Departed pets;

Gael23

littlecat wrote: »

Hey don't ever beat yourself up over that, sounds like a very different situation. With my girl it was a gradual decline where we interceded, it sounds like your boy went downhill more rapidly. Your last memory is a lovely one - wrapped up safe, bringing him somewhere where he'd be taken care of? Many an animal would wish for last days like that.
Sorry for your loss x

It was a gradual decline over about 3 years caused by multiple health problems but we were able to control everything really well and he had a remarkably good quality of life considering that. In the last 3 days he deteriorated before our eyes. I knew the Tuesday morning there was something wrong but waited a few hours before getting too worried. No improvement by the evening so we went to the vets and that was it. Initially we all thought it was just a nasty infection but hope didn't respond to treatment by the following day which was when we started to worry. Some more tests followed and now I realised this may not get better, both by what the vet was saying and the type of tests being done.
On the final day the rest of the tests came back which told us we were at the end of the road this time. I originally thought that meant a few days and we could bring him home and let him go in his own familiar surroundings but he died 4 hours after we got that news.

VickieVexed

To all,
The following post has been split away from another thread.
Thanks,
DBB

Hi All.
Sadly it turned out be a lot more serious than we had thought. I have posted here before about our little girl having CHF. The vet warned us to never let her get too hot, hence the short grooming session, done by a friend who is also a qualified vet's nurse.

She was the most loving fur baby I've ever known, and this week we had lots of visitors, meaning lots of excitement for her. Her beautiful little heart could fight no more and she passed away last night. Now we're tormented with thoughts of 'what if' 'if only' ...but her vet said today that it was only a matter of time. We are devastated beyond words, this exquisite loving soul is now gone from our lives, this house no longer feels like a home.

Thanks to everyone on this forum who has ever given me advice. Please give your fur babies an extra hug tonight. xx

DBB

Oh jayney VikieVexed,
That is so sad. What a terrible shock.
I do think you should draw solace from your vet's words though... it sounds like it really was a matter of time, and you could not possibly protect her from the things that made her happy and excited.. Would you really want to? Remember... there's a lot to be said for fading out when you're in the middle of people, things, and scenarios that you love

muddypaws

I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like you tried everything to keep her happy and healthy. Take care.

YurOK2

That's an awful shock to you OP. Very sad. Sorry for your loss x

RainyDay

littlecat wrote: »

We had to make the decision to send our darling 15 year old cat on her final journey at the weekend. Her kidneys were failing so we did what we could with her diet but by the end it just wasn't working. She was like a kitten who never grew up and I swear would have lived on kisses and cuddles alone.
My heart has for the second time been broken by a ball of fur but I'm also relieved to not wake up every day wondering if we should or shouldn't. Miss her so much already but I miss the old her; I'm glad her gentle little soul is safe and well again x

So sorry for your loss. Our 16-yo girl is doing really well on her kidney-diet food and Fortekor tablet, but I know she's on borrowed time really. I'm just hoping she gets to enjoy a warm summer sitting on the shed roof.

littlecat wrote: »

She had the very best life and everything she could wish for - only way to treat them. I promised her I'd mind her til the end so the vet came to the house so she wouldn't have the stress of the trip and I kept her in my arms while he sent her on her way.

I'm determined to do this at home when the time comes, but I haven't been able to work up the strength to discuss it with the vet yet! Well done on making it happen in the best way possible.

littlecat

RainyDay wrote: »

So sorry for your loss. Our 16-yo girl is doing really well on her kidney-diet food and Fortekor tablet, but I know she's on borrowed time really. I'm just hoping she gets to enjoy a warm summer sitting on the shed roof.


I'm determined to do this at home when the time comes, but I haven't been able to work up the strength to discuss it with the vet yet! Well done on making it happen in the best way possible.

That's actually what I was hoping for funnily enough, one last happy summer sitting in her favourite spots in the garden. The problem with her and the renal diet was that she was always finicky and only ever ate dry food and fresh meat, plus a couple of random vegetables when the mood took her! So we tried to give her half renal, half what she was used to but by the end she only wanted all the wrong things and the last two days it just went straight through her.
It is the most heartbreaking thing to have to do but I was holding her and kissing the top of her head as the injection went in so hopefully that was the last thing she knew.
Good luck with yours, hope she gets her summer on the shed roof :-) x

Gael23

Sometimes having those last moments at home are just not possible, as I found out. He was too sick and deteriorating too rapidly to bring home. As I said, I wish I could have let him die at home but I don't regret not because I know that bringing him home would have caused unnessecary suffering.
Anyone ever watch the film Marley&Me? Having been through the loss of a pet recently it's quite hard hitting and in the film the dog does in a similar way to mine.

kylith

I got this beautiful portrait of Tegan from a lady in the UK. I received it Monday, but today is the first time I've been able to not cry long enough to take a picture. I should be able to look at it without bawling for at least 30 seconds by the end of the year.

d9oiu2wk07blr5

Lewy my beautiful budgie of 16+ years died tonight cradled against my chest....you will always be missed....sleep well my love xxxx.

jryan044

My gorgeous dog of 15 years was PTS on Saturday.

He had been deteriorating slowly for about 2-3 years now and had got to a point where we felt he was in pain, as he was struggling to walk and get up and down.

I am absolutely heart broken. Have not stopped crying for long since and feel so empty. Am now driving myself mad thinking maybe we shouldn't have done it, how do we know he was in pain, maybe he was happy enough and could have held on. And it doesn't help for people to say "he's only a dog."

MonkieSocks

jryan044 wrote: »

My gorgeous dog of 15 years was PTS on Saturday.

He had been deteriorating slowly for about 2-3 years now and had got to a point where we felt he was in pain, as he was struggling to walk and get up and down.

I am absolutely heart broken. Have not stopped crying for long since and feel so empty. Am now driving myself mad thinking maybe we shouldn't have done it, how do we know he was in pain, maybe he was happy enough and could have held on. And it doesn't help for people to say "he's only a dog."

You actually did what any kind hearted and loving person would do, despite knowing that you would feel anguish and sorrow.

Your friend was in pain without having any chance of getting better.

You made a brave and compassionate decision and it was the right thing to do.

IGNORE people who say "he's Only a Dog"

The love you had for your friend was something very rare in this world.

Unconditional Love and Compassion from one living creature to another.

THAT will never die, it goes on forever.


Very sorry to all the people on this thread who have lost their little friends.



They were a blessing in Life that we should never forget or feel sad about.

I am eternally grateful for the Love I got and gave to my Dogs, Cats, Budgie when they were with me.

May they live in our hearts to the rhythm of it's beat.

All the best Jryan, you will be heartbroken at the moment, But eventually you will remember how your Dog and You lived together and not how he passed at the end.

It's all about the journey not the ending.


Socks

Cows Go µ

Well said MonkieSocks.

Reading the posts on this thread has had me in bits.

My Kairi died over a year and a half ago now but I still think about her every single day and though it's mostly good memories now and I'm mostly able to talk about it, its still all I can do to not cry at the thought of her.

I was there the day she was born (backwards, because why would you do something the normal way?) and I knew from the second she was born that she would be my little girl. She was scary smart, completely insane and so happy. She was timid but so curious that she would venture anywhere.

She died because I trusted my vet and he gave her medicine that many of her breed are allergic to and he should have known better. I still feel terrible that I wasn't there when she died but I was there the last time she was concious. So the first thing she ever felt in this world was being held by me and so was the last.

Aww, crap, I shouldn't have started this post. I still have to bring Pepper for a run but I'm not fit to be viewed by humans now

kylith

I made Rani's final vet appointment for tomorrow. Even after a week on antibiotics she's got a lot of blood in her urine, she's not interested in eating, her front right and back left legs can no longer support her, she's lost over a kilo in weight, and she's been falling so much that she's bruised both her eyeballs. When I came down to bring her out this morning I found that she'd wet the bed and not been able to move out of it. To keep going in this situation would just be cruel.

Today she's doped up on morphine and has been given the highest honour she would want; my spot on the couch.

I have to admit that I found myself on a pet rescue site earlier and I still feel guilty about it, that anyone would think I was replacing Ra. Honestly though, I just can't imagine my life or my home without at least one dog in it. A friend asked me to go on holiday with her to Spain and I'm thinking of pretending I can't take the time off because I could use that week to settle another dog into my home.

DBB

Jeepers kylith... That's so sad. Tough times for you this past while
Good luck with what's ahead. It's never an easy thing to do

angeldaisy

Sorry to hear that Kylith, my thoughts are with you.

Cows Go µ

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. Thinking about you and your little Rani. I would say at least she isn't suffering anymore but I'm sure that won't make you feel any better

In a way I was very lucky because I had Pepper to cuddle, she was just over 4 months old when Kairi died but it meant that Pepper now has loads of problems. She was at the time when I was meant to be doing lots of socialisation with her and I just couldn't. I couldn't train her because every time I tried I'd burst into tears. All I could do was cuddle her, she's great at that, she'll sit with me all day if I ask her to but once I started doing agility with her I realised how many things she missed. Like playing with humans rather than (my parents) dogs and she could ignore other dogs on walks but couldn't do any kind of training with them around. And I feel so awful for it, she's a lovely happy dog but I know if I had done what I was meant to she would be far happier

I'm just saying, be really very very sure that you are ready for a new dog before you get one. Because it won't be you who suffers for it

Gael23

Kylith I know how you feel, as we all do. I have felt that desire to fill the void left in you as quickly as possible but I think you should resist that urge for now.
Andy died on January 15th and the emptiness hit me harder than I could possibly have imagined. That's where the urge to get another one comes from.

Thinking logically, I needed time to process the loss of him in my own mind before I could get another one, and also I felt that I would be swapping old for new if that makes sense. I couldn't bear the thought of looking down on the ground and seeing another Dog in his spot for a few weeks after.
6 months on we still haven't done it but those feelings left me after a few months. Don't rush it is my advice.

kylith

I know what you mean Gael. I won't be rushing straight out because I will need to arrange to take time off work to settle in a new dog, but I dread how alone I'll feel in the house without a dog to hog the sofa and stare at me while I eat.

aonb

Kylith, you poor thing. Poor Rani. Sounds like the decision is made for you.
I cant imagine life without a dog either. Isnt it great that you have had such a lovely time with Rani and your other dog, that they showed you that life without dogs is not possible.
I would embrace the search for your new dog, the next dog in your life, not the one that replaces the dogs in your heart. Just the next one to love.
Tell your friend who wants you to go to Spain, that you need to take that week to settle your new dog. If shes your friend, she will understand.
The trip to the vet will be horrible. But its for Rani's sake. I wont say to try to be brave/strong - its horrible and the pits, but you cant keep her for a day longer when shes in pain and stressed.
hugs

Lucyfur

I'm really sorry you have to go though this again so soon Your poor heart

Gael23

aonb wrote: »

I cant imagine life without a dog either. Isnt it great that you have had such a lovely time with Rani and your other dog, that they showed you that life without dogs is not possible.

We only feel somewhat ready now, as I said earlier we needed time to process our loss and also we did begin to enjoy the break from his care,it got a little tough over the last few months although his quality of life was still good.
Its a new way of life, thats for sure and it takes lots of adjusting to.

kylith

Thanks for all the good thoughts folks, in a way it's easier this time round because I've been seeing her age for so long that I knew I'd have to make the decision sooner rather than later.

The thought of being without a dog is heartrending and I have made enquiries about rehoming policies from a couple of places on the basis that by the time a suitable dog is found and I've arranged time off work to settle them in it'll be a couple of months down the line, which will give me a chance to learn to drive so I can take them to the beach. In the mean time I'll be stealing my neighbour's dog every chance I get.

Zapperzy

You've had an awful hard few months kylith. I always had a soft spot for tegan and rani, they remind me of my fella. Don't feel guilty, your offering a wonderful home to another less fortunate dog. They can never be replaced, you just learn to love and adapt to the differences.

Pretzill

I'm so sorry Kylith and I understand, (after losing two of the best dogs within a year of each other). The thing is others will find you, and without realising it will be the right time too and the right dog(s). Just like Rani and Tegan did.

kylith

She passed in the vets today. I know that I 100% made the right decision for her, but the house feels so much bigger without her

With her and Tegan to deal with Death will never get the hair out of his robe

leahyl

I don't usually post in here but myself and my family are absolutely devastated today, as we had to put our baby to sleep this afternoon after 13 and a half very happy years. I don't think I have ever cried so much in one day. We will miss you so much Taz, but we know you are at peace now.

leahyl

This is Taz

MonkieSocks

leahyl wrote: »

This is Taz

Beautiful Little Dog, sorry for your loss.

kylith

So sorry for your loss leahyl