Maggie’s Man's Best Friend Thread

[rady]

Bad Night and this AM no better. Our dog Spooks is slowly dying and we are now waiting for the vet to put him out of his misery. 5AM here and waiting for the vet. Don't know what to do other than to type and write to fellow dog lovers.

A little after 6AM and the vet is on her way. God I want this pain for Spooks to stop........................ I will forever miss him. The best of friends we were.

 

[Ramius]

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

Hoping someone might be able to offer some help.

George, our dog of many breeds, has suddenly developed unusual behaviors.

Normally he has had a very relaxed disposition. Content to lay on the porch and keep an eye on the property when outside and hold down a couch while inside. Approximately a day and a half ago he has become very anxious, nervous, almost paranoid. Constantly pacing and hyper alert to the slightest input. Where he had been a great night sleeper at the foot of our bed, for the last two nights he has been pacing the room most of the night and he whining a bit, not as if in any kind of pain however, always wagging his tail. His eating habits have changed from devouring his(raw) food to looking at his bowl nervously and walking away. He does eat eventually.

While we have scheduled a vet appointment a few days out I am curious if any of you all have dealt with a situation like this?

George is a 4-1/2 yo mix of Pyrenees, Lab, Border Collie, Greyhound and a bunch of other mutts that got around.

BW

One of my Shi-tzus started doing that as he got older. He has a enlarged heart which can make them feel anxious as it beats stronger than a regular heart. Our was treatable with some medicine and he gets a heart scan every six months. My wife feeds him mostly fresh salmon and some kibble and the vet says that is helping along with the medicine. he was also a voracious eater until this started happening. I actually took him to the emergency vet the first day he wouldn't eat as that was as abnormal a behavior he could have other than laying lifeless on the floor. Thats where we found out about his heart issues. Also keep a eye out for a dry cough which can be the enlarged heart taking up more space in the chest cavity. May not be whats going on, but that what we found with our dog. The cost for the heart specialist wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and the medicine is pretty cheap.

 

[JMGlasgow]

One of my Shi-tzus started doing that as he got older. He has a enlarged heart which can make them feel anxious as it beats stronger than a regular heart. Our was treatable with some medicine and he gets a heart scan every six months. My wife feeds him mostly fresh salmon and some kibble and the vet says that is helping along with the medicine. he was also a voracious eater until this started happening. I actually took him to the emergency vet the first day he wouldn't eat as that was as abnormal a behavior he could have other than laying lifeless on the floor. Thats where we found out about his heart issues. Also keep a eye out for a dry cough which can be the enlarged heart taking up more space in the chest cavity. May not be whats going on, but that what we found with our dog. The cost for the heart specialist wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and the medicine is pretty cheap.

My Dachshund Jackson acted the same way, and he eventually succumbed to an enlarged ticker. There were days he would eat, others not. Then he started having coughing fits more frequently, and eventually he would be constantly out of breath. That's when we knew it was time. The medicine prolonged his life for about a year.

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

My Dachshund Jackson acted the same way, and he eventually succumbed to an enlarged ticker. There were days he would eat, others not. Then he started having coughing fits more frequently, and eventually he would be constantly out of breath. That's when we knew it was time. The medicine prolonged his life for about a year.

He is 13 now so with the new diet and medicine I can see him making it to expected lifespan. Getting old sucks and especially hard when you have to watch it happen, animals or people. We've been treating this for 2 years and no further enlargement since discovery. Its my wife's dog, but I'll be just as destroyed when the day comes. I never had dogs until I met my wife and I understand when people say dogs are part of the family now.

 

[JMGlasgow]

Yep. It's a tough experience saying goodbye to a family member. We caught his heart condition late, and a murmur complicated things. He was a stray for quite some time when we adopted him and was well into adulthood. Who knows what he experienced before he came into our family.

 

[rady]

View attachment 7719469

Spooks has crossed the bridge and is now at peace. God how the wife and I will miss his mellow and no rush approach to life. He was calming island of love in our lives. An abandoned and neglected mutt that we are forever grateful to have had.

Thanks for this kind remembrance Ramius.

 

[rady]

He is 13 now so with the new diet and medicine I can see him making it to expected lifespan. Getting old sucks and especially hard when you have to watch it happen, animals or people. We've been treating this for 2 years and no further enlargement since discovery. Its my wife's dog, but I'll be just as destroyed when the day comes. I never had dogs until I met my wife and I understand when people say dogs are part of the family now.

Same here. Never had dogs but the wife would always gather up the strays that people would throw on the road. They always seem to be better than the pure breds. Wish you the best.

 

[Steel head]

Spooks has crossed the bridge and is now at peace. God how the wife and I will miss his mellow and no rush approach to life. He was calming island of love in our lives. An abandoned and neglected mutt that we are forever grateful to have had.

Thanks for this kind remembrance Ramius.

Sorry for your loss

 

[Steel head]

 

[Ridge_Walker]

Spooks has crossed the bridge and is now at peace. God how the wife and I will miss his mellow and no rush approach to life. He was calming island of love in our lives. An abandoned and neglected mutt that we are forever grateful to have had.

Thanks for this kind remembrance Ramius.

Sad for your loss. We too know what it is like to try to comfort your friend while they suffer horribly.
We had the same experience with our 'Girlie' in Feb. It simply devastated us, far more than we would have thought.

 

[Snipe260]

Rambo at 5 weeks!

 

[rady]

Sad for your loss. We too know what it is like to try to comfort your friend while they suffer horribly.
We had the same experience with our 'Girlie' in Feb. It simply devastated us, far more than we would have thought.
View attachment 7721257

Thank you so much for that and to all of you here on the hide.

Funny that you should show that song from Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Last night on sirius xm 6059 they played "Happy Trails" in it's entirety. I hadn't heard it in years and I wept as I thought of Spooks and those words. A great song with great memories from great times. God how I long for those days.

I know all of us are selfish when it comes to wanting our pets to be with us forever. You and I will agree that you have to let go when they are in pain, but it is very hard to do and it's very hard to cope with the void.

I'm going to try and find a picture of Spooks to put here on the hide. The photo really captures his spirit and loving nature.

Thanks again for that kind rememberance Ridge_Walker...........Happy Trails

 

[devildog93]

When we got her and how she looks now. Biggest dog I have had size wise. She is around 100 pounds and on her hind legs we see eye to eye. 1 yr. old in 2nd pic.

 

[Snipe260]

Rambo at 5 months pointing his first bird!

 

[crackerbrown]

Maggie is 10 months old today, so I took her and the K31 .22 out squirrel hunting.

 

[7WSMShooter]

Archers getting a little sister in 3 weeks

 

[candyx]

English Lab 9 weeks old, its fun to bring a puppy home to the family the first day. When you hear the winning and pre-bark screaming along with his razor sharp teeth makes you think next time to buy an older dog to skip this phase.

 

[plong]

… the winning and pre-bark screaming along with his razor sharp teeth makes you think next time to buy an older dog to skip this phase.

You just reprised my (much) better half as of, oh… say… five minutes ago… “they’re sooooo bad…” .
“They” being our third set of male and female dauchs since our blissful union… .

 

[candyx]

You just reprised my (much) better half as of, oh… say… five minutes ago… “they’re sooooo bad…” .
“They” being our third set of male and female dauchs since our blissful union… .

Thank God the wife is doing the dirty work so all I have to do is pet him

 

[plong]

Thank God the wife is doing the dirty work so all I have to do is pet him

That’s why we have “them”, isn’t it… (leaving it to you to interpret “them” …

 

[7WSMShooter]

 

[Steel head]

View attachment 7739063

English Lab 9 weeks old, its fun to bring a puppy home to the family the first day. When you hear the winning and pre-bark screaming along with his razor sharp teeth makes you think next time to buy an older dog to skip this phase.

View attachment 7739510

 

[RG0099]

View attachment 7739510

Great pic.
That cat has a really cool paint job.

 

[7WSMShooter]

Need a name for this little girl guys.
Tikka and Kimber are off the list

 

[GrumpyOleFart]

Wookie?

 

[LeftyJason]

Need a name for this little girl guys.
Tikka and Kimber are off the list

View attachment 7740332

Koski. It's the other half of Tikka. Rapids in Finnish according to Google.

 

[Rookie]

Had to put my best girl down last month. Still looking for her to meet me when I come in.

 

[GrumpyOleFart]

Had to let my little man go last weekend.
Thought the meds were helping, but he went downhill so fast.
The vet said his brave little heart was unravelling, he was struggling to breathe in and out.
Smallest dog I have ever had, but mountains of character.
He sat with me through some of the darkest times of my life, always knew when to just be with me.
I don't shed tears for people, but he earned them from me.
He lived as a King all his life, and I was with him till the end.
He was Family.

 

[Ravenworks]

We have two new additions
I call the Min Pin "Singer" because her teeth are like a sewing machine.

 

[The38Super]

Had to let my little man go last weekend.
Thought the meds were helping, but he went downhill so fast.
The vet said his brave little heart was unravelling, he was struggling to breathe in and out.
Smallest dog I have ever had, but mountains of character.
He sat with me through some of the darkest times of my life, always knew when to just be with me.
I don't shed tears for people, but he earned them from me.
He lived as a King all his life, and I was with him till the end.
He was Family.View attachment 7740342

Sorry for your loss. Had an ewok when I was married and he was an awesome little guy.

 

[The38Super]

Here's mine...well, she's mine now. My parents rescued her a few years ago. Unfortunately, they're no longer in a position where they could keep her. I'd committed to take her, should that happen, so here she is.

 

[canezach]

I've always had Boxers, but when my daughter moved into her own house, she took Miley with her. My wife didn't really talk to me about getting a new dog. She just kinda sent me a picture and said, "OMG, he's so cute! Can we get him? Thanks, honey! You're the best!!" I literally didn't even have a say in the matter. But it's funny how quickly I fell in love with this little shit and now he's my sidekick wherever I go. Smart as a whip and so fucking annoyingly stubborn. Here's Monty:

 

[Simonsza1]

Took the bird dog dove hunting. He didn’t know why he had to sit still compared to finding and pointing birds. Didn’t take long to figure it out and did a good job retrieving, overall he did good. Went two weeks in a row for doves. Now I want to put him on some waterfowl I think he will love it!

 

[1moaoff]

 

[1moaoff]

She tries to catch the ticker tape as it goes across the screen. Now she's mad because I paused the feed

 

[benchmstr]

Several medical issues and surgeries this year..but he’s packing it back on

 

[LeftyJason]

View attachment 7741524
Several medical issues and surgeries this year..but he’s packing it back on

What's his name?

 

[Steel head]

Had to put my best girl down last month. Still looking for her to meet me when I come in. View attachment 7740339

Had to let my little man go last weekend.
Thought the meds were helping, but he went downhill so fast.
The vet said his brave little heart was unravelling, he was struggling to breathe in and out.
Smallest dog I have ever had, but mountains of character.
He sat with me through some of the darkest times of my life, always knew when to just be with me.
I don't shed tears for people, but he earned them from me.
He lived as a King all his life, and I was with him till the end.
He was Family.View attachment 7740342

So sorry for your losses

 

[Steel head]

 

[Daddyusmaximus]

 

[Daddyusmaximus]

This is my serious face...

 

[The38Super]

When I lived in VA, I was part of the local SPCA volunteer training team. We did everything from teaching tricks to addressing problem behavior to general destressing; anything to maximize a dog's chance of getting adopted. These two are Faith and Charity. They'd been in the shelter system for most of their adult lives, so they were both really shut down and also couldn't be separated (trust me, I tried). They were also older dogs and hip dysplasia had set in. They didn't know how to play and being glued at the hip made teaching them tricks difficult, so I would just go into their 'living room' and spend time with them. They went out and came back, then finally went out for what I hoped was forever. Except the last time I went to the shelter, before I moved to KS, I saw their names on one of the big kennels. About broke my heart.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

 

[DIBBS]

Solomon is very vocal/talks, loves to chase the ball, and is 6 now I think. We made a trip to the range yesterday to paint targets.

 

[BigTex]

Krieger is 10 months old.

Crazy eyes.

 

[LeftyJason]

Need a name for this little girl guys.
Tikka and Kimber are off the list

View attachment 7740332

Any updates?

 

[7WSMShooter]

Thinking about the names. This is what I’ve pared the list down to so far.
And I added Kimber back to the maybe list. Tink, Tinker, Finley, Bailey,
Bean, Ember, Astrid, Cinder , Kimber, Chacca,
latest pic

 

[clcustom1911]

My milling machine mover had a cool pooch

 

[aishooternz]

Lost this boy 5 years ago in the divorce and again yesterday afternoon.. Pikey had a bark that could wake the dead and neighbors 2 miles away... And he loved chasing and fucking up tennis balls.. only 2 civilized conversations I've had with the ex have been because of this dog and probably that she was drunk but still...