The end of a red dog era.
Discussion
Last summer we lost our Viszla, she was just turning 17 so a good innings.
In November just gone our then 9 year old Cocker Spaniel boy got a horrible cancer (you b
d cancer) which ripped through him and he died mid December, wifey was heartbroken (me? i'm rough and toothless), George and wifey loved each other dearly, she was the very first thing he saw when he opened his eyes for the first time and whatever passed between them stayed.
George's mother took the loss far worse than we expected, she spent days keening/howling for her missing best mate, it knocked the stuffing out of her, they were such good friends George and Ruby, he became her minder as she went completely deaf, blind in one eye too.
Ruby changed dramatically, the dog that once sodded off on our walks looking for rabbits, which when she sniffed one out would put the call up and George would race flat out to where she was to find it, now just ambled along with us with barely an interest in her surroundings.. The pair of them were useless hunters mind, the only rabbits George and Ruby ever caught were already dead but they loved their life and the huge amount of freedom they enjoyed.
My wife's heart still broken we got ourselves a Golden Retriever pup in January, at first Ruby wasn't exactly enamoured with the new arrival but after a few days she seemed to perk up, happier than we'd seen her since George passed, wishful thinking.
This week she went downhill rapidly, going into trances just standing there looking at nothing.
Yesterday she didn't eat or drink a thing, wouldn't even touch the chicken we roasted, unheard of.
Last night she had some sort of fit or convulsion or stroke and screamed, a sound i shall never forget, obviously the time had come and we contacted the local emergency vet and she was put to sleep at 11 o'clock last night.
They were all cracking dogs, we'll miss them terribly.
Here they are some years ago, Ruby the mother on the left, by the looks of it some treats were on offer.
Here's the litte monkey that is now our sole dog.
In November just gone our then 9 year old Cocker Spaniel boy got a horrible cancer (you b
d cancer) which ripped through him and he died mid December, wifey was heartbroken (me? i'm rough and toothless), George and wifey loved each other dearly, she was the very first thing he saw when he opened his eyes for the first time and whatever passed between them stayed.George's mother took the loss far worse than we expected, she spent days keening/howling for her missing best mate, it knocked the stuffing out of her, they were such good friends George and Ruby, he became her minder as she went completely deaf, blind in one eye too.
Ruby changed dramatically, the dog that once sodded off on our walks looking for rabbits, which when she sniffed one out would put the call up and George would race flat out to where she was to find it, now just ambled along with us with barely an interest in her surroundings.. The pair of them were useless hunters mind, the only rabbits George and Ruby ever caught were already dead but they loved their life and the huge amount of freedom they enjoyed.
My wife's heart still broken we got ourselves a Golden Retriever pup in January, at first Ruby wasn't exactly enamoured with the new arrival but after a few days she seemed to perk up, happier than we'd seen her since George passed, wishful thinking.
This week she went downhill rapidly, going into trances just standing there looking at nothing.
Yesterday she didn't eat or drink a thing, wouldn't even touch the chicken we roasted, unheard of.
Last night she had some sort of fit or convulsion or stroke and screamed, a sound i shall never forget, obviously the time had come and we contacted the local emergency vet and she was put to sleep at 11 o'clock last night.
They were all cracking dogs, we'll miss them terribly.
Here they are some years ago, Ruby the mother on the left, by the looks of it some treats were on offer.
Here's the litte monkey that is now our sole dog.
Thankyou everyone, and sorry to hear of your pet losses too.
It's such a difficult decision to make, you don't want to cheat your most loyal friends of even a hour, but neither do you want them suffering, whatever you decide you'll kick yourself you made the decision too soon or too late.
All we can hope is that the life they spend with us is as happy as we can make it.
Hats off to the vets who did the deeds, they couldn't have been kinder.
Moorx, your spaniel is lovely.
BishBosh, 6 is too soon, even 16 is too soon for me.
Give your 4 legged mates a kiss from us.
It's such a difficult decision to make, you don't want to cheat your most loyal friends of even a hour, but neither do you want them suffering, whatever you decide you'll kick yourself you made the decision too soon or too late.
All we can hope is that the life they spend with us is as happy as we can make it.
Hats off to the vets who did the deeds, they couldn't have been kinder.
Moorx, your spaniel is lovely.
BishBosh, 6 is too soon, even 16 is too soon for me.
Give your 4 legged mates a kiss from us.
Edited by Smint on Saturday 28th February 19:17
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