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Excuse me I know this is not sign related, but I just need to share since I stay pretty isolated. We have been pretty consumed with our 15 year old Border Collie. She had a big seizure and continues to have minor episodes. My wife and I trade off watching her and dealing with other responsibilities.
All of our businesses are very busy right now so we are dealing with all step by step. I am happy for her and she's in no pain but it is a rough process. She is a graceful girl.
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Thank you Bob. There are many here I hope to meet some day. I was just a bit overwhelmed for a moment, I know I'm in good hands and attached. She has her perfect time and her body has served her well. I just got back from the vet and am waiting for the report from the blood work. As usual the moments become more special than ever! Thanks again.
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Funny how we get so attached to our pets. Extended furry family members. I can just hope for the best for all of you.
-------------------- Signs by Alicia Jennings (Mudflap Girl) Tacoma, WA Since 1987 Have Lipstick, will travel. Posts: 3813 | From: Tacoma, WA. U.S.A. | Registered: Dec 1999
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Bruce, my heart and prayers are with you for comfort and peace for your girl.
My brother has cared for a border collie for a friend for years when they are out of town, her name was Shadow and she was one of the most fascinating well disciplined border collies and a lot of fun. She would stop in mid air if you told her. They lost her a year ago and have a newly loved border collie to continue on her spirit. They took her up to Door County this weekend and she just sits and travels so beautifully, as your girl will travel to a beautiful place with no pain, or sadness.
I send my love, lots of it. Bless you.
-------------------- Deb Fowler
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Walt Disney (1901-1966) Posts: 5373 | From: Loves Park, Illinois | Registered: Aug 1999
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For people who do not own pets, they just cnanot see the bond.
For us that do have them, yeah they are truly part of the family and they are loved and missed just the same.
-------------------- Sam Staffan Mackinaw Art & Sign 721 S. Nokomis St. Mackinaw City, MI dstaffan@sbcglobal.net Posts: 1694 | From: Mackinaw City, MI | Registered: Mar 2004
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Several years ago, we had a shopdog named Butch. We rescued him from an abusive situation. He was big dog. Mostly Airedale we think. His original owner kept him tied to a lamppost outside with a 5ft chain and no shelter. His intention was to turn Butch into a mean guard dog. His owner would starve him or leave him tied to the lamppost during a heatwave without any water and then use a hat to swat at Butch's face trying to get him to attack it. It never worked. It wasn't in Butch's nature.
When I found out what was going on, I called animal control and reported it. The owner decided to have Butch put down. I didn't want to see that happen so I offered to buy him.
Butch should have been named Houdini. He would escape from the fence and disappear for a couple days and then magically reappear. We never could figure out how he was getting out until one morning I drove up and saw him climbing over a 6ft chainlink fence topped with barbed wire. I'd never seen anything like it.
I followed him as he trotted down the street, jumped a creek and turned down another street. I followed him for about 30 minutes. He ended up at "Flo's Kitchen" and walked up to the drive-up window. I saw someone reach out and hand him a sausage biscuit.
Turns out he had been doing that for over a year.
When Hurricane Floyd was approaching, I took him home with me. I already had a pet door on my garage door, so I made a bed for him in the garage. After Floyd, I kept him at my home. When winter came, I got him one an electric blanket designed for pets to lie on. When I went in to feed him, part of him would be on the cold concrete and the other on the blanket. He seemed to like it that way.
As he got older, his hip began to deteriorate. It got harder and harder for him to get up. One morning I woke up and looked out the window. It has snowed the day before and melted some. During the night it refroze into ice. Butch was laying out in the middle of it. I noticed that he was trying to get up but couldn't.
I ran out to him and found that he had fallen over and couldn't get up. His body had melted into the ice and refroze into his fur. I was able to free him and brought him back into the garage. I cleaned and warmed him up. He kept wanting to play but his body continued to betray him. He wasn't young anymore.
I held him as the vet administered the drug. I was crying. Butch kept trying to lick my tears away. Suddenly he just stopped.
That was 5 years ago. There are times even today when I fully expect to see him running up to the gate to greet me. His blanket is still in the garage neatly folded away.
A picture of him playing in the snow during the better times is on my office wall, still reminding me of what unconditional love is. He was my best friend.
[ April 07, 2010, 07:08 PM: Message edited by: Glenn Taylor ]
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Just a sad time for you....My buddy and "shop dog" for many(16)years died a year and a half ago and still miss her very much. Glenn's story was very touching as I also still have all her "things" waiting for her. Just yesterday I moved a sheet of plywood from one place to another and was watching that I didn't disturb her in her usual spot....just can't get used to my "baby-sitter" not being there.
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Bruce, So sorry to hear what you are going through with your dog! There is just nothing like the unconditional love of a dog!
I just wanted you to know there may be other options for you. Our dog Tanner is 10 years old and has been on anti-seizure medication since he was 4. He has a pill in the morning and one in the evening. It doesn't totally stop the seizures but it sure helps to manage them. Tanner has a seizure probably once every 6 or 8 weeks, but like you say, although it is unpleasant, it doesn't seem to hurt them.
The pills cost about $30.00 for a two month supply. And I buy him food from the vet which seems to help. I noticed he has more seizures when he eats the cheaper food with more fillers in it.
The pills aren't a perfect solution, but it has bought us many more years with our dog and has been well worth it.
Good luck and God bless.
Suelynn
-------------------- "It is never too late to be what you might have been." -George Eliot
Suelynn Sedor Sedor Signs Carnduff, SK Canada Posts: 2863 | From: Carnduff, SK Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Thank you Doug and Suelynn, everyone really. I have my girl still for today and she is going for very short slow walks and enjoys smelling and being near my wife her number one love. She is with us on a day to day basis and we are just waiting til she decides it's time or the quality of her life is to poor. With her kidneys shot she wo't be pulling out of this. I think as challenging as it is the slow process is a bit of a gift for us to acclumate to the inevitable and cherish life so much more than otherwise.
It's odd I seem to be getting lots of portrait work at this time, all dogs all passing or soon to pass on.
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The hardest thing I ever had to do was hold my shih tzu while the vet gave her the shot. She first became diabetic and I had to give her insulin shots. Later we found out that she had pancreaic cancer. Dixie was with me for almost 13 years...I truly know how you feel. I didn't get another dog for almost a year, then a friend made we realize that God put them here for us to love and they need our care and they give their unconditional love in return. I will be thinking of you and your family during this time. I know you will miss your girl. Judy
-------------------- Judy Pate Signs By Judy Albany, Georgia USA 229-435-6824
Live simply...Love generously...Care deeply...Speak kindly...Leave the rest to God. Posts: 2621 | From: Albany,GA,USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I lost my big, fat, lazy weener mutt at the end of February. Rocky "Ween" was my rebelious problem child. Very independent but an instant big baby running to me as soon as it started thundering. He'd go into a barking fit at something (real or imagined) he heard or saw out the window. I'd yell at him to stop, he would, then look right at me and bark once, just to sass me. He'd sit, bark & whine wanting you to go pet him. The closer you'd get, the more he'd seem to fall over til you got to him & he was on his back wanting his belly rubbed. When he was a pup, we had to frisk him when he came in cause he'd lug rocks, leaves or twigs in. The living room already looked like a pet store exploded, so I know it was just to be defiant. At bedtime, he insisted on violently slamming his butt into my back before he could settle down & go to sleep, then spent the rest of the night kicking me to move me over. I'd never believe a 35 lb dog could manage to take up an entire couch if I hadn't seen him do it. For his naps, he wanted a piece of furniture all to himself. But after my surgery & whenever I was sick & sleeping for days at a time, he wouldn't go out of my reach.
He had almost 3 weeks of nose bleeds, several meds which seemed to work then didn't & me hoping it was just a bad sinus infection. He had a seizure, his first since going on the meds years ago, that I couldn't seem to get him out of. When we got to the vets office, he had lost 4 lbs in under 3 weeks. Doesn't sound like a lot, except he weighed 34 lbs to start. We were waiting for the vet to come back from supper as I noticed Ween's ears weren't sitting right. Vet came in, asked how long he'd had the bump on his nose. I hadn't noticed it. It tore my heart out when the vet touched it & I saw Ween, the dog who would lay there & let you do anything to him, go through the roof. We then confirmed his ears weren't sitting right because the nasal tumor had caused swelling above his left eye. I couldn't put him through radiation & chemo, I couldn't let him suffer in pain. He was in my arms as I promised him he would be, with me telling him his mommy loved him.
I am grateful that we have the vet we do. He never directly asked the question, he never made me say it. Instead he carefully chose his words so our conversation never included certain words. Then his assistant made sure the hallway was empty & helped me out the side so I didn't have to go back through the waiting room or encounter any critters as I left. That is a professional who truly cares about his patients & their human parents.
I picked out a georgous urn with paw prints on top. The funeral home does paw print molds for the family. They also do an inking that can be used for jewelry, etc. I have his left paw print etched into a gold charm that I haven't taken off since it came in. The left was my favorite, it was the one turned goofy like basset hounds. His cave (cage) is still in the living room even though the jack russel would never voluntarily go into a cage. Ween would take naps in it & often whine til you threw a blanket over top to make it more cave-like for him.
It took Jeebs, my jack russel, a good 2 weeks to stop looking behind me everytime I walked in, waiting for his big brother to come home. They had such distinctly different personalities, it's odd to see Jeebs now take on some of Rocky's traits. As hard as it was for me to lose Rock, it hurts just as much to see what Jeebs is going through. I didn't know I should have come home for Jeebs to 'smell' him goodbye before I went to the funeral home. He smelled me that night, he smelled where Rock laid in my truck & he smelled the urn, yet he still looked for him.
I know what you're going through, it's taken me this long to be able to reply to your post. If you need to tell stories & possibly shed a few while doing so, I have tissues handy. Remember, you gave her a good life, she knows she's loved.
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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