Welp… I finally got in to see Pop. I’d feared that Pop was going to lose his mind to dementia, and that he was in for the slow, heart breaking end that it brings. But… it seems the Big Guy may have chosen to give us a break. On Friday I went to visit him in his new digs - they moved him out of critical care at the hospital and put him in a recovery hospital where the girls are giving him the very hell of it in rehab. He sat in a chair, well dressed, and stunningly coherent. He’s slow, and has to think about things a bit… but he can dress himself, he’s starting to move with a walker, and tell the odd joke. He barked at me because he scares the chit out of me with the walker and I stay to close because I want to catch him if he falls. He started to bust my chops about it but Mom told him to shut up and behave himself…and he sheepishly put up with it. We actually had a great family visit. The girls are going to kick him out in four to six weeks, so he has to be mobile by then.
Macey (my deadly K9 crime fighting cohort)…oh boy. I swore that when her time comes, I was going to take her down, do my duty like a man and put her down with dignity and love her the best I could. She is having terrible mobility problems now. I swore that if I ever saw misery in her eyes, that would be the cue for me to take her in. But… I haven’t seen it. She can’t do stairs at all anymore. She tries to jump them because her back legs are to stiff… and she goes tumbling down. I’m trying to train her to go down with me. I catch her halfway down… and I hold her in a hug and we slowly bump down the stairs together. I carry her and slide from one stair to the next on my bum like a toddler… and put her down when we get down. But even when she falls… she always has that merry glint in her eye. At bed time yesterday she collapsed in the snow. I went out in my boots and a bathrobe and dragged her in. I hope she can make Christmas…. But it’s all good. She’s coming up on 17 and that’s good mileage for a big dog. What I’d really like would be for her to pass in her sleep at her post at the foot of the bed one night…but what we want seldom matters in affairs like this. Whatever happens… I won’t be sad. She has had a great dog life.
Thanks for dropping by the Thunderbox! Be nice to your dogs and cats today. 😊👍
You tell yourself when she goes you won't be sad.....keep telling yourself that lie. Anybody who isn't heartbroken at the death of a pet should not be allowed to own animals...they are defective.
ReplyDeleteWell there’s always gonna be tears, Dan. But I’m old, I’m a farm kid, and I can think with my head instead of my heart when I have to.
DeleteAsk the vet if she is in any pain.
ReplyDeleteThat should be the deciding factor.
Geezers always have aches and pains, Beaner. Yesterday my wife had time to walk with us… and Macey was champing at the bit to go too. She was so happy…usually she lets Mort and I go alone and stays home and naps. We spoil her and love her and she loves it. Dogs in pain will let you know. They will try to hide, they’ll get snappy and bitey…and you’ll see it in their face. Macey is still all smiles.
DeleteI’m going to stay with her when she goes down. I will ask the vet for a mild tranq for her first shot… and then we’ll give her the big one while she sleeps.
I have to disagree with this - I think that as long as the animal is enjoying their life, they should be allowed to continue. Pain is a part of every life and she is experiencing it, but also having a good time with her humans and dog companions. Once she sends the message that she is no longer enjoying life, that is when you help her across that bridge.
DeleteNot an easy choice, your love and care will keep her going longer than she should. I too hope she passes in her sleep.
ReplyDeleteMe too, A. I see things differently. I will not keep her around longer than I should. I will keep her until her time comes…and that will be when all life is, is pain and misery. Or she can’t go outside to do her business, or keep food down…
DeleteIt is strange how our love seems to gas them up. I'm happy she's still got that zest for life. Happy Sunday you old codger! Tickle the missus and have a great day.
ReplyDeleteSame to you! Get that bow out - and no cheating on the score card! 😊👍
DeleteLove her til the end.
ReplyDeleteI have a 15 year old that's on his way out. Know what you're going through.
Have you tried Cosequin joint health supplement, Costco $25us on sale, $36 regular price. Started Meeka (about 16 years old) on them, 4 tabs a day. Added fully a year longer to her crippled life. If I'd only known of them earlier....
ReplyDeleteJerry
Annie, our second golden, had bad and deteriorating hips too. Our vet prescribed Carprofen (generic Rimadyl) and it was like taking three years off of her. When that wasn't enough, we added Gabapentin and Oxycontin. Our vet warned us that "Some dogs like to be stoned, and some don't". Annie did well with the meds, and we filled her narcotic script at Wallyworld, joking about our junkie dog. But it gave her a year she would not have had otherwise, and I asked myself every single day for that year how I would know when the time had come. Well, it came at 4:00 am one morning when she could no longer get up at all. My wife asked "What are we going to do?" I said "We'll do what we have to do. The hardest thing I've ever done in life is about to become the second hardest." We were at the vet's as soon as they opened, and Annie didn't even have to leave her beloved van. The vet came out to her and was as kind about it as anyone could be.
ReplyDeleteI tell this tale of woe simply to say that you have it right Glen. You will do what you have to do when the time comes, and Macey will let you know. Our third golden, Rosie, is now 7 1/2 and just starting to show the faint frosting around the eyes and muzzle. But she thinks she's seven months and is as rowdy as ever. She can't be called spoiled because she's too well behaved, but she is one pampered pup.
Oh boy- Goldens are the worst. Sure - they are the best of dawgs... but they will take a might big piece of you with them when they go.
DeleteI am starting to think a bit too. Maybe I better had download this one on the wife? At least have her along when we go? Macey loves her mom with all her heart and maybe she should be there too when her time comes...
I hate to ask...but... it will be here final day with us and we both love her too...
When the time came to put our last fur baby down (yellow lab), we called the mobile vet to come to the house to do the dirty deed. I do believe it was a much better experience for all involved. Took his dog bed out to the back patio where he loved to lounge and we all gathered around. I was able to hold him as he passed. Do it if you can, I want to believe it’s easier for the pet involved.
DeleteTake care, Sandy
cosequin sprinkle on food for stiff joints treat both as the other will age ad will need supplementation
ReplyDeletewill try again to comment
ReplyDeletecosequin for boyth of them
i am arthritic but please don't put me down!
my cat is fading has become bony and stiff but not exhibiting pain
eats less but usually welcomess breakfast
he mostly sleeps all day on my bed or on the floor beside the electric radiator
he wants to go outside but the temp is 9 with the windchill
we moved and i think he is confused because othing here is familiar
daughter thinks he wants to find a nice tree under which to rest and give up his soul
not in this weather
told him when he goes to paradise he can have as many trees as he likes!
hope to join him there one day
As long as you keep smiling (and keep us smiling) - you will not get put down.
DeleteUnfortunately it is too late for Cederq, STxAR, Quartermain and all my other arch enemies.... ;)
my humble gratitude!
DeleteI just had to put my 18 year old black and white kitty cat down this morning. She would sleep next to me at night and jump on my lap while I drink coffee first thing in the morning, she was my little buddy. Yesterday she took a turn for the worse, could not hardly walk or hold her head up, this morning even worse. Can't remember the last time that I cried. Jeff
ReplyDeleteDon’t take this wrong… but good for you, Jeff. It doesn’t feel like it, but these things, done proper… are actually acts of the deepest love.
DeleteI feel your pain
ReplyDeleteBeen there more times than I care to remember
The memories and knowing they knew they were loved is what keeps me bringing another one home after some time of mourning.
There's a reason they're called mans best friend
I wouldn't want it any other way
When our daughter was seven she chose two black kittens. They were maybe five weeks old. She named them Shadow and Blackie. Shadow slept with her for the next 15 years (and Blackie with my wife and me) until daughter married a guy in the Air Force and went off to see the world. Cats stayed with us, and lived on and on until we let them go together, passing at age 20 1/2 yrs due to both with kidney failure.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn’t ‘like’ losing two family members, because it actually WAS that.
Two little cats. They left an unfillable hole in our lives when they passed. Cherish them while they are here.
Steve in Boise
When he finally goes, I'll always remember my old boys EPIC dog farts!
ReplyDeleteHe cleared the room this past Easter; I was so proud.
p s on your dad
ReplyDeletespeaking as one who has been there, the anaesthetic is nerve poison, the brain is nerve
after my longest operation it was just shy of two years before i could read with comprehension
as the anaesthetic wears off the brain function returns
exercise makes it go away quicker but it releases it into the system before it is expelled so periodic brain booboos will occur
because i had no comprehension i started with jigsaw puzzles, many many puzzles then graduated to penny press word puzzle books
took a loooong time
My last dog was fine until about 8 hours before we took her to the vet for the last time. We knew it when, though she could walk the night before, she couldn't walk the next morning at all. So we spent a day snuggling with her, and by the end of the day she was clocking out mentally. Took that final ride and wife, God bless her soul, called the dog to come out of the car. Which broke all three of us as dog couldn't do anything.
ReplyDeleteWe got another dog within a month, a complete opposite of the now-dead dog.
You'll know. There will be that last moment when your mind goes, "Yep."
Which sucks, and is so damned painful. Worse pain than losing my dad or my grandma.