It's just a dog.

[Danno]

I'm so sorry Falcon.

A question for all (that has no real answer), how do you know when it's time? Opal is on a high dose of prednisone, pants a lot, she can't jump on the bed any more. And has really low energy, just lays around all day.

But she also seems to not be in pain as near as I can tell, and still enjoys going for walks and still gets a little worked up about dogs we encounter; she's eating (but not quite as much as normal). It's easy to say "I want to end it before she suffers any," but it's really fucking hard to err on that side, when she seems happy to be with her family. People often say "you'll know when it is time" but I feel like that means she suffers, that I'll know when it's time because I will see the suffering and know to end the suffering.

She had a grooming appointment for next Monday, I just canceled that because it seemed stupid to do. But I don't know what to do.

[Falcon3]

Hey Danno, thanks. And so sorry for you as well. Something that’s kept coming up in my head today as I got the news is “it’s better to be a week too early than a day too late”. I keep thinking maybe I should wait to see if mine gets his bleeding stopped or improves in a couple days but really, it doesn’t matter. I’d much rather him go peacefully at home a week early than painfully in a sterile scary place even if it meant a couple more days.

[Danno]

Thanks, that "better to be a week too early than a day too late" is super helpful. That is what I needed to read. We are going to the vet on Monday; I totally understand why people want to do it at home but she's always loved the vet and they love her there, so it won't add stress for her, and personally I would rather it not be in my house. I came home to one of my dogs dead a few years ago (heart attack?), and it took a long time for that image of him laying there to leave my mind.

[skiJ]

++vibes++

and my sincere Condolences, magg.s...

( poignant report Falcon- (Thank you. ))

' ... gave me comfort and a reason to overcome the day. ...'
With love

tj

[tgapp]

hey falcon i am so sorry for your loss mang, sending you good vibes

and danno i sure hope you treasure your last days with your pup, that's tough as hell

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[Danno]

And... I'm dogless.

I struggled so hard to make the decision without a clear sign, finally did, and then she let me know that Monday wasn't soon enough (coughing up blood this morning). So the vet was kind enough to squeeze us in today.

Goodbye, sweet Opal. Your time came too soon.

[Buzzworthy]

Vibes Danno, so so sorry for your loss.

[Dantheman]

So sorry for both you guys.

[riser4]

+++vibes, Danno+++

Dogspeed, Opal.

I am you guys at some unknown point in the future. It goes from feeling like years, to months, and back in the span of a day. Dog has gotten a lot more clingy. He doesn't like letting us out of his sight, especially me. So we spoil him when we can. Which only makes him follow us more. LOL. I seriously worry that his end will come when one of us steps on him, most likely me. We have to be extra careful stepping backward or turning around too quickly. It doesn't help that he's a black dog.

[BmillsSkier]

Oh man Danno, I’m so sorry for your loss. Wishing you, Opal and yours peace.

[Supermoon]

Falcon, Danno, I'm so sorry for you both. Vibes++ to you and your pups.

[Tri-Ungulate]

Sorry Danno. Went through that recently and the pain is still there, even though we got another wonderful pup recently. Opal such a good gurl.

[liv2ski]

Sorry for your loss guys...

[alias_rice]

I don’t really know what to say, but I’m sitting on a runway waiting for my delayed plane to take off so I can go bury our dog. We are returning from family vacation and I reached out to our dog sitter to say my kids want me to come pick up Willow tonight instead of tomorrow morning. She then tells me that she “escaped” Saturday night and is missing. A few frantic calls later and Animal Control has our poor girl. She was hit and killed sometime Saturday night. Just heartbreaking. My boys are devastated, my wife is looking for blood, and I’m kind of just in shock. It doesn’t help that we are on Southwest and scattered throughout the plane.

She was such a sweet little dog. Great with the kids and my morning coffee drinking partner. She’ll be missed.





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[riser4]

That's heartbreaking. Dogspeed, Willow.

[skiJ]

_rice-
words fail to express my sorrow for your family -
my Condolences.! !!!

tj

[mcski]

Wow , that sux. Dog sitter def doesn’t get a tip. Ugh

[Danno]

Fuck that sucks. I lost a dog that way, some dogs are escape artists, but goddamn the sitter should have reached out (after a little bit of time) to you and she should have reached out to the humane society.

I'm so sorry, that's heartbreaking

[liv2ski]

That is heartbreaking and I am so sorry for you and your family, but I have to say in your shoes the pet sitter is not getting paid and will receive the worst review ever on Yelp or whatever other social media they have a presence on. They didn't even notify you that your dog had taken off? Unbelievable. I would be out of my mind.

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[Dantheman]

Holy crap, I'm so sorry.

[skiJ]

(( agree with liv2ski significantly -
the dog sitter should absolutely have notified you when your dog got away
( from my perspective, not notifying you was Negligent.
A monetary award will not bring your dog back, But., unless there is a good Explanation [[ and this is my primary claim ]]

That person should be Done 'pet-sitting'..

to me, the fact that your dog got away is forgiveable -
to have not notified you when it happened ,,, I could not. ( forgive )

grief changes with Time -
allow everyone to grieve in their own way and in their own time...

I hope you will have another dog for your kids and for your Family - ))

Again, my Condolences. . . !

tj

[alias_rice]

That is heartbreaking and I am so sorry for you and your family, but I have to say in your shoes the pet sitter is not getting paid and will receive the worst review ever on Yelp or whatever other social media they have a presence on. They didn't even notify you that your dog had taken off? Unbelievable. I would be out of my mind.

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She claims to have called but my phone records show nothing. What’s worse than the lack of communication for me is that she escaped in the middle of the night. Sitter had to pick up a night shift and somehow decided to leave a fifteen lb. dog out in the yard all night. Of course she found a way out, she was probably freaking out. Sitter is a family friend and does seem legitimately heartbroken so we are just going to move on though. Shitty situation all around.

I’ve always liked dogs, but never really considered myself a dog person, but it’s amazing how much an animal can become part of your daily life. I work from home most of the time so I’m just used to her always being there even if we aren’t directly interacting. All of my daily routines just seem out of whack right now.

[BmillsSkier]

Deepest condolences to your family and Willow, AR.

[skiJ]

hey, guys - every so often, I have to ^bump^ the OP of this thread ;
in this instance, I do so thinking of alias_rices, Willow - and for anyone else still grieving the loss of a canine companion that is no longer Here.
I hope you have a good week.

peace my friends. skiJ

From time to time, people tell me, lighten up, [its just a dog], or [[Thats a lot of money for just a dog.]] They dont understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for [[just a dog.]] Some of my proudest moments have come about with [just a dog.] Many hours have passed when my only company was [just a dog], but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by [just a dog,] and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day. If you, too, think its "just a dog", then you will probably understand phases like [[just a friend, just a sunrise, or just a promise]]. [Just a dog] brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. [Just a dog] brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person. Because of [just a dog] I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, its not [just a dog] but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. [Just a dog] brings out whats good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day. I hope that someday they can understand >that its not [just a dog] but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being [[just a man.]] So the next time you hear the phrase [just a dog,] just smile, because they [[just dont understand.]]

(( I will come back to this and edit out all the 's; I really wish they would fix That ))

[Danno]

Sorry for your loss. Just came across this, a good read for anyone with animals: https://melnewton.com/2019/the-good-death/

The last week has been filled with so many moments that made me think of Opal, some with smiles and some with tears. Was reminiscing about dogs and looked back at my posts in this thread, came across this link I posted years ago.

I wish I had read it a few weeks ago, it would have helped me immensely. I feel like I might have waited just a little too long (but not way too long, thankfully). Deciding when to end you best friend's life is so fucking hard. For anyone struggling with that, maybe this link will help.