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[EyeJacker]

My long time little Buddy is very close to making the cross over. He is now blind and nearly totally deaf. Although, he does not seem to be in pain and his appetite is still good, he sleeps almost all day. Words fail to express the depth of my sadness. The two of us have had many adventures together plying the waters and prowling the woods. About I year ago he could no longer negotiate these trips afield. A sad day it was for both, indeed. Although he is not a big dog (minature Schnauzer) he is gargantuan in spirit. I have never heard him growl, never. He loves both man and dog from the very first meeting and thinks everyone should love him as well. Every now and then he would encounter someone (person or dog) that did not cotton to his unbridled exuberance in making new friends. This ocassional rebuff would deeply wound him for awhile. But, true to the magnitude and resilience of his spirit, it never permantly modified his enthusiastic greetings. I dread the approaching day and will miss him more than I could ever express. The tears flow freely whenever I contemplate the proximity of this much too rapidly approaching event.

Jack

[s.f.]

you bring back one of my saddest days...but many good, unforgetable memories.
my german shorthair got to the shape your buddy is. i decided to finally end her suffering. she hated going to the vet for all of her 14 years. she'd wear her toenails off trying to avoid going into the vet office while on the leash. then, on the day of reckoning, she didn't tug or struggle. she walked in along side me and stood quietly while i filled out the papers. i unleashed her and on her own, she went down the hall to the examining room. i and the vet watched in amazement as we remembered her past behavior in this setting. she stopped and looked back at me for a minute and then went into the room. i have to remember that moment as if she was saying 'thanks for the memories'.
jack...savor the memories.
#49

[Peanut]

Jeez you guys, I'm sitting at work wiping my eyes - and thanking God my guy is still only a year old...

Hang in there Jack.

derrek.

CANADIAN WALLEYE OPEN UP AND SAY "EH"!

[suzuki]

I went through this 11 months ago and it was difficult to say the least. I still have not gotten another dog and don't know when/if I ever will. I don't know what to tell you that would help. Everyone has to handle these things in their own way. One thing that comes to mind though is
"time heals all wounds" Hang in there.

[gilly8000]

You're not kidding peanut. I got chills reading these posts. I had to go through the same thing about a year ago, they truely are a member of the family. Hang in there EyeJacker, at least you know you're not alone.

[FJH1]

Oh come on you guys you're tearing me apart. My wife and I have two Goldens (one 7 and one 6). I dread the day. But both of these dogs have filled our lives with so much joy that the memories will last forever. Good luck Jack, I'm thinking of you.

Best Regards,

FJH

[EyeJacker]

Thanks for sharing your very touching and understanding story. It helps to be reminded that I am not the first one to travel this path. I have had other dogs and losing them was always extremely sad, but knothing compares to this feeling of impending devistation over losing "Smokey". Writing about him in this manner just tears me up, causing frequent pauses while a very blurry monitor regains focus, I can only hope it has some therapeutic value. Thanks!

[EyeJacker]

Thanks. As I sit here bleary eyed at my computer, Smokey lays in the security of his little bed at my feet. Every now and then he yips softly as he chases the rabbits that still wonder through the convolutions of his mind. This has been a nocturnal ritual for as long as we have slept in the same room together. It was always reassuring to hear him taking up the chase. I can only hope he is reliving happier times at least for the duration of these pursuits. I truly believe he is not in any physical pain. If I thought for one nanosecond he was suffering.........

Jack

[EyeJacker]

Smokey was not there that June day last summer when I finally boated my long sought after 8 lb ‘eye. He had been with me in that quest for almost all of his life. I did not see his reflection as he strained staring into the water, head slightly cocked and ears perked, to see what had diverted my attention, as he had done so many times before. He was not there to officially witness the commencement exercise of weighing and measuring before returning this temporary guest to his watery domain. He did not witness the unabashed celebration that followed. Well, I guess, he did not really miss taking that part in, after all, he had been subjected to that ridiculous ritual of breaking into an unrecognizable version
of “tripping the (not so) light fantastic” while flailing arms and hurling exclamations of shear joy into the atmosphere, not all of which could be shared here. He certainly would not have missed the sudden fright that always accompanied the violent rocking of the boat
that followed. After all he had seen this loony demonstration before and I am sure he wondered why I was, suddenly, so happy to see him, after all he’d been there all along. No, he is no longer there to occupy the made to fit cubby in the very bow of my Lund with the vinyl snap cover clothespinned horizontally to a bow stretched bunge cord, serving as a canopy to his private quarters while protecting him from the blazing sun and pelting rain. I am not yet able to store any gear in his vacated 3 season lake cabin for he maintains a still vivid presence there, his estate in perpetuity.

Jack

[Otter]

I don't know what I would do without Bridget. She is only 8, so I'm hoping for many more years.

[Wallygetter]

My wife and I had to make that awful dreaded deceision not to long ago. I knew it was coming, but she did not want to think about it and put it off for several months wishing and praying things would get better, but they only deminished. Ole' Sparky was going blind, was losing his hearing and was having a terrible time going down and up our steps off the back deck, he was struggling just to get up from laying down. He was my constant companion for over 12 years, fishing, hunting, working in the xmas tree fields. I can remember at the end of the day he would lay his head in my lap and sleep all the way home. He would bark constantly while I was fighting a fish, only to stop when it was landed.He would often just jump in the lake and swim around until I would lift him back in the boat. He slept on the foot of the bed for 10 years, but could not jump up on it the last years. He was my fourth Brittney Spaniel and my favorite by all means. The day I took him to the vet, he too knew what was up, he gave me one last look with those big brown eyes as if to say It's been a great time but I know it's over and thank you everso much for all the good times we had together. Needless to say, I cried all the way there and all the way home, my throat has a huge lump in it now, and tears in my eyes remembering his life and that day. His ashes are still under my wifes nightstand and I often here her saying something to him, even if he is only here in spirit, he was certainly part of our family, the kids are grown and married now but they will often sit and laugh when we tell stories of him.Sorry I rambled on but I know what your going through and it is hard.

[EyeJacker]

His departure though imminent has not happened yet and I am already wrung dry. Thanks for sharing! It does seems to help.

A red eyed Jack

[Buddy13]

I just went through that with my Buddy. Buddy was with me for thirteen years. He went with me when I worked up in Ontario on the Lake of the Woods at a camp as director of fishing. In the off season, we walked the woods everyday so Buddy could play.

This winter in late December for the first time in his life, he walked behind me instead of running ahead. He had been slowing down for sometime but still had a lot of go. Then one day, he didn't want to go for a walk, he just did his business and wanted to go in. I took him to the vet, and the vet said he had cancer throughout his lymph system. He started to go fast, I didn't want him to suffer so on January 9th, I let him be free. I have cried everyday for him, but he is not suffering. I miss him terribly. Life will never be the same without him, but we do go on.

I dedicated my web site to him, please see In Memory on http://www.justfishontario.com and you will see my Buddy. We were joined at the hip.

Please don't make your dog go to long where he suffers and life becomes a burden.

Phil

[hgf]

Geez, this brings it home. Blackie, our 16 year old heinz 57 schnauzer, is about to check out too. He was here when I married my wife, sleeps on the bed (heck, we had a battle about that when I first came on the scene 10 years ago, he's still not convinced I belong in "his" bed), and he is now getting dizzy, falls sidewise, and has had a stroke, deaf as a post, but somehow can still hear when I open the cheese container. Wife and I have a deal that I would not have to spring for new carpeting until he dies, and he has been around a loooooonng time saving me big bucks!!! I get accused of feeding him steroids and having him cloned to save money. But he sure has grown on me, even though he is not convinced I am the boss yet. I tried to be nice to him at the beginning, bought him a nice bed of shavings to sleep on instead of the bed (I had other ideas for the bed), then he got some allergic reaction, skin fell off, and wife had to rub cream on places I wouldn't dare touch! Got accused of trying to poison him. Now I'm just hoping he lasts till it thaws out so I can dig a place for him. Sure going to miss him.

[EyeJacker]

Thanks Phil, I'll check out that web site. Be assured that I will do what I gotta do when first I sense any suffering, on that you can bank.
Jack

[EyeJacker]

Thanks for your comments. Sounds like we are in the same boat.

[eek]

Here are a couple of good (I think) websites to help you. I lost my first dog, his name was Casey, a 13 1/2 year old Shetland Sheepdog, 2 years ago, still hurts like crazy.

aplb.org
petloss.com

eek

[bluelund]

Eyejacker,

I will never forget the day I had to put my Golden down, I never thought I would be able to be in the same room when they gave him the injection. Thought it would be too hard, now though, when I think back on it, it was the best thing I could do for him. I know the last thing he saw before he died was his best friend and not just a room full of strangers. We do so much for our pets and they for us that I think we owe them our presence when they die. I know this is a very hard ordeal for you to face and I can sympathize with what you are going through. I still miss him and it has been a year and a half since he died, I got another dog about 6 months later and have found that he is just as lovable albeit with a different personality, as Chester was. Take care.

The more people I meet, the more I like my dog.

Bob M

[EyeJacker]

Thanks Bob for the words and a couple of great quotes. I too have met a lot of people in my day, I guess that is why I have such a strong emotional attachment to Smokey.