Man's Best Friend

[govmentchedda]

Loved that.

[Brontoburglar]

Pen now has a partially torn right ACL. she had the left repaired in 2019. given the rate that dogs tear the other ACL after tearing one, this isn't much of a surprise.

she's 10 and exceptionally active -- she acts like a dog half her age at times. but since it's partially torn, we're on the wait and see with pain meds and strict rest approach for a month or so before going forward with the hope that it'll heal on its own if it's just a relatively minor partial tear. if/when surgery is the option I'm doing it as long as she passed all the tests. her quality of life is exceptionally high and she loves nothing more than running around the back yard and chasing squirrels and rabbits and our daily walks around the neighborhood

[sancarlos]

That’s a bummer, Bronto. As you know, ACL surgery isn’t cheap or easy. Our 50 pound retriever mix blew an acl when she was seven. We did the surgery and luckily it didn’t recur - and she is now 16.

[The Sybian]

Not a good week for knees in the Bronto family.

[rass]

"...like a snapped Twizzler..."

(good luck to the pup)

[A_B]

I know no one wants a bump of this thread for the bad reasons, but we had to put our cat down yesterday. 16 years, first with my mother then with us. My youngest, about to turn 21, really never knew anything without him. Just an old scrabbly east kentucky street cat with a bad attitude. He bit me all the time but I loved him. For old time's sake, he bit me after the first injection. One for the road, I guess.

Hug the pets, fellas.

[The Sybian]

Sorry AB. This thread remains the worst/best thread.

[govmentchedda]

Sorry, bud.

[Steve of phpBB]

I’m so sorry, AB.

[rass]

sorry man

[L-Jam3]

Sorry, AB.

[Nonlinear FC]

Sorry AB.

I grew up in a house full of cats and had a very love/hate relationship. Swore I'd never have one as an adult and then my wife and kids fell in love with a kitten and 15 years later I'm writing his eulogy and crying my eyes out.

I love my dogs, but cats and all their weirdness bring something different and wonderful to the table.

[mister d]

Sorry guys. This is the worst thread.

[MaxWebster]

fk. truly sorry A_B.

our cat turns 14 sometime in the next week or so - she's still killing it and looks great which is deceptive bc she's fking 14. Our youngest is 18 and yeah, pretty much doesn't remember anything before her.

Also our 6yr old Golden has a lump on her shoulder and I need the vet to just say "wtf did you even bring her in for, she's fine - go home"

[TankFarm2023]

So sorry, AB.

We're now catless, after inheriting a feral colony in the backyard of our first home in Brooklyn. Three of those cats made the move to Maine with us, and one by one, made their way into small urns we keep in a cupboard. Current total is 1 dog, 9 cats.

Sadly, that will change soon. Our two oldest canines, both females, are starting their inevitable decline; the younger, Fiona, needed to be rushed to the fancy new 24 hour emergency hospital a month ago. They managed to save her, but the diagnosis (congestive heart failure) means she has less than a year. My guess would be far less, but I'll take whatever we're given, of course. The diuretic she's on means constant thirst, which also means the sofa we planned on replacing anyhow is now a gigantic urinal. We tried using diapers overnight, but that was almost worse. She's been the sweetest and dopiest animal companion we've ever had.

The elder, Gracie, is experiencing severe muscle wasting in her hind legs, which is both sad and tough to watch, but also sorta comical. Think Bambi. She getting a monthly injection, which seems to alleviate the pain, and she still wants to prolong any walk or hike to its breaking point. Closing in on 15, it's hard to know if cancer or something else will get her before her legs give out. On her bad days I'm convinced we need to set her free at last, but her good days are far more frequent and she trots like a puppy on her walk, dawdling as she always has.

Needless to say, it really, really sucks watching this. Fortunately, the youngest is healthy as a horse, and dotes on his two older sisters, checking in with them frequently on walks and what have you. We think he's gonna take their death(s) worse than we will.


Sorry to blabber on and on, I haven't really shared this with a lot of people so...

[Nonlinear FC]

That's what this thread/place is for my man. Blabber away.

[Steve of phpBB]

So sorry, AB.

We're now catless, after inheriting a feral colony in the backyard of our first home in Brooklyn. Three of those cats made the move to Maine with us, and one by one, made their way into small urns we keep in a cupboard. Current total is 1 dog, 9 cats.

Sadly, that will change soon. Our two oldest canines, both females, are starting their inevitable decline; the younger, Fiona, needed to be rushed to the fancy new 24 hour emergency hospital a month ago. They managed to save her, but the diagnosis (congestive heart failure) means she has less than a year. My guess would be far less, but I'll take whatever we're given, of course. The diuretic she's on means constant thirst, which also means the sofa we planned on replacing anyhow is now a gigantic urinal. We tried using diapers overnight, but that was almost worse. She's been the sweetest and dopiest animal companion we've ever had.

The elder, Gracie, is experiencing severe muscle wasting in her hind legs, which is both sad and tough to watch, but also sorta comical. Think Bambi. She getting a monthly injection, which seems to alleviate the pain, and she still wants to prolong any walk or hike to its breaking point. Closing in on 15, it's hard to know if cancer or something else will get her before her legs give out. On her bad days I'm convinced we need to set her free at last, but her good days are far more frequent and she trots like a puppy on her walk, dawdling as she always has.

Needless to say, it really, really sucks watching this. Fortunately, the youngest is healthy as a horse, and dotes on his two older sisters, checking in with them frequently on walks and what have you. We think he's gonna take their death(s) worse than we will.


Sorry to blabber on and on, I haven't really shared this with a lot of people so...

This is so rough. But thanks for posting.

Back in March, our 14yo Aussie was diagnosed with a cancerous bladder tumor. They said he might live another six months. He's the only dog we've ever had.

We were so sad, especially that he might not make it to summer to enjoy living in the woods and playing in the creeks and ponds.

But he's still kicking. He's old and slow and limpy, but otherwise he's still living the good life. So now we're playing with house money every day.

[Giff]

Really sorry to read that, AB.

[sancarlos]

Sorry, AB and Tank Farm. Really.

[Giff]

Very sorry TankFarm.

[sancarlos]

Steve, your story is just like mine. Our 16 year-old retriever mix has been on death’s door a couple times but she is still chugging along. Refuses to stay down for a ten-count. Wants her walk every morning, even though she walks down the block like a drunken sailor.

[rass]

Old dogs are the best. Good luck with yours TF, steve and SC.

[Nonlinear FC]

Because this post had me feeling a bit maudlin, I doubled down and looked at my Fb obit posts and it reminded me... Our cat got sick when he was 12 or so and we had a neighbor friend who is a vet take a look at him. She gave us some very grim (deaths door) news and we rushed him to the vet. Everyone in the house is losing their shit (with good reason) thinking I'm taking him to be put down.

Welp, turned out the vet lady was wrong and Kasey was still kicking 2.5 years later.

[cerranoredux]

Very sorry, AB and Tank. Pagliucci sends his condolences too.

[Steve of phpBB]

Warning: This tweet about Maggie the Snow Dog will make you cry.

[+] spoiler

[Nonlinear FC]

Nope. 5 seconds and I'm out.

[The Sybian]

Warning: This tweet about Maggie the Snow Dog will make you cry.

[+] spoiler

Fuck, this doubly got me as partway through the video I thought, “I need to send this to my dad.” Then they said the dog is dying of cancer.

[Steve of phpBB]

Warning: This tweet about Maggie the Snow Dog will make you cry.

[+] spoiler

Fuck, this doubly got me as partway through the video I thought, “I need to send this to my dad.” Then they said the dog is dying of cancer.

Oooh. Very rough.

After spending months hoping my dog would get to play in the creek again, now we're hoping he'll get to play in the snow.

[garyclark]

Sorry, AB and Tank Farm. Really.

I'll add my name to the list of folks wishing you didn't have to go through this. Pets really do help put life into perspective in so many ways.

[MaxWebster]

our girl Sadie escaped any rough diagnosis at the vet but had an ear thing lanced and is now sporting the cone of shame for a week.

[sancarlos]

Good looking dog. You can take her to a Halloween costume party dressed as a martini. (An appletini!)

[MaxWebster]

holy shit that is such a top-shelf idea

Good looking dog. You can take her to a Halloween costume party dressed as a martini. (An appletini!)

[Nonlinear FC]

Our puppers is a little over a year old and it was her time to get snipped last TH. (Worked out well, as I took the day off and had to drive one of my kids to the airport.)

Anyways, the wife is a helicopter mom, so her shit was on high alert for Mickey and the sutures. Despite a lot of worrying* the dog has shown almost ZERO interest in the healing area, to the point that we don't have to mess around with the Cone of Shame. We're both a little shocked, as she's very prone to just sitting around and fussing with her toys for long stretches.

* - While I find her worrying to be a bit much at times, I give her a ton of leeway. She over-packs and over-prepares and... When we need something, 99/100 we have it or have very quick access to it or have a plan to deal with "it."

[sancarlos]

* - While I find her worrying to be a bit much at times, I give her a ton of leeway. She over-packs and over-prepares and... When we need something, 99/100 we have it or have very quick access to it or have a plan to deal with "it."

I can relate to that. My wife also “over-prepares”, which can be annoying and time-consuming. But, like you said, many times her preparation saves the day.

[sancarlos]

It’s a sad day at our house. We had to let go of our wonderful dog, Cinders. She gave us 16 wonderful years. Truly can’t imagine having a better doggo. She was so smart, so loving, so gentle, RIP. 

[mister d]

Sorry, SC. 16 is a great run.

[rass]

Bad bump!

Sorry buddy. I’m sure she was the best and loved you guys.

[Steve of phpBB]

I’m sorry, SC. Gorgeous pup.

[duff]

Condolences, Pat.

[DaveInSeattle]

Sorry man...beautiful dog.