OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

[shawn_a]

Grab your nearest dear one and give them a hug.

Done? Good.

Feel better? Even gooder.

I put my boy Shady to rest on a beautiful June Tuesday morning. I only post this here because I know there are a ton of pet people on here who I consider friends and quite a few of you are possessed by Labs.

Shady lived a long and rather easy, good life. He was well spoiled and gave me a lot of reasons to laugh to the point of tears. Here he is on Sunday, laying in the yard soaking up the sun. Something he was a professional at doing. He grew into being the wise old man of the pack which he took to very well.

shawn

[bungelow_ed]

Re: OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

Shawn,

Very sorry to hear of the passing of an obviously loved member of your family. Remember and celebrate the good times and Shady will never really be gone. It is amazing what an impact dogs have on their owners.

After three years my sons still regularly recall our Golden Retriever "Moe." Recollections are usually preceded by someone making a comment like "I miss Moe."

[ROTECH]

Re: OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

Shawn,

My apologies for your loss. I can tell you I have been there for sure.

The picture below is that of Buster. He was my family's first pitbull, and truly a dog to change a whole neighborhoods perception. We found him in a garbage bag that was tied shut at a local gas station when I was about 12 years old. He was only 6 weeks old then and had been thrown away like trash. We took him home only to be told NO! I dont want a pitbull in my house by my mom. We then took him to see my father who was sleeping.... one look into his cute face and my dad was sold on him.
A week later, we got a knock on the door from some girl and her mother demanding their dog back or they would get the police involved. They said that their landlord threw the dog away when they were not home. Fearing legal battles, my parents made us give the dog back. We were heartbroken.
about a month went by, and we saw the same girl trying to sell him for $50 at a gas station. We took Buster back at that instant and never looked back.

11 year later, while in perfect health, we took him to a new vet for his yearly tune up. This new vet advertised a specialty in Bully Breeds, stating that they never need to sedate the dogs for service, that they simply work with them until they are comfortable. After we returned 1 hour later from getting some lunch, we were greeted by Buster being carried out of the back room by some non-english speaking assistant. The doctor followed behind and said, did you know that Buster had 3 slipped discs in his neck? They recommended we euthanize him on the spot. We were shocked and amazed that our perfectly heathy dog was now crippled in pain and could not walk. We were grief stricken and could not digest what had just happened so we took him home for the night. As it turns out, it was the end for Buster. He could not walk, move, eat or drink. He was completely broken due to the vetrinary staff of this "specialty" hospital who had simply held him down against all of his might causing his neck to essentially break.
At this point, the family was still not ready to cope with this sudden loss. I had to try and make it better, I figured maybe he needs to get up and move around..... My last memory of Buster being Buster was that of him with a broken neck, mustering up the strength to go for one last walk with me because all he wanted for his entire life was to make his owners happy. And that he did.
Later that day we loaded him in the car, brought him to my fathers work to say his last goodbyes and we went to his original vet to have him put to sleep. That was back in 2006 and I have had his dogtags on my keychain ever since. My current dog Jameson also wears one of his dogtags, and uses his old harness as well.

[Wolf]

Re: OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

Really sorry to hear that, bud! :(
How are Diesel and Gizmo coping with it?

I'm sure he'll be missed...
Wolf

[johnnyrichards]

Re: OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

My friend... what else can i say?

[shawn_a]

Re: OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

Really sorry to hear that, bud! :(
How are Diesel and Gizmo coping with it?

I'm sure he'll be missed...
Wolf

Dude, the rest of the pack is really down and quiet. Gizmo is really acting a bit lost without him around. Diesel is still trying to figure out what is going on but he seems okay beyond that. Thanks for the thoughts, bud.

shawn

[shawn_a]

Re: OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

Shawn,

Very sorry to hear of the passing of an obviously loved member of your family. Remember and celebrate the good times and Shady will never really be gone. It is amazing what an impact dogs have on their owners.

After three years my sons still regularly recall our Golden Retriever "Moe." Recollections are usually preceded by someone making a comment like "I miss Moe."

Yeah, I have a lot of conversations with my mom about all the dogs we've had the privilege of being their humans over the years. All different personalities and all individuals. I miss my Golden, Roodie, more than can be put to words.

shawn

[ROTECH]

Re: OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

Dude, the rest of the pack is really down and quiet. Gizmo is really acting a bit lost without him around. Diesel is still trying to figure out what is going on but he seems okay beyond that. Thanks for the thoughts, bud.

shawn

Have many of you also felt worse for your other dogs, than for you as a human in these times? I know science calls it an anthropomorphic fallacy when we attribute human emotions to an animal, but anybody who has been close to a dog knows for sure that they share the emotions we teach them. The hardest part is they lack the ability to "know for sure" where their friend has gone.

Did anybody catch the news about the male pitbull who stayed by his friends side?
http://now.msn.com/now/0522-pitbull-stays-mate.aspx

[shawn_a]

Re: OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

Shawn,

My apologies for your loss. I can tell you I have been there for sure.

The picture below is that of Buster. He was my family's first pitbull, and truly a dog to change a whole neighborhoods perception. We found him in a garbage bag that was tied shut at a local gas station when I was about 12 years old. He was only 6 weeks old then and had been thrown away like trash. We took him home only to be told NO! I dont want a pitbull in my house by my mom. We then took him to see my father who was sleeping.... one look into his cute face and my dad was sold on him.
A week later, we got a knock on the door from some girl and her mother demanding their dog back or they would get the police involved. They said that their landlord threw the dog away when they were not home. Fearing legal battles, my parents made us give the dog back. We were heartbroken.
about a month went by, and we saw the same girl trying to sell him for $50 at a gas station. We took Buster back at that instant and never looked back.

11 year later, while in perfect health, we took him to a new vet for his yearly tune up. This new vet advertised a specialty in Bully Breeds, stating that they never need to sedate the dogs for service, that they simply work with them until they are comfortable. After we returned 1 hour later from getting some lunch, we were greeted by Buster being carried out of the back room by some non-english speaking assistant. The doctor followed behind and said, did you know that Buster had 3 slipped discs in his neck? They recommended we euthanize him on the spot. We were shocked and amazed that our perfectly heathy dog was now crippled in pain and could not walk. We were grief stricken and could not digest what had just happened so we took him home for the night. As it turns out, it was the end for Buster. He could not walk, move, eat or drink. He was completely broken due to the vetrinary staff of this "specialty" hospital who had simply held him down against all of his might causing his neck to essentially break.
At this point, the family was still not ready to cope with this sudden loss. I had to try and make it better, I figured maybe he needs to get up and move around..... My last memory of Buster being Buster was that of him with a broken neck, mustering up the strength to go for one last walk with me because all he wanted for his entire life was to make his owners happy. And that he did.
Later that day we loaded him in the car, brought him to my fathers work to say his last goodbyes and we went to his original vet to have him put to sleep. That was back in 2006 and I have had his dogtags on my keychain ever since. My current dog Jameson also wears one of his dogtags, and uses his old harness as well.

I would be hard pressed to not go and kick that poor excuse for a veterinarian square in the groin. That place should be closed down and all licenses of the staff revoked. Pitiful excuse for the field as a whole.

But Buster was one crazy handsome dude, for sure. I'm sure he did a lot to dispel a lot of myths about the breed and pittie mixes.

Here's my story about how I got hooked on Labs and dealt with a "police are gonna get called" situation:

The abridged version: Neighbor has this adorable little black pup in a kennel in his back yard. After a couple of months of passing the little fella I saw him laying on top of his dog house, limp as a wet rag and had vomit all around him. Being the brazen and bold kid I was at 17 (far from the truth back then) I told the guy I was taking the dog to the vet if he didn't. A hundred bucks and a day later we had the pup up and kicking like nothing happened. The owner paid me $50 of what I forked out of my own pocket and I returned the pup to his still-uncertain circumstances.

Flash forward a few months. I had been feeding the pup myself and generally watching over him. From time to time I would ask to bring him down to my yard to play with my border collie. Well, one rare afternoon his grandkids were visiting him and his daughter came down and started reading me the riot act that the dog belonged to her and it better damn well stay at her father's place. I said "Great, where's my $50?" She flew into a tirade and marched back home to call the po-po. I walked the little dude up to the kennel where no kids were there to greet him or play with him. They were totally disinterested in him.

The owner came out the back door with her sister in close trail, both yelling at me. I lost it. Totally went all the way over the edge and found my thunder. I told the sister to just walk back in the house. It wasn't her fight. I told the "owner" that I hope she did call the police because I had several witnesses and the very respected veterinarian who first treated him ready to come to my defense. I asked her in a not-quite-too-calm way if she was ready to have her dad arrested for animal abuse and neglect because that's was how it was going to go down. I guess I scared the snot out of her (I was still a big kid even though I was only 170 lbs. dripping wet *sigh*) and she backed off.

Forward a few more weeks. She comes knocking at my door wanting to know if I wanted to buy the dog. I gave her my best "are you f-ing kidding me" look and said "No, but I will promise to not to take you to small-claims court for the still-outstanding $50 your pitiful father still owes me."

From that day until the day he was laid to rest in his favorite corner of our yard he never spent another night in their possession. Harpo was apparently a Lab/Golden mix. He looked a lot like a Flat Coated retriever but with more Lab like features. I had an almost symbiotic relationship with that dog. Totally worth my effort and he was the first thing I had found for myself that was worth fighting for, tooth and nail.

shawn

[shawn_a]

Re: OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

My friend... what else can i say?

You've said so much already my friend. Much appreciated your thoughts and support have been to myself and my mother. She says you're a crazy sick person for being a Lab nut. That's some rather high praise from her. :D

Until a person has lived through the "thrill" of raising a Lab puppy they really haven't experienced the full gamut of emotions a pet can give you. From downright frustration to calling for their heads on a platter to being ran around chasing them like a silly fool, Shady did all the horrible and destructive and truly awesome things Labs are known for. At times I think it has to be a direct comparison to raising a child only worse LOL.

Yet the reward was oh-so-sweet once he grew up into a wonderful dog and companion.

shawn

[ROTECH]

Re: OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

Shawn,

Simply amazing. Great turn of events there, and for once, the nice guys wins.

The highlight of my day, every day, is going home at 6am to have Jameson waiting for me at the door. He can hear my truck get off the highway about 1/3 mile from my house.

[shawn_a]

Re: OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

Have many of you also felt worse for your other dogs, than for you as a human in these times? I know science calls it an anthropomorphic fallacy when we attribute human emotions to an animal, but anybody who has been close to a dog knows for sure that they share the emotions we teach them. The hardest part is they lack the ability to "know for sure" where their friend has gone.

Did anybody catch the news about the male pitbull who stayed by his friends side?
http://now.msn.com/now/0522-pitbull-stays-mate.aspx

While it drives me almost bonkers to see people dress up their pets in clothes and other acts of near-crazy anthropomorphic nuttiness, I will say I stand by my belief that dogs grieve. When my border collie passed, her main antagonist and fellow pack member, Harpo, was absolutely sad. Would not eat and just laid around, waiting for her to walk by so he could goad her into chasing him. That was far from his usual behavior to be certain.

shawn

[isaeagle4031]

Re: OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

Very sorry for your lose Shawn. It is a rare thing in life to find a true companion like that, pet or human. He will surely be missed.

They do grieve, no doubt. Every time my girls take our weiner dog for a walk, our bigger dog Sumo turns into the winiest pathetic thing you ever heard. When Sumo got hit by a car, Annie the weiner dog acted pretty forlorn until he was returned home almost a week later. Then she mothered him as best she could. It was truly a site. Sometimes it seems our pets "get it" long before we do.

[carlspeak]

Re: OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

Shady was a handsome greybeard indeed.

I used to hug my Rugby a lot.
http://techtalk.parts-express.com/sh...3&postcount=64

If you can't read the caption under the pic, let me know and I'll reproduce it in more readable form.

When she passed, it was like losing one of my kids. I haven't owned a dog since. We used to play on the bed in the morning before I went to work. She'd lay on her back with her paws up and I'd tease her with my hand going for her chest and stomach and she'd flail away with he paws trying to fend me off and nip my hand gently showing me who was boss. After I went to work she'd stay on the bed and spend the day staring out the window and snoozing.

One of the things I loved best about my lab was gently brushing the fuzz on the top of her head. It was like the fake fur on an expensive teddy bear.

Sorry for your loss Shawn and great story about standing up to the neighbor's dog abuse.

[LouC]

Re: OT: Go hug your loved ones. Now.

Grab your nearest dear one and give them a hug.

Shawn I can honestly say I'm with you. My pack has been my solace for the last 3 weeks since my wife passed. They know I'm hurtin' and are doing their best to keep my head in the game. I know Carmella, my avatar, is on borrowed time.

I think losing a treasured pet may be harder than losing people. Had to do both. My heart goes out to you. I just wish we were as sensible about people as we are about our pets. I have a story that I hope Lab people will appreciate.

I used to hunt with a friend named Wayne when I was in Montana. Jess was his 12 year old yellow Lab who lived for duck and bird season. (well water skiing was a close second). Just the smell of gun oil was enough to park Jess in the back of Wayne's pickup.

Jess was diagnosed with cancer, and couldn't really do his job anymore. Wayne tried locking him in the basement to go hunting, came home and found the dog chewed through the door. Wayne took him to the vet, who pumped him full of pain killers and steroids. We headed out to the lake, Wayne bagged his limit with Jess retrieving them all. Wayne took Jess for a good lunch, then shot him. We buried Jess on the hillside overlooking his favorite lake.