Had to put my girl to sleep

[Mary_Jo3]

I had to put her to sleep on Oct 24th at 6:30 PM, on my husband's birthday, the day after mine.
He couldn't go and I think in the back of his mind I was bringing her home, like we did so many times before, but she was losing her bladder so often and the occasional poopies I would find near the door were now in the bed. Her and I spent the day together, we went to the river, she took her regular afternoon nap with DH. She was always running around like a puppy, barking and carrying on, thats why it was so hard to do. But when she would lose her whole bladder in bed or on the carpet she was so humiliated, she would paw the spot and cry and cry, we would tell her it's ok, it's not her fault and clean it up. We treated her with rounds of antibiotics, even though we knew it wasn't a bladder infection, did a major blood work up and found nothing, then when her bowels started going we (I) knew it was time, the shame she felt killed me and although it wasn't a daily thing, it was happening more frequently and the last time it took 45 min to calm her down, thats how I spent my birthday evening. I called the vet the next morning for advise and the only thing we could do was make her an outside dog, I have never had an outside dog and for her I think it would have been the final disgrace, to be banned from the house. We had already started locking her out of rooms when we left so if there was a problem it wouldn't be on the bed, the carpet is easier to clean, even though we didn't have to be gone for her to have an accident, she would just stand up and there would be a huge wet spot or she would come flying out of the bedroom almost screaming and I knew we had a mess. We had been keeping this up for months hoping she would go in her sleep, but we weren't that lucky. So our girl is gone, she was almost 15 years old and 97 lbs, people tell us dogs that size don't normally live that long. I am picking up her things one at a time, I just washed her dish yesterday, a cookie is still by the door, her water bucket is still full, her rawhide and toys are still in the living room. I am glad I was on vacation, because I am still a mess, I am not sure what I will do for lunch now because I always went home to let her out.
Thanks for listening.

[ahippiechic]

So sorry for your loss!

[heartlvrs]

http://ak.imgag.com/imgag/product/full/ap/3066884/graphic1.gif

She knew she was loved and she was loved well..run free sweet furbaby..run free...

"A Parting Prayer

Dear Lord, please open your gates
and call St. Francis
to come escort this beloved companion
across the Rainbow Bridge.

Assign her to a place of honor,
for she has been a faithful servant
and has always done her best to please me.

Bless the hands that send her to you,
for they are doing so in love and compassion,
freeing her from pain and suffering.

Grant me the strength not to dwell on my loss.
Help me remember the details of her life
with the love she has shown me.
And grant me the courage to honor her
by sharing those memories with others.

Let her remember me as well
and let her know that I will always love her.
And when it's my time to pass over into your paradise,
please allow her to accompany those
who will bring me home.

Thank you, Lord,
for the gift of her companionship
and for the time we've had together.

And thank you, Lord,
for granting me the strength
to give her to you now.

Amen.

- © Brandy Duckworth, 1998"

[freeby4me]

Oh sweetie, im so sorry for your loss. (((HUGS)))

[Kelsey1224]

Okay...now I'm sitting at my desk with tears streaming down my face because of your description of what a faithful good dog she was. Then I read the prayer and I've just lost it.

I am so sorry for the heartbreak you and your husband are going through. She was obviously a dear member of your family. What a kind, loving thing you did so that she didn't have to suffer anymore.

[Jackie_Blu]

Oh, Mary_Jo, the tears were flowing as I read your post, and still are. My heart just absolutely breaks for you. I have lost a few canine family members in my life and know how devastating it can be. Just rest assured that you did what was best for her, and she knows this. You're in my prayers :hug

[teenies*mom]

I know how you feel - I had to put my baby down, it will be 3 weeks ago this coming Friday - its really hard! - our dog was 15 and it was time but the house still feels empty without her in it - we have her buried in our backyard and I go visit her grave everyday! and I still cry when I go down there.
(((hugs)))

[pepperpot]

:( ((hugs))

[ladybugva]

I can tell by your post you really loved you pet and she was such a part of your family. Sending hugs :grouphug for you.

[Eyore]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v713/joshua24/RNBWBRDGall.jpg

[BeanieLuvR]

(((Mary_Jo3))) I am so sorry for your loss.

[PrincessArky]

I am so sorry for your loss :(

[Charley01]

I am so sorry.

[Mary_Jo3]

You guys have been so kind, I knew someone here would understand what we were going through, the poem set me crying again but it was very nice. I do believe our kids will meet us at the gates when our time comes, most don't believe they have souls, but just look into their eyes and how can you doubt it. Thank you again for your prayers.

[Shann]

I'm so sorry for your loss I have tears streaming down my face as well, you can tell she was very loved and she knows that. you were a great puppy mommy and she will live on in all your wonderful memories.

[A0305]

I am so sorry for your loss. Sending many hugs your way.

[LunaChick]

I am so very sorry about the loss of your furbaby. :(

[lalizz52]

Oh, no! I am childless and my pet(s) are my reason to be. I am so very sorry for your pain. Perhaps you can consider getting another baby to love in a while. So many out there need the kind of love you have. God bless you.

[MizzouLady]

So sorry for your loss.

[ttistin]

I am so sorry ((((Hugs))))

[cubsgirl21]

Mary_Jo3 my heart breaks for you. It's always hard to lose a furkid. She had a wonderful life and was loved immensely. :hug

[moe265]

I am so very very sorry. I am in tears. I know how very hard it is to put down your beloved friend. Think of the good times and smile.

[YankeeMary]

Another one here crying while reading your words of love. How sad and I am sorry. The important thing is that she was so loved that you would do anything for her and she for you. HUGS!!!

[Army-Mom]

I am so sorry for your loss..sending hugs to you.

[okie]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[tracey74]

sorry to hear of your loss can I ask if you fed her dog treats? my dog was having bladder problems shes only 5 and as soon as we quit giving her dog bones,jerky treats and stuff like that her problem almost completely stopped. I understand she was an older dog and im sure that was part of it but maybe that contributed to her loss of urine/bowel movements? since the vet couldnt find anything wrong with her maybe that was it? anyway sorry for your loss

[Char]

Awwwwwwwww, I am so sorry... my sympathy to you and your family. Oh, but all the memories you have... I live on those memories of my babies.

I have so been there/done that. We have always had BIG dogs... our Doberman's were 86 pounds and 90 pounds... the oldest lived to 16, the other almost 13.

Our current boy is 90 pounds... and 7 years old.

[Mary_Jo3]

sorry to hear of your loss can I ask if you fed her dog treats? my dog was having bladder problems shes only 5 and as soon as we quit giving her dog bones,jerky treats and stuff like that her problem almost completely stopped. I understand she was an older dog and im sure that was part of it but maybe that contributed to her loss of urine/bowel movements? since the vet couldnt find anything wrong with her maybe that was it? anyway sorry for your loss

All my fur children were spoiled rotten, and yes they were given treats, it is possible that could have contributed to her loss of control, but I could never deny those big beautiful eyes anything. For the last couple of years she was on a lot of medication, heart pill 1 a day, arthritis pill 2 times a day, joint pill 2 times a day, water pill once a week (on my day off so I would be there to wake her up every hour to send her out so there wouldn't be that suprise, gota go now look), special canned food daily for her liver and of course the standard Heartgard once a month. We were considering hormone therapy for her bladder problems even though the vet didn't think it would work because she didn't dribble all the time, but we would have given anything a shot. Once she started losing her bowels I knew age had finally caught up with her, and her emotional pain as well as ours was just to much to take, they should never have to grow old. Thank you for your thoughts.

[Johnsmom]

I'm sorry for your loss. It is so hard to lose a beloved pet. I still miss my dogs we out down in 94 (at age 14) and 98 (at age 17.5). Even though they were old and it was time, it still hurt. You gave her a wonderful life and I am sure she is at peace.

[kimp67]

sorry for your loss

[DAVESBABYDOLL]

Aww, I'm so sorry. Our furbabies are our babies.

[squirt661]

OK, for what it is worth, your sad story touched my heart that I also was crying too much to try to answer with how bad I felt for you. I sincerely wish you are feeling somewhat better today, as time does heal all wounds they say, but, not really, as one can never forget the love we share with our animals. I was also almost in your shoes, a little different situation, but it brought back memories to me when my 7 year old full breed German Shepard passed away one night under my kitchen table from throat cancer that also there was no cure for. Sorry got to go as here comes back the tears again. Good luck, as I am still upset after 2 years later. And I want to say a special thank you for that poster that posted the St. Francis prayer. God bless both of you.

[DonnaWV]

I am so sorry for your loss. I know what it feels like to loose a pet, sending hugs and my prayers for you and your family.

[BrunetteDi]

My heart aches for you.I had to put my beloved Copper to sleep after my husband,Copper and me ran some Saturday morning errands.To prevent from rear ending another car,he slammed on the brakes and Copper fell head and neck into the back of the seat I was in.He had fractured two vertebraes in his lower back.The vet said he would never walk again,so the only thing I could do to ease his pain was to put him to sleep.I will always love Copper and miss him so much.
My thoughts are with you as I completely understand your pain.((((hugs))))

[Mary_Jo3]

My heart aches for you.I had to put my beloved Copper to sleep after my husband,Copper and me ran some Saturday morning errands.To prevent from rear ending another car,he slammed on the brakes and Copper fell head and neck into the back of the seat I was in.He had fractured two vertebraes in his lower back.The vet said he would never walk again,so the only thing I could do to ease his pain was to put him to sleep.I will always love Copper and miss him so much.
My thoughts are with you as I completely understand your pain.((((hugs))))

How terrible, I am so sorry for your loss (((HUGS))) to you and your husband.
What a shock that must have been. What kind of dog was he? I bet the car wouldn't start unless Copper was in it, I totally understand.

[Mary_Jo3]

Again I am amazed at the wonderful response from the people on this forum, you guys are so special to take time to write such comforting thoughts and I needed everyone. Thank You. We picked up the last of all the rope, cloth squeaky toys and tennis balls to put out with Fridays garbage and my husband scrubed all the rubber toys with dish soap and a brush in hot water in the sink, I think he was crying the whole time but his back was to me. We still can't find her Kong toy, its around here someplace. But these are something we can pass on, the rest of her dry food I will give to my sister along with bags of Better Then Ears and her cookies. People had always asked me if we would get another after Honey, we've had dogs for 20+ years, and I always said we were going "dog free" for a while, we didn't take any trips because I couldn't kennel them so we always stayed home with them and never minded a minute. I would drive home at lunch get the mail and let the dogs out to potty and run back to work. I always said we wanted to go places, even just over night, but now we are not "dog free" as I expected, but "dogless", when she went a good part of our identity went too. We were the crazy dog people, who let huge dogs sleep in bed between us (great birth control), lay on the couch, eat our couch and dote over them like they were real people. My God I must have bored people to tears with dog stories. I now have some idea how parents feel when their last child moves out except their child can come home for a visit. It will be a long time before we get another, we will be moving into another house (when we find one), I will be moving to another building for work which would make it impossible to go home at lunch and I would like to take that long over due Honeymoon. When the others went, there was always some to come home to and now there is a void, a new house will hopefully help some, but when you go to bed at night and there isn't a fur ball who has turned around so her head is down at your feet and well you know where her other end is pointed it's strange. Thank you for being there. God bless.

[Aloha from paradise]

Mary_Jo3,
My heart is just breaking for you. I had to put down our last dog a while back and a few weeks ago one of our cats. You sound like us. We didn't do the vacation thing when we had the dogs except once to go to our sons wedding. We have said no more dogs after Duncan was put down. He was 18 and a Min-pin. We still have cats but it's not the same as a dog. I know how you are feeling and wish I could help. You just have to take it one day at a time. Just remember all the wonderful years you had together and the love between all of you. I'm sure she knew how much she was loved and I believe you will one day see her again.

[Mary_Jo3]

Mary_Jo3,
My heart is just breaking for you. I had to put down our last dog a while back and a few weeks ago one of our cats. You sound like us. We didn't do the vacation thing when we had the dogs except once to go to our sons wedding. We have said no more dogs after Duncan was put down. He was 18 and a Min-pin. We still have cats but it's not the same as a dog. I know how you are feeling and wish I could help. You just have to take it one day at a time. Just remember all the wonderful years you had together and the love between all of you. I'm sure she knew how much she was loved and I believe you will one day see her again.

Thank you I also believe I will see all my fur babys again. We were really lucky to be given such great kids and a wonderful vet who stood beside us all the way. Yesterday was a bad day, today was much better, I think getting all her toys out of the living room helped. Nights seem to be the worst, hubby and I both scratch the bed spread in our sleep, and wake up wondering where she went. I guess this too shall pass.
Very sorry about your cat.