I know a lot of you have heard about the troubles with my puppy. We loved her very much, and seeing her go through the sudden decline and pain that she was suffering made us realize that loving her meant knowing when it was time to let her go.

I also know that I'm not the only one who has lost a beloved family pet recently, so I wanted to open this thread for everyone to post their thoughts feelings and pictures of their best friends that have moved on from this world.

Sorry to hear about your puppy. My sister and her husband had to put down their 8 year old Great Dane a couple weeks ago due to lung cancer. Luckily my daughter and I got in one last visit recently. I've got some pictures at home, perhaps I'll dig 'em out later.

We got Malibu from a Greyhound rescue in Thomasville, GA. A stones-throw from Tallahassee. After reading quite a bit about Greyhounds personality, temperament, and needs we thought this would be a great pet for Arachne and I.

She was, as you probably guessed, an ex-race dog -- off the track from Monticello (Jefferson County Kennel Club). She was about 75lbs and 36inches tall at the shoulder, so huge for a female (average female greyhounds are about 60lbs and 28in). As she was sort of on the tall, supermodelesque, side she was to much greyhound for the races and raced out rather young. (Her record was 3rd place, 6th place, 8th place, and she didn't finish her last race at all).

While she wasn't particularly suited to the races, she was a perfect house dog, and a wonderful friend to all. We brought her home to our apartment and she settled in immediately. She found her bed and laid down and looked up at us as to say, "Thanks for bringing me home, mom and dad!"

Friends and family who had dogs, non-dog lovers, and we ourselves frequently referred to her as the sweetest dog around.

We loved her very much, but we knew the ammount of pain and suffering that the bone cancer would have continued to cause her, so when things went south we knew that the best gift we could give her was the gift of freedom.

Raise a glass of whatever your drinking to Malibu!

That would be great, Zan, we'd love to see them!

Danes are beautiful dogs, and incredibly sweet pets.

I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend and companion, Hom. It's always a terrible decision to make, but we can rest easier knowing she's not in pain anymore.

I too had to painful decision recently regarding my dog. I'm thankful it is not the same one you had to make, but it feels similar. I had to choose between the bulldog I had for 6+ years and my wife & kid. While not a hard decision, following through on it was. Finding him a good home and walking away from him as he looked at me with those big eyes was one of the most painful experiences I've had in recent years.

I guess the point is that I did not have to go through the exact situation you did... but I also have recently lost (in some sense of the word) an animal I loved dearly.

I still miss ya, Bubba.





Raise a glass of whatever your drinking to Malibu!

I will. Most definitally, I will.

I had a dog growing up. We had her since I was 9 and she died when I was 20. There was nothing really "wrong" with her. I think she died from loneliness. My dad was the only person left at home taking care of her and when he took a trip to come visit me and had someone else watching her, that's when it happened. I always felt so bad that I couldn't have visited her more, but my crappy job didn't let me go home for the holidays or anything like that.

Growing up I had a friend who's little dog got kicked by a horse and lost a leg. He recovered and was never quite right, but was ok. He got really sick for a while and the vets couldn't really find anything wrong with him so started giving him various drugs hoping something would at least manifest as a problem. It was a rollercoaster ride for nearly a year.. he'd feel better and then get worse, back and forth until they found a combination of things that ended up resolving his problems... for a week. He picked a fight with a cow and got kicked again, broke a bunch of ribs, etc. They patched him up and took him home but he was in so much pain they had to put him down, only my friend couldn't do it.

I got a call from him one day on his way to work and asked me if I could do it for him. He didn't want to know when. I waited 2 days and then picked the dog up while he was at work and got him put down. It wasn't even my dog and that was hard as hell to do.

I had him return the favor for me several years ago, one of the dogs I had growing up was so arthritic and in pain all the time she could barely move but god dammit if she wouldn't try her best to jump up on me when I came to visit.

I also have a gross/morbid but also hilarious story about my dad trying to put down our old cat by himself, but now isn't the right time for that.

Over the past year and a half I had to get two of my cats put down, they were great creatures and I miss them very much, we had a all black on named Gringo (yeah we are twisted) and a white one named Audi.

My Heart gose out to you all!

If i could drink at work i would raise my glass, aas I cannot it will have to wait until tonight.

Sorry for your loss, Hom.
My cousin has a greyhound who was an ex-racer, and she said there has never been a better dog. Except, she added, when the dog runs past her outside into the rain with that happy "Chase me, Mom" face.

Chasing a greyhound = futility.

I'm so sorry Homreker and Arachne.

I haven't lost a pet in a very long time, but I remember how hard it was then.

/hugs

Know that we are thinking about you and Ara, Hom.

I have had dogs since I was 5, I have had 7 Dogs (Including the 2 I have now).

It's always sad to lose what I consider a member of the family, I wished they lived longer.

We can only do the best we can with what we are given.

You are passing through the sad part of dog ownership, in time you will be ready to experience the joys of it once again.

I don't know how many times I or my family has said that's it no more dogs, it hurts too much.

But I don't think that is what our dogs would want, pets need a good home (there are too many bad ones out there) and I think they would like to see a good home being used to bless another loving creature.

I've never had a dog, but I've had to put several cas down in my life, and I know how much it hurts to lose a friend and companion. One of my earliest and most vivid childhood memories is of the night my father took our cat to be put to sleep. Take comfort in the fact that you provided him with a good and loving home!

I'm sorry to hear about Malibu, Hom. She seemed like a very special dog. That's an incredibly difficult decision to have to make, and I hope the staff was supportive and understanding. You gave her everything a dog could want, and I'm sure she had a very happy, full life.

The day before Thanksgiving, I had to euthanize Josie, our Golden/Shepherd mix. She had stomach cancer, and had gone from 85 pounds to 66. She'd been on medications for over a month (which worked very well at first), but the side effects were taking their toll. The last few nights, she was stumbling into walls, and we couldn't bear to see her degenerate any further. She was a shell of her former happy, gentle self. When I walked her down to the vet, she knew where we were going, and kept turning and looking at me. I felt so guilty...it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. She was a gentle, loving dog we rescued, and we gave her a very rich life. You know, a big part of my job involves dogs that are at the end of their lives, and I've seen similar situations many times (and consoled many owners). But I wasn't fully prepared for it to happen. It hurts, it's tough.