The Dog Lover Thread

[Bo Diddley]

We bought a puppy this week. We pick it up next weekend. I’ve never lived with a dog. Will see if I go from dog hatter to dog lover.

Thoughts and prayers!

[beefytee]

We bought a puppy this week. We pick it up next weekend. I’ve never lived with a dog. Will see if I go from dog hatter to dog lover.

[Pelado]

I have several siblings and we have a group text message thread which is usually fun and/or informative. Unfortunately, it took a dark turn the other day when an older sister and younger brother were sharing pictures and stories about their respective puppy dogs. Made me want to ask "How do I unsubscribe?"

My sister just shared that her puppy just passed away. AITA if I say "Good"?

[BigPiney]

no thanks

[Northwestcoug]

This one's for you, Piney:

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[BigFatMeanie]

I like dogs a lot, except for stupid little yap-yap dogs. I just don't like taking care of dogs.

One of our neighbors has a doberman and another has a big standard poodle. They're fun to play with when they're out for a walk or over at the park. I can play with them and enjoy their dog personalities for a while and when they poop or barf I don't have to deal with it. I also don't have to deal with the shots and microchip and going to the vet and all that other stuff.

[smokymountainrain]

I hate dogs - so I'd probably really hate this guy.

Man who spent $20K to transform himself into border collie steps out for first-ever walk in public (msn.com)

i like dogs for the most part, so i'd probably really hate that guy

[clackamascoug]

I hate dogs - so I'd probably really hate this guy.

Man who spent $20K to transform himself into border collie steps out for first-ever walk in public (msn.com)

[Northwestcoug]

thanks for sharing.

our boxer is absolutely amazing in every way - the lowest maintenance dog imaginable. she is 4.5 years old and boxers tend to have relatively short life spans, meaning she is probably already on the second half of her life. the thought of her passing is nearly unbearable for us, so we decided to go out, while she is still fairly young, and get her a little companion (and for us, a replacement). we brought home a 9 week old Portuguese Water Dog last Tuesday. he is the cutest little shit ever, but damn, puppies are rough. specifically, potty training effing sucks.

ultimately, i'd rather have dogs and go through the pain of losing them than not have dogs at all. i will likely have a dog or dogs for the rest of my life (though i may avoid puppies in the future)

We told our kids that after Cassie we would be done with dogs. Not one of them believed us. I was talking to my second daughter after Apollo died and I told her I can't do this again. To which she told me that I'm in my early 50's, and asked me what I was going to do when Cassie probably dies when I'm 60. I had to concede, I will probably have more dogs in my life.

But agree with the puppy thing. Our last 2 were puppies. They are adorable but they're also a lot. We'll see if Mrs. NWC's heart is melt resistant.

[Clark Addison]

Nice write up NWC. Thanks for sharing

[Pelado]

sorry to hear about all of that. I love my Jack Russell and don’t look forward to going through that with her.

My brother took his dogs out for a walk and somebody asked if they were Jack Russells. My brother told them, "No, they're mine."

Sorry for your loss, NWC, even though dogs suck.

[Moliere]

sorry to hear about all of that. I love my Jack Russell and don’t look forward to going through that with her.

[smokymountainrain]

I had not expected to update the thread this way for at least 4 more years.

Apollo, 8 years old, started becoming a pickier eater early this year. We didn't think anything of it since Wheaton's are sometimes known to be finicky with food. But it went on for a couple of weeks so I took him to the vet. Nothing else seemed wrong; he was still excited about his walks and would eat table scraps. But the vet thought we should get some blood work, and one of his liver enzymes was elevated. We weren't quite sure what to make of that, but we agreed to check the labs again in a month. But he started eating again just fine and I decided to wait. He seemed to be doing just fine. He had another spell of picky eating, this time more prolonged around April. We also noticed that he lost a little weight. I started throwing everything at him for food, and when he wouldn't eat some of his favorites I took him back. This time, all three liver enzymes were elevated and we found out he had lost about 10% of his weight. When a kid came to visit he noticed just how much weight he had lost. His ribs and pelvic bones were protruding and he winced at getting pats on his back. Still walking most days though, so my hopes were still high that it was a potentially treatable hepatitis. But given the weight loss we agreed that he needed more attention, which in the vet world means a specialist and more money.

An internist saw him and did an ultrasound, which found what looked like a large mass in his liver. This was thought most likely to be cancer, but an FNA showed findings that could have still been hepatitis. So we were still a little hopeful. We decided to not ring the alarm bells with the kids (they knew he was sick, but not potentially terminal as we were initially thinking), and mulled over what we should do for the next week. He was treated like a king and given any and as much food as he wanted. And when started gaining some weight I allowed myself to think this could be something treatable, and that maybe he could have another year or 2 of a decent life.

But without a diagnosis and possibilities which included automimmunity, congenital hepatitis, infection, and malignancy, he couldn't be empirically treated. By now, he had run up a nice little vet bill. But our two options, a CT scan and a laparoscopic biopsy would both dwarf that number. The oncologist (yes, there are veterinary oncologists) thought a CT scan would potentially show a malignancy that had metastasized, and if so, we would call everything off and make him as comfortable as possible. We agreed, but it only showed liver abnormalities and nothing else. So we were back to square one, with Apollo having something serious but not knowing what it was.

Before I go on I feel I have to impress upon you just how good a dog Apollo was. I used to say that Star was the better dog between the two since Apollo would bark more than her (still not much though). But in every other way he was just the sweetest dog. He would let you know when he wanted to be petted, but then would go lay down when he was done. He never caused us any significant problems. He was a wonderful trail dog. And when we decided to upend his life with the addition of Cassie, he took it in stride. He was the very embodiment of a good boy.

So with that I hope you understand our decisions. After 3 thousand and change, we decided that a potential year or two of life is worth more. So we decided to go for the laparoscopy. Mrs. NWC drove him to the specialist in town. She dropped him off without saying goodbye. When she got back into the car she thought about going back in to say bye, but she didn't. Similarly in the morning I spent an extra couple of minutes scratching behind his ears that he loved so much, before I went to work. I fully expected to see him the next day when he was scheduled to come home.

By now you see what's coming. I got the call later in the day that the operation went as expected. The liver didn't look great so the internist was glad we would have biopsy results and finally get an answer. They updated us throughout the day, letting us know that he was doing fine and got up a couple of times to go pee outside. We went to sleep and got awakened at midnight letting us know that Apollo had become unresponsive, and that though they had gotten a pulse back (yes, veterinary CPR is a thing), there was no higher brain function left. They asked us if we wanted to see him before they euthanized him. Our immediate answer was no way, put him out of his misery. But I do wish I would have been able to say goodbye to my good friend.

I conservatively estimate that I've walked at least a thousand miles with Apollo. I've mentioned here before how therapeutic dog walks are for me. It is good for my soul to see perked up ears at other animals, both friend and foe, and the excitement of a dog to go on yet another walk on the same path that we've used countless times before. The last time I took him was the day before he died. He was feeling perky so we did an extended walk. He was still on the lookout for squirrels and making sure every dog in the area had a chance to sniff where he peed. And then we just hung outside for the rest of the day. I hope that was a good day for him. I wish he could have died at home, but I hope he didn't suffer too much.

We are not ready for another dog, but the hole Apollo left in our lives yearns to be full. We had sworn that Cassie would be our last, not wanting to go through the anguish of losing a family member more than one more time. But it's tough. It's special to see two dogs live together. We'll see how we feel after this summer.

Rest in peace Apollo. You will always occupy a tender part of six human hearts.
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thanks for sharing.

our boxer is absolutely amazing in every way - the lowest maintenance dog imaginable. she is 4.5 years old and boxers tend to have relatively short life spans, meaning she is probably already on the second half of her life. the thought of her passing is nearly unbearable for us, so we decided to go out, while she is still fairly young, and get her a little companion (and for us, a replacement). we brought home a 9 week old Portuguese Water Dog last Tuesday. he is the cutest little shit ever, but damn, puppies are rough. specifically, potty training effing sucks.

ultimately, i'd rather have dogs and go through the pain of losing them than not have dogs at all. i will likely have a dog or dogs for the rest of my life (though i may avoid puppies in the future)

[Northwestcoug]

After we lost our last dogs I didn't want to get another one. I didn't want to go through losing my buddy again. But we got another one, she sleeps with us, and now we will have to go through it again, but I have a new buddy. I wish dogs didn't have such short life spans and I didn't get so attached to them.

I know exactly how you feel.

Man....I am so sorry for your loss NWC. It gutted me to read that and I got a little emotional.

We have two Yorkies, one in 10 years old, and the other is 9 years old. I am already dreading the day.

How is Cassie doing? Does she know something is up yet? Damn dude.

Apollo died a couple of weeks ago. For the first few days Cassie would wait at the door, I think expecting Apollo to come home. A couple of times during our walks she would stop at a favorite pee rock of Apollo’s, dead in her tracks and sniffing. I’m not sure if she recognized Apollo’s scent but it was sort of weird behavior for her. Now she seems to be ok with the new routine of being an only dog. The extra love she’s getting helps I’m sure.

I hope you have some solid years left with your Yorkies.

[Bo Diddley]

God bless, NWC.