Originally Posted by Vowel Lady
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Thank you everyone. Your posts really touched my heart and were helpful.

Last night continued to be very difficult. I ended up with a migraine and this morning I woke up with a headache. First thing this morning our doxie went looking for the dalmation and it broke my heart. DH and I never thought about it before, but now we are wondering what percentage of the time owners end up having to put their dogs down like this. My husband did this once with a previous pet and I did not go and we have had another pet actually die while he was at the vet's office being treated for serious illness.

This morning, I put a little photo of the dalmation on the piano with a lighted candle next to it. Perhaps some time later, I will get a larger one and put the collar nearby. I really can't look at the collar now.

Mrs. D...I did not know about the biting reputations of dalmations originally. Our dau is adopted and has a big heart. My thought was that she would not be able to cope with the thought of the dog being brought to the pound. I recall vividly how sweet he was to the two of us, so it was a big surprise when he didn't like my husband and son (at first). However, within a few days he was okay with them and in time, he really loved them too. However, it took many, many years before he was good with any other males. He also didn't really like children. Therefore, taking care of him was always extra work. Extra work because of his potential to bite and also because we did not get him as a puppy and he was not completely housebroken.

So only the immediate family could really enjoy him...particularly my daughter and I. He also liked one of my girlfriends...thank goodness. Sometimes she would take care of him if we went on short trips. He was a "ladies man!" LOL!

Over the years...people told me plenty of stories about the biting habits of dalmations. "Fear biting," is what some people called it. He seemed territorial to me. It was as if he only "loved" my daughter and I and that was it. He also seem to really liked my girlfriend. My son and husband came along with the package and eventually they became close. Men...well, they had to prove themselves to him first. Otherwise, they might get bitten. This dog had issues with them.

Well, I didn't shower yesterday.
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I think it is time.
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This is one aspect of pet ownership that I was not truly prepared for. My heart goes out to all here with aging pets. It is a heartbreaker.

Originally Posted by Vowel Lady
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This has been a very difficult morning.
Many years ago, we adopted a stray dalmation. Hard to say his age. Older than a puppy...Maybe a year or two in age.
He had been terrorizing my daughter's friend's family because they had cats. They had threated to call the pound.
The problem was that he had not collar, seem to be beaten, and had a broken leg.We knew in our hearts that no one would adopt him.
My daughter begged me to take him and I did.
We took him to the vet, put a cast on his leg and nursed him back to health.
The weird thing about him is that although he was lovable to my dau and I, he hated men. I mean hated them. It took a long time for him accept my husband and son, but until old age set in, those were the only two men he gave a pass to. This, in some ways, came in handy. When my husband would work at night, I often felt kinda safe having this big male dalmation around. He stayed outside usually during the day. Outside, he had a big dog house under a tree. We kept him outside a lot because he was not fully housebroken. And if he got jealous of our other pets, he would sometimes "mark" furniture! However, we brought him inside during the day when the weather was bad, including very hot weather. I also brought him inside if I was frightened. He came inside at night and had this big thick rug he laid on under the piano. That was his Kingdom. He had a very "elegant" evening "dog house."

It's been well over a decade. He's had various health problems. He became deaf. He has had trouble seeing. The broken leg never healed correctly and he had great difficulty walking. This led to a bad hip problem. He's had trouble breathing lately. He lost total control of his toiletry habits. His pain has increased in recent weeks and he has been wimpering...which is unusual for him.

This morning, we had him put to sleep. We waited for the doctor to give him the first shot to relax him. We told him that we loved him and he was a good boy. Then we left. It has been very hard and we have not stopped crying.


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We do have his collar and I am wondering what others have done to memoralize their lost pets.