Sad loss and a forthcoming happy arrival
Discussion
Jubilee weekend wasn't much fun in my house. My 13 year-old whippet Bert had been losing a little weight and being fussy with his food for a while and on the Thursday before the bank holiday weekend he stopped eating all together. I gave it a day just in case it was something he'd eaten as he has a penchant for rabbit poo and then off to the vet. Bloods and urine were all normal so I booked him on the Saturday for further investigations. X rays and an ultrasound scan showed a huge tumour in and around his heart partially constricting one valve and also pressing hard on his oesophagus which explained why the poor dog wasn't eating. He physically couldn't swallow any longer. He also had many secondary tumours in his liver which resembled a Swiss cheese. He must have been struggling a bit for some time but he didn't show it. There was nothing to be done for him so I had to take that horrible decision to have him PTS. I prefer to do this at home so the dog isn't stressed and as he wasn't in any pain, just weary, I arranged for the vet to come the next morning and do the deed. Here's Bert on his last day, he spent the last hours in his bed looking out of the door at the birds on the bird table.
I buried him myself that afternoon next to two other old dogs of mine.
I was surprised how much it affected both me and Mrs. RM. I've had quite a few dogs PTS before but is usually after some time of either illness or fading away due to extreme old age so it comes almost as a relief when you make that decision. Bert was different because it was so sudden. He was the last of two whippets, my other one died from Cushings a few years ago. My thanks to Mike the vet, he put the dog first, jubilee or no jubilee.
Despite having three other hounds (ex-racing greyhound and rescue lurcher and saluki) we decided a whippet pup was what we needed. So Wilf is coming three weeks on Sunday.
I'm sure he'll cheer us up and help us get over old Bert.
I buried him myself that afternoon next to two other old dogs of mine.
I was surprised how much it affected both me and Mrs. RM. I've had quite a few dogs PTS before but is usually after some time of either illness or fading away due to extreme old age so it comes almost as a relief when you make that decision. Bert was different because it was so sudden. He was the last of two whippets, my other one died from Cushings a few years ago. My thanks to Mike the vet, he put the dog first, jubilee or no jubilee.
Despite having three other hounds (ex-racing greyhound and rescue lurcher and saluki) we decided a whippet pup was what we needed. So Wilf is coming three weeks on Sunday.
I'm sure he'll cheer us up and help us get over old Bert.
Edited by rovermorris999 on Friday 22 June 14:21
Aw jeez mate so very, very sorry to hear the sad news.
You did the right thing....the only thing you could do and i'm sure Bert knew / know's that.
R.I.P. old fella.
Damn these threads always get me emotional.
Great you have a new member booked in to the Family and please post more pics when he arrives home.
You did the right thing....the only thing you could do and i'm sure Bert knew / know's that.
R.I.P. old fella.
Damn these threads always get me emotional.
Great you have a new member booked in to the Family and please post more pics when he arrives home.
He looks absolutely gorgeous. I can't imagine how heart-broken you are. So suddenly, too. 
I think it'll be a bit of a culture shock for me as the only dog I've had from this age was Bert who took to paper straight away and was asking to go out to do his business after two weeks with us. All the rest have been older rescues. He was also pretty laid back and not much of a chewer although still full of fun he wasn't too madcap all the time. Perhaps having older dogs around to copy helps. Let's hope Wilf is a quick learner.
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