Member- Tony C replied:

Fisho,
Sorry to hear of you losing your mate.It sure does pull at the heart strings.I thought i was fine although sad at the thought of having my little mate (a Jack Russel)put to sleep a while ago but the moment the vet slipped the needle in, grief really kicked in,iwas devistated.I buried her on top of her favorite rabbit warren.
She used to go almost everywhere with me and was always on the go.While i was fencing she would be off hunting rabbits and fishing she loved seldom taking her eye off the rod tip and could detect a bite instantly.
Sadly like your dog she became paralised in the back legs and had little choice but have her put to sleep.

Member - Doug T (Qld) replied:

fisho
Sorry to read of your loss, There is just something so special about a Dog and the love they give to their Human mate,






Doug

Member - Oldplodder (QLD) replied:

Sorry to hear about your loss.
Our mate was a blue kelpie/rotweiler cross.
Like yours, when he young he was accidently driven over the hips by a car. Never thought he would walk again, but he did. He loved chasing seagulls on the beach when he got better. A pleasure to watch.
Bone cancer got him at 15. When he was diagnosed with bone cancer we asked the vet how long till we put him down, and the vet said we would know. In the end we couldn't stand the suffering any more. Not a whimper of complaint though from our friend.
Our two boys were maybe a little older than your mob, 11 & 15, when we asked the vet to come around and put him down at home. We all managed to have a little time with him to say goodbye. He is now burried in the front yard. We shared digging the hole. Still say hello as we pass sometimes.

Some good memories, and we learnt a lot about being family from him.

Thoughts are with you fisho.

Sand Man (SA) replied:

I know exactly how you feel mate.

But you have made the best choice for your best friend.

If it's any help to you, just remember all the good times you had.

Me, I went out and bought a new dog. This was the best remedy for us.

Member - Royce replied:

Sad news. Been through it a few times now with my working dogs. That's life I guess.

This is the perfect opportunity for your kids to start to understand death. Your reactions will be crucial to them getting a grip of what it's all about. If you can let them see that this is the natural way of things and okay.... they'll handle closer death, family etc way better than kids who don't have the experience.

I always have good feeling when an old dog dies [apart from sad], that the old fella is okay now.

My thoughts.... Hey.... time for a new pup?!!

Cheers Royce

Member - Dunworkin (WA) replied:

Hi fisho64, so sorry to hear of the loss of your beloved pet, I know how you are feeling, we had a cat the we had for 13 years and had to put him down but now we have a very much loved dog who is struggling with cancer at the moment, she has had her left back leg off and last night we noticed that she was having trouble getting up on the other back leg so today I am taking her off for acupuncture and massage (which we have been doing ever since her op) hoping all is well with her. Simba (dog) is a kelpie/ collie cross, (see rig pic) and also sleeps on our bed but we lift her up each night.
We feel for you and your family but reading your thread you obviously had him for a lot longer than you expected so you will have so many happy memories of times spent with him.

Cheers

D

Member -Signman replied:

Mate- as you say, a loyal buddy.
They give unconditional love and just keep on giving it. My 'girl' is 16 next month. Still thinks shes a puppy, but deaf as a post and the arthritis gives her a hard time in the cold..
I'm dreading the day when I'll have to say goodbye- as she is getting on.
She's a Samoyed X Shepherd/Dingo.

Best wishes to you- and is there gonna be another one to fill the void??

Shaker replied:

My thoughts are with you.
I lost my mate of 18 years, red & tan kelpie, it was then & still is the worst day of my life.
I always promised him that I would be with him at the end, when the day came, the vet had to let me out of the back door, in fact I am struggling to type this even now, 5 years later.

Remember the good times!

Member - Kim M (VIC) replied:

Fisho

Like all the others, I share your feelings. Best thing to do is give it a bit of time, then go out and buy another pup.

Regards

Kim

greggu replied:

mate sorry to hear that - i guess you can say you had a great mate for 17 years and i know how you feel i lost my white lab girl a while ago after 15 years - she got me thru a diviorce etc - same situation as you when she lost the back legs etc - cried like a baby when i said goodby to her at the vets and i consider i am a roughish capable man in his sixties - hang in there
my best see you greg

fozzy replied:

matey it is one of the saddest things life can throw at you-one of your best mates is put to rest forever.
give it a bit of time and when you and the family are ready look for another addition to the family although not to replace your lost mate but to grow with the current family.
until you have done what you have had to do it is difficult to explain what and how much your best mate does for you and the family.
good luck for your future.
it is defintely worth doing it all again.
cheers
fozzy

Member - Ian H (NSW) replied:

Like the others, I am sorry to hear of your loss.
We have all lost a 4 legged mate sometime or other and really do know how you and your family feel.
It's been over 8 years for us and I still get a damp eye when I talk about her, a Border Collie pure bred.
It's great to be a part of this group that supports someone who is down.
Chin up mate, you did the best for "your mate".
Ian

Member - Stephen M (NSW) replied:

Hi Fisho64, mate very sorry to hear about your loss. Like all the replys above they become one of the family and are surely missed when that unfortunate day comes. I also like most of the replys above had a shepard x lab lost her nine years ago. Spent a fortune on her, had to get cateracts (spelling) removed from one of her eyes so she would have at least half her site back $1200 later it didnt work but hey would have spent more if had to. She was also diabetic so had to give her insulin shots every morning before I went to work. She ended up having to be put to sleep on new years eve 9 years ago she went into a coma whilst I was away, my sister tried her hardest to give her glucose which lived on top of the microwave incase she had a hyper which was often. Boy it was a sad day the next day when I flew back home and had to take to the vet. Had been in a coma for too long and would have been brain damaged so had to give the vet the ok was very hard to do but was for her. My wife has just read your post and all the others and has tears streaming down her face. Our rottie is getting on she is 9 and back hips getting a bit hard to get out bed in the mornings the shepard x is 10 but like a pup. Mate head up and hope your family are all ok. Maybe when the time is write you will get yourself another loyal mate and some one for the kids to grow up with. All the best Regards Steve M

Al & Mrs Al (Vic) replied:

Hi Fisho64, it's amazing isn't it the depth of feelings we have for our 4 legged friends. Al and I had two beautiful Irish Wolfhounds. I lost my beautiful girl Finn to bloat when she was just 5 years old, it was the most heartbreaking thing to witness, knowing there was absolutely nothing that could be done to save her and trying to get a vet in the middle of the night, then trying to lift a 70kg plus dog into the back of the ute for the short journey to the vet...she didn't make it..she must have been in pain for hours and we didn't know...I still feel guilty about it. Our other wolfie, Tully lived til he was 10, an amazing long time for a wolfhound. He was a true Gentleman, a gentle giant that kids and adults loved..he had a thing about him - people just wanted to pat him...probably was his size and the fact that he could basically put his face in yours if he wanted to. Al was heartbroken when he finally had to make the same decision that you did. He still has his collar here.
We have another dog now, we got him after Finn died to keep Tully company, he's a Brittany and is a great dog, a great dog for the kids to run around with.

We are lucky that in all the strife in the world and issues we deal with day to day that we have special friends who love us no matter what and can make a bad day seem good just by being there.

Lyn