Departed pets;

jellybear

jellybear wrote: »

Had a tough time when wrapping the bunnies presents, was very strange writing 3 names instead of 7 on the little gift tag. Also seeing their decoration on the tree, it's a Christmas tree shape with all of their names written on it, really upset me

I feel this! I used to listen to Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" a lot, heard it earlier today, there are only Two Little Birds now.

Internet hugs.

I don't know if I'm mad or drunk, or both, but I don't feel either, but I invited my mother's cat Mammy to sleep in my room. She's a total psycho. I'm half afraid to get into my bed now! Mammy can and does attack for absolutely no reason.

Gael23

Yesterday was hard, never expected to have a day like that after almost a year.
Every year on New Year's Day we spend the day with Family a few hours drive away. Last year it was impossible for us to leave Andy at home alone for the day so we brought him with us for the first time ever. We saw this as a new beginning for us because now we could take him with us to family occasions and that and not worry about having to leave him at home and not really enjoy ourselves. He died exactly 2 weeks after. Also the last picture we have of him was taken that day.

Toots

I can't believe I'm posting this here. I tried a few weeks ago but couldn't even finish typing from crying so hard. Our beautiful Bella passed away on 6th of December. On the 1st, she suddenly went blind, we brought her to the emergency vet, she had tests etc and all came back fine. We brought her to our own vet the next morning for more tests, and all was showing ok.

She was still her normal self, other than the fact that she was completely blind - still wagging her tail, trying to steal food, etc. On the 5th she was pretty quiet, but we weren't sure if that's cos she was getting a bit down from being blind, then on the morning of the 6th she fell over while she was trying to eat her breakfast. We had to go out for a little while, but we were only gone for about an hour when I had to go back. I just had a horrible feeling that something was really wrong. When we got home, she'd peed in her crate and was just lying there in it, she was struggling to breathe and I think she couldn't hear either. I lifted her out and she just lay in a heap on the floor.

I knew at that stage that this was probably the end, but I think a part of me sorta hoped that if we got her to the vet they'd be able to do something for her. My hubby and I wrapped her up in a bedspread and brought her to the emergency vets, they took her in straight away and left us in the waiting room. When the vet came out to get us, her face said it all. They let me hold her on my knee while they put her to sleep. Then we had to go home and tell our 4 year old son. I kept her collar, and I know it sounds weird, but I put it in a ziploc bag when we got home, because I was afraid if it was just sitting in a box it wouldn't smell like her anymore.

We agreed to let them do a post-mortem on her, firstly because we needed to find out what happened - not knowing was killing me, and secondly the student vets and everyone in the hospital had been so incredibly kind to us, we felt better knowing that some benefit would come from it.

We got the results back and it turned out she had a very rare and aggressive form of cancer - it was all the way through her, she even had tumors in her heart valves. It was too much for her and her little body just shut down. The scary part was up until she suddenly went blind 4 days before she died, she showed no symptoms whatsoever. She'd even been to the vet a few weeks prior for her annual checkup and was declared in great shape. My vet called us to say how sorry he was to hear about her, and when he was talking about the post mortem results, he said they reckoned she'd probably only had it a matter of weeks, and that with that particular type of cancer, even if it had been caught straight away, there would have been nothing anyone could do. Hearing that did help, cos I'd been torturing myself trying to think what had I missed, and had I brought her to the vet sooner would she have lived.

I have to say I've never experienced grief like this before, this horrible ache that doesn't go away. (I'm in floods again here) I know that saying goodbye is part of the deal when you've got a pet, but she was only 8, I thought I'd have a few more years with her.

Gael23

Toots wrote: »

, and that with that particular type of cancer, even if it had been caught straight away, there would have been nothing anyone could do. Hearing that did help, cos I'd been torturing myself trying to think what had I missed, and had I brought her to the vet sooner would she have lived.

I have to say I've never experienced grief like this before, this horrible ache that doesn't go away. (I'm in floods again here) I know that saying goodbye is part of the deal when you've got a pet, but she was only 8, I thought I'd have a few more years with her

Sometimes you have to accept there is simply nothing you can do. After Andy died, I kept thinking about things I saw that were classic signs of kidney failure, maybe they were but me noticing them would never have meant we could have fixed them. Maybe we could have prolonged his life but ultimately there would have been no cure, but then he was 15 so enough was enough. Always remember quality of life is the most important with an animal, I agree that 8yrs is a little disappointing but why keep her going with zero quality of life.
That ache really is horrible and even though Andy was 15 and had the best quality of life possible until close to when he died, it still hurts .

pajor

I saw this thread randomly before, so might feel better to post. My mum texted me when I got home from work today to tell me that the vet in Portlaoise had put our little treasure of a 15+ year old dog, Monty to sleep.

I'm 24 and live in the Netherlands now. Our family have had Monty since January 2002 when I was a little 10 year old. Back then I was actually very scared of dogs, really didn't like them. Monty was about 2 years old when we got him, found him at an animal rescue shelter in Doneraile in Cork (we lived in Cork then). He was a little brat, very annoying and never responded to any training. Apparently he had been treated very badly before he was rescued which did sort of explain that. But as time passed he became sweeter and more loving. Would jump on anybody, lick anybody and loved tennis balls and the beach very very much.

In 2004 we got a little Jack Russel, Millie; thinking that she would be a lovely little companion for Monty. Didn't turn out to be the case at all, as she quickly became top dog. But this calmed down Monty a lot, which made him appreciate human attention even more. Millie is still with us fortunately.

A few years ago he had his first stroke. Was scary at the time, we were eating dinner and just heard this strange wheezing noise. Monty came stumbling in and then collapsed. He was rushed to the vet, who confirmed that it was a small stroke. That was the beginning probably of his health problems. Over the following time until now his joints became very bad, not great teeth (our bad), having this mysterious lump on his chest (no vet could figure it out), becoming deaf and blind and quite senile. He started even to refuse being walked at night because he couldn't hear or see anything. But all of this never stopped him from loving to have his belly rubbed and ears scratched. I was at home for Christmas and he looked very different to when I saw him last in January of last year. He was even more frail looking and very incontinent which I didn't know.

I'm rambling a little, but over my life Monty stopped me from being a little boy who was scared of dogs to someone who loves them greatly. I'm not ashamed to say that I've cried a lot of man tears this evening. My older sister who lives in Scotland always said that Monty would never die, he was just too amazing. So we're both going through the same distant sadness.


RIP Monty - I'll always love you.

cocker5

Toots wrote: »

I can't believe I'm posting this here. I tried a few weeks ago but couldn't even finish typing from crying so hard. Our beautiful Bella passed away on 6th of December. On the 1st, she suddenly went blind, we brought her to the emergency vet, she had tests etc and all came back fine. We brought her to our own vet the next morning for more tests, and all was showing ok.

She was still her normal self, other than the fact that she was completely blind - still wagging her tail, trying to steal food, etc. On the 5th she was pretty quiet, but we weren't sure if that's cos she was getting a bit down from being blind, then on the morning of the 6th she fell over while she was trying to eat her breakfast. We had to go out for a little while, but we were only gone for about an hour when I had to go back. I just had a horrible feeling that something was really wrong. When we got home, she'd peed in her crate and was just lying there in it, she was struggling to breathe and I think she couldn't hear either. I lifted her out and she just lay in a heap on the floor.

I knew at that stage that this was probably the end, but I think a part of me sorta hoped that if we got her to the vet they'd be able to do something for her. My hubby and I wrapped her up in a bedspread and brought her to the emergency vets, they took her in straight away and left us in the waiting room. When the vet came out to get us, her face said it all. They let me hold her on my knee while they put her to sleep. Then we had to go home and tell our 4 year old son. I kept her collar, and I know it sounds weird, but I put it in a ziploc bag when we got home, because I was afraid if it was just sitting in a box it wouldn't smell like her anymore.

We agreed to let them do a post-mortem on her, firstly because we needed to find out what happened - not knowing was killing me, and secondly the student vets and everyone in the hospital had been so incredibly kind to us, we felt better knowing that some benefit would come from it.

We got the results back and it turned out she had a very rare and aggressive form of cancer - it was all the way through her, she even had tumors in her heart valves. It was too much for her and her little body just shut down. The scary part was up until she suddenly went blind 4 days before she died, she showed no symptoms whatsoever. She'd even been to the vet a few weeks prior for her annual checkup and was declared in great shape. My vet called us to say how sorry he was to hear about her, and when he was talking about the post mortem results, he said they reckoned she'd probably only had it a matter of weeks, and that with that particular type of cancer, even if it had been caught straight away, there would have been nothing anyone could do. Hearing that did help, cos I'd been torturing myself trying to think what had I missed, and had I brought her to the vet sooner would she have lived.

I have to say I've never experienced grief like this before, this horrible ache that doesn't go away. (I'm in floods again here) I know that saying goodbye is part of the deal when you've got a pet, but she was only 8, I thought I'd have a few more years with her.

I am so so sorry to read you recently lost your gorgeous cocker - she is the spit an image of my black cocker Cody (who fingers crossed turns 11 in April) - I dread the day he leaves me to be honest i can only imagine how you must be feeling.

Take comfort in the knowledge she looks VERY happy in that photo, you can see she was very much loved and well looked after XX

kylith

Toots wrote: »

The scary part was up until she suddenly went blind 4 days before she died, she showed no symptoms whatsoever. She'd even been to the vet a few weeks prior for her annual checkup and was declared in great shape. My vet called us to say how sorry he was to hear about her, and when he was talking about the post mortem results, he said they reckoned she'd probably only had it a matter of weeks, and that with that particular type of cancer, even if it had been caught straight away, there would have been nothing anyone could do. Hearing that did help, cos I'd been torturing myself trying to think what had I missed, and had I brought her to the vet sooner would she have lived.

Oh, you poor thing. I know what it's like; with Tegan she was fine when when I went to work in the morning and seriously ill by the time I got home. She'd even been to the vet for a lump removal a couple of weeks previously. Just remember that if the vet didn't pick up on it there is absolutely no way you could have done, dogs are so good at hiding illness. Just know that she knew that she was loved dearly.

Gael23

pajor wrote: »

A few years ago he had his first stroke. Was scary at the time, we were eating dinner and just heard this strange wheezing noise. Monty came stumbling in and then collapsed. He was rushed to the vet, who confirmed that it was a small stroke. That was the beginning probably of his health problems. Over the following time until now his joints became very bad, not great teeth (our bad), having this mysterious lump on his chest (no vet could figure it out), becoming deaf and blind and quite senile. He started even to refuse being walked at night because he couldn't hear or see anything. But all of this never stopped him from loving to have his belly rubbed and ears scratched. I was at home for Christmas and he looked very different to when I saw him last in January of last year. He was even more frail looking and very incontinent which I didn't know.

I'm rambling a little, but over my life Monty stopped me from being a little boy who was scared of dogs to someone who loves them greatly. I'm not ashamed to say that I've cried a lot of man tears this evening. My older sister who lives in Scotland always said that Monty would never die, he was just too amazing. So we're both going through the same distant sadness.


RIP Monty - I'll always love you.

We lol like to think our pets will never die- at least I did. With mine he had lots of health issues like that but each setback he always bounced back, until that one time. A year ago tomorrow I knew something serious was wrong and it was different from anything I saw before. But I held on to the belief that he would come back until the following night when we got bad news from blood tests. I still didn't fully believe it was all over until he died the following morning.
One thing that held me a lot is knowing that Andy died before his quality of life got too bad- reading your post it seems Montys life was heading a little that way- always remember quality over quantity with an animal.

Gael23

1 year today.
Its not striking me as much as I thought it would, but maybe thats not a bad thing.

Manach

Gypsy: a great watch dog and member of the family. God grant him rest.

muddypaws

RIP Didge, our lovely collie cross. She was diagnosed with lupus like auto immune disease last year, but this morning her poor little body couldn't fight it anymore. A cantankerous girl, but much loved by so many people, not least all of the vet nurses at Moy Vets in Ballina, who have shown her such amazing care and compassion since her diagnosis.

She never quite got the concept of a crate.

on_my_oe

Toots wrote: »

I can't believe I'm posting this here. I tried a few weeks ago but couldn't even finish typing from crying so hard. Our beautiful Bella passed away on 6th of December.

This story particularly touched me, but I have tears in my eyes from reading many of the posts in this thread.

Too often there are terrible stories about the bad things that happen to animals, but often we don't hear about the owners who love and adore their four pawed family members, and who mourn their loss as greatly as a human passing. Those of us who are lucky enough to love an animal and be loved in return are truly blessed.

theflipdave

Some of them pictures make me so so sad

Raminahobbin

Not departed yet, but I have to put my dog down on Thursday. I'm absolutely heartbroken, although it hasn't really sunk in yet.

Nearly 2 years ago, when she was 10 years old, she developed cancer on one of her anal sacs. We were told it was a particularly aggressive form of cancer that would definitely come back after the surgery and would spread very quickly when it did.

It's back, and it has spread very quickly. Surgery would be extremely invasive and not likely to catch it all. Plus, she's now 12 and it's a severe surgery for a dog of her age. Without the surgery, the vet said we're talking weeks before our hand is forced.

There are, basically, no symptoms beyond her poop being in shorter strands and slightly flatter in shape: that's it. Her mood is fine, her appetite is fine, she's still running around barking her head off and being a pest.

I'd rather she didn't experience pain, and I'd rather remember her like this, so the vet is coming out to the house on Thursday. My mother, my brother and I will all be there with her.

It just feels so surreal. So unnecessary as we played with her this evening. She's absolutely fine on the outside.

I'm heartbroken. She's my baby.

Gremlinertia

I'm so so sorry Ramina, got a twinge in my heart reading that, doing the right thing is so very hard.. Hopefully in time you'll take comfort from the fact that you are saving her the pain.. I'll be thinking of you all thursday..

aonb

Its so much better when the vet can come to do the awful job in your dogs home. We had our vet out to put Pepper to sleep - a relief. When our dog was going downhill, like yours, he had no symptoms, so we put it off until we had no choice. The WORST thing we could have done. He very very very quickly went from being ok/mobile/happy to being unable to eat/drink/get out of bed. We 'dithered' for two days thinking he would make another recovery - he was like a boomerang, at deaths door for two years, and every time bounced back like a puppy - so we were lulled into a very false sense of security. He was so unwell and miserable for those two days, while we looked on broken hearted. I feel so bad even now that we allowed him to be miserable for a minute longer than we should have. I feel so guilty about that still. So let your poor girl go before any pain or deterioration starts. Its a horrible time, but you will know that you helped her go before there was any pain, which is the final loving thing you can do for your beloved dog. Hugs.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Irish Stones

Raminahobbin wrote: »

There are, basically, no symptoms beyond her poop being in shorter strands and slightly flatter in shape: that's it. Her mood is fine, her appetite is fine, she's still running around barking her head off and being a pest.

So why put an end to her life?
She has no symptoms, she's not suffering yet, she's full of life, eats, runs, barks, she wants to live, love and be loved.
I'm sure she's not asking you to give her relief yet.
Give her some more days, please!

Gael23

Irish Stones wrote: »

So why put an end to her life?
She has no symptoms, she's not suffering yet, she's full of life, eats, runs, barks, she wants to live, love and be loved.
I'm sure she's not asking you to give her relief yet.
Give her some more days, please!

I didn't want to say that but I feel the same way. Pain can be controlled and once she has a good quality of life I would keep her going.
I don't want to seem insensitive, which is why I didn't say anything. I've been through the loss of a pet and the days leading up to the inevitable are worse than any words can describe. But to me you are describing a dog that may not be healthy but has a reasonably good quality of life.

Raminahobbin

Irish Stones wrote: »

So why put an end to her life?
She has no symptoms, she's not suffering yet, she's full of life, eats, runs, barks, she wants to live, love and be loved.
I'm sure she's not asking you to give her relief yet.
Give her some more days, please!

Because the vet said it would be a week, or two, tops. Then she would go downhill very quickly and would be in a lot of pain. I couldn't forgive myself if that happened on a day when everyone is at work, or even for her to go through that level of pain and confusion by herself for any length of time.

Keeping her around for every day that I possibly can would be a selfish decision.

I am aware that she's not suffering 'yet' but for her to be suffering *at all* would be too much. She doesn't deserve that. So I'm giving her a gentle passing surrounded by her favourite people ever, while she is still happy and still herself.

I don't appreciate the judgemental tone of your message. I am sure I'm doing the right thing for her, it's just hard and deeply upsetting.

Raminahobbin

Gael23 wrote: »

I didn't want to say that but I feel the same way. Pain can be controlled and once she has a good quality of life I would keep her going.
I don't want to seem insensitive, which is why I didn't say anything. I've been through the loss of a pet and the days leading up to the inevitable are worse than any words can describe. But to me you are describing a dog that may not be healthy but has a reasonably good quality of life.

Good quality of life for now, but we're talking days, maybe 2 weeks. The cancer is closing her rectum off and I think it has spread to the lymph system so it's gonna go very quickly.

2 choices: do it now when she is happy.
Do it later when she is miserable.

I can control one passing, not the other. I can make one passing as easy on her as possible, I can't guarantee that for the other option. She could be alone and in agony.

Again, I have no doubt that this is the best option for her. I think it would be selfish the other way.

TG1

Raminahobbin it's such a hard decision to make, but we delayed with our cat years ago and instead of passing peacefully surrounded by his family he died in pain on his own in a utility room... he was the family cat so it was a group decision to give him a few more days but It's one of the things I really regret not speaking my mind on now.

I will be thinking of you, and I'm so sorry, it's impossibly hard no matter what decision you make.

Irish Stones

Raminahobbin wrote: »

I don't appreciate the judgemental tone of your message. I am sure I'm doing the right thing for her, it's just hard and deeply upsetting.

I'm sorry that you thought I was judging you, because I wasn't.
Probably I misinterpreted your words. I had read that the signs were still good, so I pleased you to have a second thought on this.
Furthermore, you can add in that I'm not mother tongue, so I could have used words that gave my point of view the wrong tone.
I'll be thinking of you.

RainyDay

You're doing the right thing in getting the vet out to your house - saves a load of stress on the pet, and keeps pet and family in their own environment. It will still be a dreadful experience, but you just have to do it. Savour the good memories.

Raminahobbin

It's done. I actually feel like we took it right to the brink of when the good days were going to stop- she seemed to have a little difficulty getting up the stairs Wednesday night. She refused her breakfast on Thursday morning, and when we took her for one last car ride and one last walk in her favourite spot, she quite clearly didn't want to be there and we only took her about 100m before turning back. I'd say if we had left it another 24 hours we would have regretted it.

It happened on the couch where she spent so much time cuddled up with us under fleecey blankets, and took seconds for her to slip away.

It's extremely hard not having her with us, and I literally cannot imagine my life without her, but we all take so much comfort in when it happened and how it happened- I really feel like we did right by her.

Here she is, the night before, annoyed that I keep taking pictures of her. She *hated* having her picture taken.

jimf

its vey clear she was a much loved family member

Niamho!

I had forgotten how truly awful it is to lose a pet. I hadn't gone through it for a few years. I think it's getting harder for me as I get older. I've always had pets and i get very attached to them, very fast. It really is heart-breaking. I found myself wondering this week if it's really worth it. But it is. It has to be. As awful as it is at the end, you know you gave them the best life that you could, and they loved you for that, no matter how short a time that was for.

BrookieD

Like most families we have a pet, we have had Achilles for 12 years and yesterday he died.

Over the weekend we noticed that the family cat Achilles was not looking the best, very slow and tired and not eating. While drinking a little milk he sneezed a few times so we put this down to a little cold. In fairness he was looking very thin and his fur was matted on his hind quarters but given he was an outdoor cat this happened from time to time.

To give a little background a little after my sister in law died in 2004 we were back on Achill Island, Co. Mayo and there was a litter of kittens at my wife's nannys house. These were ferral cats but one was not backward in coming forward and we decided to bring him with us to Dublin. As he was born on Achill we named him Achilles. He was a small ginger kitten full of life but was never an indoor cat.

One thing we always wanted was a cat that was great at being in the house, was comfortable with people and was happy to laze around and sit on your lap or sleep at the end of the bed. Achilles was none of the above. He was an independent as they come, we tried and tried to get him to settle but that was not him so we let him do what he wanted. In short he came to us for a feed and then would be off for the day. From time to time if he had a cold he would spend the night in the house but he was always our outdoor cat. He always would come back to the garden on a sunny day and laze in the sun. he was very nervous but would always come over for a rub and if we opened the back door he would always come running over. He was very nervous but always maintained his wild streak.

Yesterday my wife got up took the kids to school and noticed he was laying in the garden, he had died during the night. It looks like he just gave up and was ill from something as the weight seemed to drop off him over a matter of days. Thinking back to the weekend he was not right when i looked in his eyes and he was really looking to have company as he settled on the sofa, he wanted to have his cheek rubbed and we did just that. we opened the back door and out he scuttled. Sunday morning rolled around and true to form he was at the back door looking for breakfast. We wanted to bring him in but again true to form he wanted brekkie in the garden. We had to go out to football and on return he was no where to be seen.

My wife says that cats go away from the home when they die, they want to be alone, Achilles did not want that, he died in the garden next to the family home. We buried him yesterday evening in a nice little coffin in the back garden.

Liam my 6 yr old called me up in floods of tears as it was his first experience of death. He was just sobbing down the phone, and in his tears of sorrow he said the "Achilles was dead..... can we get another pet?" We had a little talk last night and Liam decided that he did not want to say he had died or was dead, he was "gone" and that was that. but agreed another pet would come in time just not quite yet.

My wife was more upset than i thought she would be, I think it was the connection with Achill and her sister as it was his home.

Have a great sleep little friend, you will always be a part of the family......

RainyDay

BrookieD wrote: »

Like most families we have a pet, we have had Achilles for 12 years and yesterday he died.

Over the weekend we noticed that the family cat Achilles was not looking the best, very slow and tired and not eating. While drinking a little milk he sneezed a few times so we put this down to a little cold. In fairness he was looking very thin and his fur was matted on his hind quarters but given he was an outdoor cat this happened from time to time.

To give a little background a little after my sister in law died in 2004 we were back on Achill Island, Co. Mayo and there was a litter of kittens at my wife's nannys house. These were ferral cats but one was not backward in coming forward and we decided to bring him with us to Dublin. As he was born on Achill we named him Achilles. He was a small ginger kitten full of life but was never an indoor cat.

One thing we always wanted was a cat that was great at being in the house, was comfortable with people and was happy to laze around and sit on your lap or sleep at the end of the bed. Achilles was none of the above. He was an independent as they come, we tried and tried to get him to settle but that was not him so we let him do what he wanted. In short he came to us for a feed and then would be off for the day. From time to time if he had a cold he would spend the night in the house but he was always our outdoor cat. He always would come back to the garden on a sunny day and laze in the sun. he was very nervous but would always come over for a rub and if we opened the back door he would always come running over. He was very nervous but always maintained his wild streak.

Yesterday my wife got up took the kids to school and noticed he was laying in the garden, he had died during the night. It looks like he just gave up and was ill from something as the weight seemed to drop off him over a matter of days. Thinking back to the weekend he was not right when i looked in his eyes and he was really looking to have company as he settled on the sofa, he wanted to have his cheek rubbed and we did just that. we opened the back door and out he scuttled. Sunday morning rolled around and true to form he was at the back door looking for breakfast. We wanted to bring him in but again true to form he wanted brekkie in the garden. We had to go out to football and on return he was no where to be seen.

My wife says that cats go away from the home when they die, they want to be alone, Achilles did not want that, he died in the garden next to the family home. We buried him yesterday evening in a nice little coffin in the back garden.

Liam my 6 yr old called me up in floods of tears as it was his first experience of death. He was just sobbing down the phone, and in his tears of sorrow he said the "Achilles was dead..... can we get another pet?" We had a little talk last night and Liam decided that he did not want to say he had died or was dead, he was "gone" and that was that. but agreed another pet would come in time just not quite yet.

My wife was more upset than i thought she would be, I think it was the connection with Achill and her sister as it was his home.

Have a great sleep little friend, you will always be a part of the family......

Beautiful looking fella. I know of another marmalade cat who also declines best efforts to make her into a lap cat - must be something in their genes. Anyway, sympathies to you and the family.