Dog's probably gonna die

[planet planet]

What's wrong with him that the vet gave him a 70% chance? That's really sad, longhorn, especially considering the timing. Are you considering putting him to sleep?

And Rad, your dogs look like little old men.

[Bo Hart]

I had my cat for a long time. My entire life, basically. I always thought I was clever when I said that she was a catalyst in my life. Around the time we got our dog (when I was in 7th or 8th grade), the cat kind of became 'mine.' She used to sleep with my parents on their bed, but that changed when we got the puppy. She now slept with me and night, and we became closer than ever.

Time passed, and age started to take its toll on her. She probably only used the litter box 50% of the time she went, leaving the basement a mess. She also lost a lot of strength, leaving her unable to jump up on the counter to get to her food (we had to keep it out of reach, or the dog would eat it).

The last day of high school a bunch of us seniors camped out on the school's lawn. We didn't sleep that night. It was a bittersweet night for more than just the obvious, though, as the same day, my cat was to be euthanized. I had told my mom I didn't want to go with when she was put down, simply because I didn't think I would be able to hold myself together. When I got home from school that night, I was, naturally, exhausted from not getting any sleep. I decided to take a nap, and did what I always accustomed to: grabbed Sheena, threw her on my chest while supporting her up with arm, and went to bed.

I woke up, looked at the clock and immediately realized what had happened while I was asleep. I went upstairs, and the first thing my mom told me was that "she [was] out in the garage." I was delusional for a second, thinking my mom was unable to go through with it, and had backed out. I came to my senses and made my way outside. In the garage in tupperware container was my lifeless cat. I got short of breath, my eyes welled up and I, despite my shaky voice, tried my best to muster out a final goodbye. I remember how strange it was petting her body -- it was so cold and unnatural.

Shortly after, my dad came out, grabbed a shovel and started making her grave in the backyard. I sat there in the dirt at 18-years of age, crying like a school girl in front of my father. (It's not that he is against crying, it's just that he's very strong emotionally, so I've tried to follow suit all of my life. So I'm not insinuating I was ashamed or anything.)

I was pretty heartbroken for a while. I got calls from friends to go out that night, but I opted to stay home and basically cry my heart out. And this is saying a lot, as I really do get sad enough to cry very often.


Now a few things to try and relate this to you:
- if it comes down to euthanization and you get the option, go with. That's really my only regret with this cat. I was too much of a coward to go with, but I really did owe it to her to be there in the end.

- this ordeal sucks as bad as you think it's going to. In fact, it might be worse. But the thing is, you can take solace that if this ailment does mean the end, the pain its inflicting on him will finally be gone. I don't know if my cat was miserable the last portion of its life, but it was clear that she was a shadow of her former self.

- good luck, and I hope he pulls through.

[longhornbaseball]

Thank you Kyle. Your story has truly helped me. I don't feel better but I now feel like less of a little girl for crying over him. So many memories. Such a good friend. I'm gonna miss him. Thank you all.

What's wrong with him that the vet gave him a 70% chance? That's really sad, longhorn, especially considering the timing. Are you considering putting him to sleep?

He's severely diabetic and they think he might have stomach cancer. They wouldn't be able to operate on the cancer because he's diabetic. They upped his insulin. I'll find out what's gonna happen with him today. His last checkup was in August and he was fine. About a week ago he started losing weight (lost 4 lbs), drinking water nonstop, and developed a limp in his back leg. He could barely walk but he never showed pain. No wincing, no squeaking. He's never showed pain. I remember when he was a puppy, we had just got him and he chased me around the back of our house. I jumped up onto our patio which is solid rock and concrete. Running at full speed he tried to jump up with me but couldn't and slammed his head into the concrete. Slammed hard. But he was fine. Climbed up the steps and we continued our game. 11 years he's been with me. I've had more years on earth with him than I've had without him. I knew he was getting old and I knew he would eventually die but this quick? Man this is rough.

[longhornbaseball]

He's gone. He died last night.

[cardinalkarp]

Sorry to hear that longhorn.

[thrill]

It's hard, especially when you're not there. Hopefully the Cardinals do something to make you happier here in the next couple days.

[Radbird]

So sad, Longhorn. My sympathies. I think I'll give mine an extra hug or two today.

BTW, the dog we had throughout my teen years died when I was about your age too. And I was away at college. And although my mom has had several dogs since, I didn't have another one until we got our older one three years ago.

I still have a picture of my old buddy up on the frig.

[maddash]

Very sorry to hear that LHBB.

I'm sure many of you who have read my posts on pets know how I feel about them - I'm not really a pet person whatsoever. I think they're simply animals that become affectionate out of survival - we feed them, they become our friends. I also think we transfer a lot of human emotions on to them, when really they're just still animals that we "think" act in human ways....

Still, my wife has two cats that she's had since college. They're probably about 13 or 14 years old now. They've been nothing but house cats their entire lives, so they could live to be 20, or they could die within the next year... and I know I'm going to be come emotional when one of them dies - especially because they're brothers who have been together their entire lives - when one goes and the other is left alone... it's not going to be easy. Even though it goes against my better judgment, I've labeled them with a lot of human emotions, I watch them and I try to think what they're thinking, and invariably I give them some form of consciousness I simply don't think they're even close to being capable of. BUT, I love them, and even though I'm not a pet person I know they've made me a better person - better in a way that can only come from bringing a semi-wild animal (that clearly takes you for granted) into your home could. And it's always good to hear the memories like you have with your dog LHBB - those have shaped you in a way that's good, and that should be cherished.

So, I'm still not a pet person... but if my wife happens to want some new cats a few years down the road, I'm not going to put up a fight.

[JCShutout]

Sorry to hear that longhorn. Touching story Kyle.

We had a cat when I was young who was also "mine" (or more accurately, we were "their" people). If I closed my room door to work she would pound against the door, and pretty much spend 90% of her time with me when I was home. She could tell something was up when I left for college. When my sister would come home from college, she would ignore her. When I would come home, she would NOT ignore me.

That cat lived to 18 years old. During the summers a couple years ago I was driving a truck and running company picnics all over the US for work. I got an email that it seemed like it might be the cat's last days, and that she was fighting to stay alive. I was leaving town the next day for 4 days. I moved my departure time a couple hours later so i could stop in for about 25 minutes just in case, and drove out to O'fallon to see the cat. She was so frail that her food and litter were only a couple feet away, and my mom had an electric blanket for her to lay on all day.

I got there and she actually struggles to get up and come over to me and lay in my lap. After about 15 minutes. She looked at me, right in my eyes, "meow"ed, licked my hand, and went back to her blanket.

I left for work, and my mom said she died just a couple hours later. I like to think that after saying goodbye to me, she was able to let go. Whether or not that's true doesn't matter to me. I'm just glad I got over there to say goodbye.

Ether that or my very presence kills things.

[cardinalkarp]

Very nice story JC but after I read this..

Ether that or my very presence kills things.

I had to let out a laugh.