Losing your dog!

[Rainman]

I put my best friend to sleep yesterday. I can't believe how hard it is! I am going to miss all those days of her by my side and in the field. All those looks of HOW did you miss that rooster or WHY didn't you shoot that bird when a hen would flush! How do you tell a four year old son that his buddy is not coming home from the vet? That is probably what is really making it so hard! Sorry guys but I had to letout my felings somewhere!

Bud, rest in peace my friend!

Rainman

[Grabs]

Good luck man,..say there is a 1 year old in the under $99 forum for free, looking for a good home. Could be a great way to get past all those feelings.

Mine is only 4 months old now and I know I would be feeling much the same if anything ever happened to him. Amazing how one becomes attached sooo quick!

[icehousebob]

Rainman, You have my sympathy. I had to do it with my old buddy, Moose, last year. It still hurts to think about. It would be great if dogs and people had the same length life spans. It hurts to lose the good ones, but when all they have to look forward to is pain, putting them down is the kindest thing and the last big favor that you can do for them. Take care.

[BLACKJACK]

Rainman, sorry to hear about your loss, I had to do it last year to my old dog. I still think about her at certain times, she would sit in the back of the truck and bark all the way to the hunting spot or pond, now the new pup occaisionally does it. Its not easy but if she was in pain you owe it to them.

[Bushwacker]

Like mentioned above, it is amazing how fast a person gets attached to these things. My nine month old lab quickly became a part of my wife and my family. Very sorry to here about your loss. It would definitely be tough to go through.

[jlm]

Sorry to hear this RM. Good luck with everything and hopefully his memory will live on in your day dreams while you are afield!

[Hockey Guy]

I know that pain all too well! The first one I had to put down was just like a son to me. We got to a point that I swear he could read my mind. He started throwing up all the time so I took him in to find out that he had stomach cancer and the food was never getting into his stomach. I went from playing fetch with him at 10:00 AM to having him put down at 1:00 PM. He was nine.

We bought another one 5 months later to fill that empty space up. It worked a little bit. I had to put the new one down after a year due to Separation Anxiety Disorder. The breeder I bought him from never separated the puppies from the mom or the other puppies. We thought it was something we could break him of. We even dropped a ton of money at the U of M on a specialist. After he chewed his way out of a chain-link kennel and cut himself up, the vets told us he was beyond hope. We had him on video tape that the vet had me set up before I went to work. It broke my heart to watch that tape. Separation Anxiety is very real and very serious!! I though it was just an excuse for a bad dog until mine had it.

The pain of putting your dog down will decrease over time but will never completely go away. It is one of the toughest things you will ever go through. Knowing that you tried everything you could before you made that final decision is what you have to hold on to. Good luck.