Older dog died today
 

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.

:Sob:

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

He must have been meant for you & your family.

How about a favorite photo enlarged and framed or a grouping of smaller ones if you can't decide on one.

:hug: I'm so sorry.....but bless you for giving him a loving home and giving him the opportunity to see that not everyone is bad and not everyone will hurt him.

I agree with Jo. Pictures are great reminders of the happy times.

that was one lucky dog...
 

to end up with you.

I personally think Dalmatians have a mean streak! Our neighbors' dog who was treated well, attacked my son (when he was five--attacked from behind), for no provocation, and also another neighbor. I think something has happened with the breeding of them. Our vet says, the meanness is a common trait with them.

In my opinion you qualify for sainthood with that dog. He was very lucky to have you. It is always hard to euthanize a pet.
So I know how you feel. Each day we look at Sheba and wonder, when her time will be!

(((Vowel Lady))) I'm so very sorry about your companion. Of course you have cried and cried. It's so very difficult to euthanize pets even when we know it will be a blessing for them.

Your baby was a very lucky dog to have you. :hug: Maybe I didn't catch it in your post...what was his name?

I like the idea of a picture of the sweetie as well. My very favorite cat of all time passed many years ago. Well, I had to put him down, he was suffering hopelessly. Macho Man. I still miss that fantastic cat. I have a wonderful picture of him on my bedroom wall. He always, always slept by my head at night. His last few nights he would 'hold' my hand.

It did take awhile to be able to have a picture of him up though. It was too painful for me to even think about him. 2 years ago I lost another one whom I adored and it's STILL too painful for me to see pictures of her, but someday...

((Hugs)) and I hope your pain lessens very soon. :hug:

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. :o I think it is time. :o

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.

(((Vowel Lady))) It is a very difficult thing to do, most definitely. All of us would agree on that. Taking their lives is just so hard to do. BUT, when they get to that point, we just really don't have a lot of choice. :( Bless their little hearts.

I'm amazed at you for being able to put his picture up. My last experience was putting Sweetie Pie (my tortie) to sleep 2 years ago? I was almost insane with grief, my parents were scared and wondered if they should take me to the hospital! I couldn't bear it. I even moved in with them for 4 days and couldn't go home. Folks went to my house and cleared away everything that might remind me of her.

My Bruna also is not happy with men except for the ones she's come to know (my dad and son-in-law) and she is very testy with children. But that is only when they are being kids and screaming and running around. She's nipped several times at my grandson when he gets near me laughing and running and shouting. I watch her very closely when we are around him.

Bless your heart. :hug:

VL,

pets become such a big part of us...I didn't appreciate it until I became a pet owner, by accident...

there was a time when people would talk about their pets as if it were their children and I wasn't able to "get it"

but after two of our cats died last year...I still find myself grieving over them just as I have grieved over my own fathers and relatives' death...

(((((BIG HUGS)))))

I don't usually come to the pet forum and caught this by accident, but am so glad that I did...

they leave paw prints in our hearts....


.

I am so very sorry to hear about that - I was crying as I read your post :hug: You did such a great job looking after him and he was very lucky to have found you.

We lost our beloved 13 year old Springer Spaniel, Ben a year ago and it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. We made a Scrapbook and put all of Ben's pictures in it from when he was a puppy to when he was very old and also made a 'memory box' where we put his Leash, Collar, Toy's, Raincoat etc in. It took a very long time for us to be able to get the scrapbook out to look at without crying but I do feel that over time it did help and I still have it now so I can just get the pictures and his leash out when I need to.

I hope this helps and if you ever need to talk I am here.

You are in my thoughts.
Alison

I'm very sorry for your loss Vowel Lady. You gave your pup a good life and he gave you lots of love in return. :hug:

We lost our rescue kitty a few years ago, and it was so hard, we missed her so much. She'll always be in our hearts. We often refer to her fondly, she was a member of the family. Her name was Sweet Pea but we called her Pea (or Pea-Pea) :o for short. Our boys learned a good lesson when we adopted the frail thing from the shelter who was so sick-looking and would certainly soon die or be put to sleep at 8 years old. We nursed her back to health and she had a safe home.

She lived another 12 years and gave us many smiles and lots of love.