Sad day for me

[Effem]

Yesterday and last night was a very long day for me and the missus.

Took my two doggies out for their morning walk as usual down to the paddocks. I saw a cat lurking in the long grass at the top of the field so did they and off went my two greyhounds to introduce themselves to it - at 40mph+ but the cat had plenty of time to escape over the fence. Nothing unusual in that as it happens fairly regularly and they chase rabbits too, so thought no more of it.

Next thing I know is Jenny limping back to me on 3 legs. SHIT! She severely broke her back leg around 6 years ago and it had to be glued and screwed back together again. I had to lug this dog everywhere night and day for 8 whole weeks until the break healed and was £1600 poorer too with the vet's bills.

http://theartofsound.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11158&d=1386450712

Same leg, same joint yesterday, the bone had splintered and was sawing through her skin as she was hobbling along back to me. Had to carry the poor thing back home again. The vet said last time she has a weak heart due to her age and another dose of anaesthetic would probably kill her, so I knew what her fate would be when I took her to the vet. I then decided the kindest thing I could do was to put her out of pain and suffering and I have no regrets whatsoever over that decision.

Miss her terribly today :(

[Ali Tait]

Sorry to hear that Frank, very sad.

[struth]

thats very sad Frank. Always tough to make these decisions especially with an old friend...your consolation is it was the right one for Jenny.

[Oldpinkman]

I know it hurts but when its the right thing the dog is lucky to have you there with the balls to take the decision for her. I've had to do it twice now. Very sad.

[brian2957]

Not good Frank . We had to get our old collie Rob ( a rescue dog who must have thought he had landed in doggie heaven when he arrived at our gaff ) put down 3 years ago . I still remember the look on his face when the vet put him to sleep :( . Feel for you mate .

[walpurgis]

Jesus Frank, that's terrible, she was really nice. (I met Frank's dogs). I'm so sorry to hear that.

[Audio Al]

Remember the good times

[Mark Pope]

Frank,
what a terribly sad post. I really do feel for you and your wife. It's never an easy decision to make, but it's absolutely the right one. We've been through the same thing with two dogs and three cats, so I feel your pain.

Chin up.

Best wishes


Mark

[Macca]

Really sorry to hear this Frank. I know exactly how upsetting it is. All you can do is console yourself that the animal had a fanatastic life. I miss my cat loads even after two years almost.

[shane]

No matter how old they are or how great a life they had, it always hurts when they go. You did the right thing, but it's so hard to do.

[Marco]

Sorry to hear about your dog, Frank. It’s no fun losing a much loved and treasured pet, as others and I here know all too well. Hope you can get over this sad time soon and maybe treat yourself to a new puppy (and bundle of fun) :)

Marco.

[dantheman91]

We lost a lab / Ridge back due to ellipse he was only 3 poor thing miss him everyday still regret the choice today but their was nothing they could do for the poor chap :( never cried so much in my life until then. Times a healer and we now have a Lab / Boarder collie 11 months old and a pain in the arse :doh:. to be expected i suppose both are similar in their own way but Jackson will never be replaced.

Times heal frank....

[The Black Adder]

Really sorry to hear that, Frank.

[Ninanina]

I'm sitting here bawling my eyes out for your very sad loss Frank, I am so very sorry

I love all sighthounds, wouldn't have any other sort of dog, we lost our Whippet 7 years ago and it hurt so much we are only now thinking of getting another one..it will be a Greyhound, Whippet or Lurcher

You are in my thoughts Frank... x

[awkwardbydesign]

Sorry to hear this Frank. I only just met her, too.

[Spectral Morn]

Sorry to hear that Frank :(



Regards Neil

[archiesdad]

So sorry to read this, I had a bad feeling when I saw the title, can only echo all the wise thoughts that been put already here.

[Effem]

Thank you to everyone for your kind and supportive words.

You never actually realise just how much an animal can FILL an entire house with it's presence and character until it has gone.

Dogs thrive on routine and because of that we humans have to fall in line with their needs. You pet owners know very well that if your dog is due for a walk at 10.00am and a meal at 1.00pm then it will start nagging you at five minutes to 10.00 for it's walk and whine at you at five to one for it's food. Today has been filled with that same routine but no dog to practice it on. Jazz our boy dog is so laid back it's untrue, so isn't that rigid in routine, but Jenny was a sharp as a knife in many respects.

That dog would wait in the conservatory patiently at 5.15pm for Maxine to come home from work, yet on a Saturday when she finishes work at 3.00pm then home by 3.30pm, then how the heck does the dog KNOW that it is a Saturday and she will be home earlier??

Didn't sleep much last night as that very last kiss on the vet's table was on an endless play loop in my head, but time will erase that pretty quickly.

She was a very special dog.


http://theartofsound.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13560&d=1416427471&thumb=1&stc=1

[JohnJo]

Been there too. Horrible. Felt like taking the injection myself instead.

Not without good reason are they known as man's best friend...it really is like losing someone very, very close.

[Ninanina]

This has really upset me as I remember "that very last kiss on the vet's table" as well... it still haunts me today.. x

[istari_knight]

Sorry to hear this Frank :(

[zen]

Sorry to hear your news, Frank. We have always had dogs, including greyhounds, and each one leaves a hole in the family when it's gone.

[r100]

My feelings are with you. I'm a dog man as well. It was the most courageous and difficult thing to do.

[RobbieGong]

Sorry to hear this Frank. Lost our 14 year old family pet collie cross some years a go when I lived at home, proper done us in. We'd had him from a pup. Still think of him to this day - All the best to you and family right now....

[Andrei]

Didn't sleep much last night as that very last kiss on the vet's table was on an endless play loop in my head, but time will erase that pretty quickly.
She was a very special dog.

I am so sorry Frank. Try to comfort each other with the thought that you made her life a good one.

[Tarzan]

Yesterday and last night was a very long day for me and the missus.

Took my two doggies out for their morning walk as usual down to the paddocks. I saw a cat lurking in the long grass at the top of the field so did they and off went my two greyhounds to introduce themselves to it - at 40mph+ but the cat had plenty of time to escape over the fence. Nothing unusual in that as it happens fairly regularly and they chase rabbits too, so thought no more of it.

Next thing I know is Jenny limping back to me on 3 legs. SHIT! She severely broke her back leg around 6 years ago and it had to be glued and screwed back together again. I had to lug this dog everywhere night and day for 8 whole weeks until the break healed and was £1600 poorer too with the vet's bills.

http://theartofsound.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11158&d=1386450712

Same leg, same joint yesterday, the bone had splintered and was sawing through her skin as she was hobbling along back to me. Had to carry the poor thing back home again. The vet said last time she has a weak heart due to her age and another dose of anaesthetic would probably kill her, so I knew what her fate would be when I took her to the vet. I then decided the kindest thing I could do was to put her out of pain and suffering and I have no regrets whatsoever over that decision.

Miss her terribly today :(



Sorry to here this Frank, god speed Jenny.

[jandl100]

No matter how old they are or how great a life they had, it always hurts when they go. You did the right thing, but it's so hard to do.

Couldn't have said it better if I'd sat here an hour trying.

Very sad to hear of your loss, Frank - all pet owners know that it is inevitable, but that doesn't make it any easier.

[shane]

Dogs thrive on routine and because of that we humans have to fall in line with their needs. You pet owners know very well that if your dog is due for a walk at 10.00am and a meal at 1.00pm then it will start nagging you at five minutes to 10.00 for it's walk and whine at you at five to one for it's food.

How true is that. Tuggs (15 year-old JRT) has recently decided that her routine is out-of-basket-desperate-for-a-wee at 06:15 sharp, weekends not withstanding! Got to love 'em...


I'm sitting here bawling my eyes out for your very sad loss Frank, I am so very sorry

I love all sighthounds, wouldn't have any other sort of dog, we lost our Whippet 7 years ago and it hurt so much we are only now thinking of getting another one..it will be a Greyhound, Whippet or Lurcher

You are in my thoughts Frank... x

You might want to talk to Nick Gorham about that. His wife runs a Lurcher rescue group, as you might have guessed from his username here!

http://www.lurcher.org/kaye/LurcherLinkwebpages/Lurcherlinkfrontpage.html

[MikeMusic]

Really sorry to hear that Frank

One of the things we take on with our dogs
I've been there many times

Still don't know if it's good or bad for us when it happens out of the blue like that.

You did the best for Jenny

There was a time when I considered never having dogs again but I came to the decision that I would take dogs from rescue centres and give them the best I can for the time they have

[Zoidburg]

She looks lovely Frank, think of all the good time you had with her and smile. I know when my first dog passed away we were heartbroken, but at some point soon you will come to the conclusion that its the right time for a new doggy pal and a new K9 adventure will start.

[Effem]

She looks lovely Frank, think of all the good time you had with her and smile. I know when my first dog passed away we were heartbroken, but at some point soon you will come to the conclusion that its the right time for a new doggy pal and a new K9 adventure will start.

She was a total sweetie Ben, a very special dog.

A few years ago we used to foster Greyhounds that came straight out of the racing kennels. None were house trained, they would go berserk at the tiniest movement from the smallest of animals and to be honest they stank to high heaven when we picked them up. Had some oddball characters through our hands I can tell you, like the ones that would hide in a corner and simply not come out, others that were aggressive or boisterous, but our chilled out laid back stance soon brought them round, especially with an excellent role model in Jazz our boy dog. The worst was the lack of toilet training and even with a heavy gauge plastic sheet put down on the carpet in my listening room by the back door, there was many an 'accident' I can tell you. There were countless times when I would try to listen to my system in a dense heavy smell of ammonia that took your breath away even with the window open. Was it worth it all? You betcha.

Jenny came to us as an emergency re-homing. The previous owners had two Greyhounds, a boy and a girl. The wife had the boy dog as hers and Jenny was the husband's dog. The story we got was that the husband was caught out having an affair so she threw him out and as Jenny was "his" dog, she got locked out in the shed in the middle of winter. Wasn't quite a bag of bones but not far off, her fur was falling out in fistfuls and her teeth were totally rotten. We knew all along that one day a dog would come to us as a foster and not depart, so what the heck convinced to keep a basket case like Jenny? Despite her treatment and condition, she was so gentle and loving, adoring being petted and stroked, tail constantly wagging and wanting to be with you and to please you. Training her was a doddle and they say that Greyhounds are too daft to be trained. Rubbish.

There will never be another Jenny.

[naitphile]

We lost our first dog (another border collie) unexpectedly this year and the effect on the family was also unexpectedly devastating...so bad I went a got the new dog within a week. I lost my leg 2 weeks ago.....losing the dog was way harder.

The new dog is not a replacement character but does fill the dog shaped hole which is inexplicable but definitely real.

You won't forget her but for us getting another pdq was the best thing we could have done....mind you the bugger is banned from my hifi room!

[Marco]

The new dog is not a replacement character but does fill the dog shaped hole which is inexplicable but definitely real.

You won't forget her but for us getting another pdq was the best thing we could have done....

+1. That’s what we always do when we lose one of our cats. Giving a new home to an animal that needs one, and enjoying the love it provides, is a great way to recover from the grief of losing an old and faithful friend.

You never forget the pet you’ve just lost, but loving and caring for a new one, helps ease the pain of that loss.

Marco.

[Haselsh1]

Brings a lump to my throat

[Ninanina]

You might want to talk to Nick Gorham about that. His wife runs a Lurcher rescue group, as you might have guessed from his username here!


Thanks for the link Shane...