didn't do anything wrong and that I was making the right choice. I held her for a long time after that and might have done so longer but knew Dad was waiting the the car so when the nurse came out with the paperwork I'd requested I told them to take her. It was really hard handing her over, I know she was gone, but still felt like I was abandoning her. Because that's what you feel when you love someone and you know you're never going to see them again.

I'm letting them handle the cremation and they will give me back her ashes and paw prints. Obviously I'm devastated, I can't stop crying, and am awash with grief. Her 13th Birthday was the 17th. 7 days away. I wanted so badly for her to make it at least that long as my last dog also died at age 12. She had already been getting birthday e-mails from companies. I have open bags of food and treats she just got. There are presents stored away for her for Christmas. I'd been planning on making her pupcakes and was looking forward to seeing her eyes widened in excitement while licking the bowl. She was my whole life and now she's just....gone.

Word got her her main vet who called today. I had been up for over 24 hours and hadn't eaten in 12 (I had a knot in my stomach and felt sick to my stomach the whole day) so all night last night and today I've been in serious pain with a migraine and sleeping. So it was Mom who spoke to Chloe's vet. She said the doctor was crying. She actually met Chloe before I did. The doctor is friends with the person I adopted Chloe from and let her know, which I am eternally grateful for. When I got on the computer tonight there was a very kind e-mail from her as well as from her cardiologist. You couldn't not love Chloe if you met her so everyone we've told have been kind and sorry and surprised to hear the news. I knew in my heart she was slowly going down hill but I thought there was still time. It all happened so fast. She was my whole world. Her stuff is everyone, every minute of my day I was looking after her. For six years I was rarely without her. She was my little stalker, my Chloe Bug, my bug-a-boo, my little fuzz butt. I still expect her to be there when I turn around. I still feel like I should be doing something for her. Her stuff is everywhere. I made that last call to the vet on my cell phone which has her as the wallpaper.

So, I hope you all will understand when I say I'm taking a break from this thread. I appreciate everyone reading about my girl and comment on her pictures and such. It was great sharing her with you over the years. I'll still be on CS so please feel free to PM me if any of you need anything. I know hearing from other dog owners who've 'been there done that done that' about a lot of things can be helpful and comforting.

Love to you all,
Imzadi

[ᴍᴀᴏᴄɪғᴇʀ]

@Imzadi83
I'm so sorry about Chloe.
I know how it feels to lose a beloved dog so suddenly and feeling like you abandoned them at the vets, I felt the same with Winston but I hope you know that you didn't abandon her and there's no timelimit to grief and it's super okay to cry a ton. We're all going to miss reading about her and seeing your pictures. Thank you for being here with us and I hope you feel a bit better at some point <3

[pizzas and scream]

am i bad/wrong for not wanting Lucy to stop and sniff every 5 paces? or let her go into other people's yard to sniff? or let her pull me while scenting? because it seems only good loving dog people do such, and if you don't want your walk to be a hour long of sniffing, "don't have a dog".

[fairytale.]

I disappeared briefly because mental health and school, but here's hoping I can find the energy to get back on haha.
Anyway, in the time away, Thora went through her OFA clearances. Full dentition, normal patellas, normal elbows, excellent hips, and normal cardiac :) I couldn't be happier! She's been nearly everything I was hoping for in health clearances.
Beaker's been a bit up and down. He had a dental cleaning a bit ago (can't recall if that's before or after I disappeared again lol) and had some more teeth removed. Which was expected, and honestly he kept more than I was thinking he would. He's had the worst teeth of all of my dogs and no matter what I do, they just don't do great. Genetics, man, they really do have an impact on things like that. So many people say collies have bad teeth but when I compare the girls' teeth to the greyhounds we've had? Yeah, nooope hahaha. The old man is being spoiled with food to try to keep his weight up. Overall, he's doing pretty well right now. Fingers crossed his liver values are still normal when he gets updated blood work at the end of the month! I'm pretty sure I mentioned his liver in the past, but if I didn't, his liver values were all off this summer when he was *supposed* to have his dental cleaning. He had to go on a month-long course of medications and have a radiologist look at his liver. Ultimately, the vet thinks he was having a bout of hepatitis.
May is her same old, same old. Steady and reliable. No real updates on her front, which certainly isn't a bad thing!
Between the three of them, 2020 has been the year of vet bills lol.

[.Middy.]

I am so sorry about Chloe!






I finally made it up to the National Forest 10 minutes from our house with the dogs and went hiking. They had a ton of fun! I can’t wait to go back with Kes and Omen soon!

[Blue_Aussie]

@.Middy. I always love seeing your pups, you photography skills are amazing as well!



Mazie is just loving the snow we got last night! we only have about 2 inches but snow is her favorite, she continues to ring the bell to go outside even after we just get in from playing out there

I don’t post much about Oakley, the family Golden Retriever, but he keeps rolling in things outside there is snow to keep him out of thing now but does anyone have a solution for rolling in stuff? We don’t leash him and don’t have a fenced yard, so he goes into the woods and finds things to roll in..

Also, Is anyone else super excited for Christmas just to get your pups a ton of new toys and treats? Lol

[taurus ;]

I haven’t been able to get any fall pictures of Kenai that I feel like posting on his Instagram, but here are some that I do like.





Also I don’t know if anyone here has one or has experience with them, with how rare they are, but a friend of mine has an Otterhound and he is an absolute joy! So sweet and goofy, he makes me want one lol.