Doggie end of life decisions
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He died suddenly this morning. He seemed a little sluggish last night on his walk, but didn't seem bad. This morning when I woke up he was normal, eating treats. He sat next to me in my office, then left randomly, as he does. An hour later I found him tucked in a corner where he's never been, behind an exercise bike. Breathing very heavily. He'd evacuated his bowels and his bladder. I yelled his name and he moved his head towards me, but within a few minutes he was gone. Carried him to the car and to the local vet. I'll get his ashes in a cherry box in a few days.
His prior brush prepared me for this, so it's not as bad as it would have been if this had happened before the spleen thing. I'm still glad we did what we could, and I'm glad this was relatively sudden, and that he was comfortable.
@Horace said in Doggie end of life decisions:
He died suddenly this morning. He seemed a little sluggish last night on his walk, but didn't seem bad. This morning when I woke up he was normal, eating treats. He sat next to me in my office, then left randomly, as he does. An hour later I found him tucked in a corner where he's never been, behind an exercise bike. Breathing very heavily. He'd evacuated his bowels and his bladder. I yelled his name and he moved his head towards me, but within a few minutes he was gone. Carried him to the car and to the local vet. I'll get his ashes in a cherry box in a few days.
His prior brush prepared me for this, so it's not as bad as it would have been if this had happened before the spleen thing. I'm still glad we did what we could, and I'm glad this was relatively sudden, and that he was comfortable.
Fuck. I'm really very sorry, Horace.
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I'm very sorry, Horace - not unexpected - but such friends are tough to lose. Our dog's are pretty generous in not judging us harshly - loving us for just showing up. It hurts like hell to lose such a companion.
@kluurs said in Doggie end of life decisions:
I'm very sorry, Horace - not unexpected - but such friends are tough to lose. Our dog's are pretty generous in not judging us harshly - loving us for just showing up. It hurts like hell to lose such a companion.
Yep. Put your wife and your dog in the car trunk. Come back in an hour and see who's glad to see you.
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Oh I'm sorry, Horace, that's awful. You're right, as least it was pretty quick and he didn't suffer too much. I know how difficult it is, though.
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Aww geez.
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Oh, no! So very, very sorry he's gone.
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Well...crap.
Dogs teach us how to love. How to care. How to be responsible. I've heard people say they would like to be half the person their dog thinks they are.
And mostly, we outlive them. They die, and leave pawprints all over your heart. But they are still teaching us. They teach us how to grieve. Lastly, they teach us how to remember.
I'd say Horace's dog was an excellent teacher. Good dog. Good dog, indeed...
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Thanks all. He had a good and extraordinarily healthy life, up to the spleen thing. I think last night when he lagged behind in his walk, was the first walk I'd taken him on after his surgery where he wasn't pulling and leading. His life force was ebbing. Over the past week he'd been dry heaving a few times a day, but I didn't think much of it. I didn't even know he was fighting, but this morning he stopped fighting. He was a pretty tough guy. I don't know what a vet might guess as to cause of death. He still had a decent appetite last night. I was worried after the walk and gave him a big bowl of milk, which he lapped up excitedly. His timeline coincides with the expectation if the spleen was cancerous. I wonder if a biopsy is an exact science.
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Wow. So sorry @Hoarace.
