Gargoyle_Steve
23-04-2011, 02:11 AM
Those amongst you who consider yourselves to be Dog lovers will know what I mean when I say that they truly are man's best friend. They offer unlimited love, expect nothing in return but are always glad to receive kind words or a good scratch.
In January 1997 I brought home from the local dog refuge a female Staffy cross who had been there for 6 weeks before I saw her. Luckily our local refuge does not EVER have an animal put to sleep except for medical reasons, otherwise I would never have found her. She'd been mistreated, physically she was ok but she had a terror of hoses, belts, dog leads, and any loud or sudden noise. Her previous owners had named her Moo - I assume because she was white with black patches just like a Fresian cow. I was waiting to think of a better name - but it never came. Somehow when you called her Moo the name suited her gentle personality, so the name stayed.
She ended up having the most beautiful and amazing charisma, and she was so sweet but such a Princess! She was always ready to con you into scratching her back, rubbing her ears or giving her a snack, she always did it in such a way that you knew you were being conned but didn't mind one bit. She managed to wrap everyone who knew her around her little toe with her winning smile.
On the day I brought her home, in fact only an hour or so later, I received a call letting me know that a local family who owned a breeding pair of Staffies had just witnessed the female giving birth to 6 pups, and there was a brindle male for me in the litter if I wanted him. So just a few weeks later I brought home this young pup whom I'd named Loki, and was surprised but awfully pleased to find that 17 month old Moo took over for the next year or so as his mother. After that they were more like siblings, and they were as inseparable as any definition of the word could convey.
Moo and Loki were my best friends, constant companions, and travel buddies for many years. They kept me going during some very dark and difficult years when I became long term unemployed, giving me their love and warmth and smiles always. More than likely they saved my life during this period when even friends I'd known for many years let contact, and our friendship, slip away, in most cases never to be recovered.
Anyway ... trying to keep this post short against near impossible odds, flash forward through many many years of wonderful companionship, and great times that the 3 of us shared, to late 2009.
My beautiful Princess Moo had been diagnosed with a disfiguring and inoperable facial cancer, and I was told I'd that somewhere along the way I'd have to decide when it was time to have her put to sleep before she started to suffer. There are very few decisions in life harder to make, but finally the day after her 14th birthday I took her for her last drive anywhere - to the vet to have her put to sleep.
I can't tell you how hard this was, or how much it affected and continues to affect me, but as hard as it was on me it hit Loki hard, so very very hard. He had suffered a long term issue with restricted movement in his rear legs - but he basically stopped even trying to walk, preferring to sit instead next to me whenever possible. Loki was aging too and started to suffer other health issues: swollen prostate, bladder infections, pressure sores and so on. He has needed so much time and attention to help him maintain quality of life, but he's had it in spades and I've always said that if he could talk to me he'd still rather partake of life instead of resting in peace. He turned 14 in January, and life was still carrying on for us.
Nothing lasts forever.
Over the last few days Loki suddenly went downhill. His appetite dropped away, and he has ALWAYS loved his food, and as of Thursday morning he stopped eating, or drinking. After trying for 24 hours to get some antibiotics into him unsuccessfully, and seeing his personality just go flat, I knew that his time may have come. There was now blood visibly tainting his urine as well.
So today on Good Friday, or yesterday I should say as I can't sleep, I took him in to the Emergency Pet ER. The diagnosis was fairly quick, and to some extent expected: renal failure. His kidneys were/had shut down, and there was only pain and death in store for him.
So for the 2nd time in 18 months I found myself telling one of my best friends ever that I loved them, and looked into their eyes until they were gone and saw no more.
I'm not posting this to pull on anyone's heart strings, or to gain any sympathy. I wasn't even posting it to give support for anyone else who may have to make a similar decision in the future, although on reflection I hope that it may help someone.
I'm posting this because to be honest I had to get a bunch of emotions of my chest at least for a moment, and I wanted some record somewhere of how wonderful my 2 mates Loki and Moo were, and how much I loved them, and how much I will miss them always.
In January 1997 I brought home from the local dog refuge a female Staffy cross who had been there for 6 weeks before I saw her. Luckily our local refuge does not EVER have an animal put to sleep except for medical reasons, otherwise I would never have found her. She'd been mistreated, physically she was ok but she had a terror of hoses, belts, dog leads, and any loud or sudden noise. Her previous owners had named her Moo - I assume because she was white with black patches just like a Fresian cow. I was waiting to think of a better name - but it never came. Somehow when you called her Moo the name suited her gentle personality, so the name stayed.
She ended up having the most beautiful and amazing charisma, and she was so sweet but such a Princess! She was always ready to con you into scratching her back, rubbing her ears or giving her a snack, she always did it in such a way that you knew you were being conned but didn't mind one bit. She managed to wrap everyone who knew her around her little toe with her winning smile.
On the day I brought her home, in fact only an hour or so later, I received a call letting me know that a local family who owned a breeding pair of Staffies had just witnessed the female giving birth to 6 pups, and there was a brindle male for me in the litter if I wanted him. So just a few weeks later I brought home this young pup whom I'd named Loki, and was surprised but awfully pleased to find that 17 month old Moo took over for the next year or so as his mother. After that they were more like siblings, and they were as inseparable as any definition of the word could convey.
Moo and Loki were my best friends, constant companions, and travel buddies for many years. They kept me going during some very dark and difficult years when I became long term unemployed, giving me their love and warmth and smiles always. More than likely they saved my life during this period when even friends I'd known for many years let contact, and our friendship, slip away, in most cases never to be recovered.
Anyway ... trying to keep this post short against near impossible odds, flash forward through many many years of wonderful companionship, and great times that the 3 of us shared, to late 2009.
My beautiful Princess Moo had been diagnosed with a disfiguring and inoperable facial cancer, and I was told I'd that somewhere along the way I'd have to decide when it was time to have her put to sleep before she started to suffer. There are very few decisions in life harder to make, but finally the day after her 14th birthday I took her for her last drive anywhere - to the vet to have her put to sleep.
I can't tell you how hard this was, or how much it affected and continues to affect me, but as hard as it was on me it hit Loki hard, so very very hard. He had suffered a long term issue with restricted movement in his rear legs - but he basically stopped even trying to walk, preferring to sit instead next to me whenever possible. Loki was aging too and started to suffer other health issues: swollen prostate, bladder infections, pressure sores and so on. He has needed so much time and attention to help him maintain quality of life, but he's had it in spades and I've always said that if he could talk to me he'd still rather partake of life instead of resting in peace. He turned 14 in January, and life was still carrying on for us.
Nothing lasts forever.
Over the last few days Loki suddenly went downhill. His appetite dropped away, and he has ALWAYS loved his food, and as of Thursday morning he stopped eating, or drinking. After trying for 24 hours to get some antibiotics into him unsuccessfully, and seeing his personality just go flat, I knew that his time may have come. There was now blood visibly tainting his urine as well.
So today on Good Friday, or yesterday I should say as I can't sleep, I took him in to the Emergency Pet ER. The diagnosis was fairly quick, and to some extent expected: renal failure. His kidneys were/had shut down, and there was only pain and death in store for him.
So for the 2nd time in 18 months I found myself telling one of my best friends ever that I loved them, and looked into their eyes until they were gone and saw no more.
I'm not posting this to pull on anyone's heart strings, or to gain any sympathy. I wasn't even posting it to give support for anyone else who may have to make a similar decision in the future, although on reflection I hope that it may help someone.
I'm posting this because to be honest I had to get a bunch of emotions of my chest at least for a moment, and I wanted some record somewhere of how wonderful my 2 mates Loki and Moo were, and how much I loved them, and how much I will miss them always.