How Do You Feel Today? v4

[SoulBiter]

My wife and I said goodbye to our magnificent Collie, Dundee, this afternoon. Just a month and a half after finding out he had bone cancer. His poor little leg had swollen larger than a baseball. It was time but a sad time for my family. Some grieving to do still but glad we didn't take it too far.

[peter]

Absolutely right to know when to call it a day for a faithful friend SoulBiter. You did not let him down at the end, just as you didn't during his (hopefully) long life with you.

Never an easy decision to make, but an absolutely necessary one. Commiserations for you and yours.

[StevieG]

Sad news SB. Sorry to hear.

[Avatar]

Ah, that sucks, sorry to hear man.

--A

[SoulBiter]

Thanks all. I rack that up in the short list of all time worst days. What really moved the needle on the decision was someone wrote on another site, "Better a week early, than a day late". What made it harder was he was still eating well, and seemed pretty with it. But his little leg was in horrible shape with a broken front bone of his forearm was broken on one side, and the tumor had grown so large from inside the bone, I would be willing to bet that by the end his bones in that area were a mass of mini fractures. We were really scared that we would go too long and one night he was going to get up and that entire bone snap.... we just couldn't put him through that. And when you think about it, we were going to have the same day but worse because we would have a dog in agony as well.

We opted to have someone come to our house and euthanize him. That way he could be in familiar surroundings and go peacefully and not be scared cause he was in a vets office in a sanitized room. The lady talked to us, she had brought a couple of McDonalds hamburgers. My wife and I broke the first one up and fed it to him. The second we broke up and put in front of him, while he was eating she gave him a shot that was pain killer and sedation. About 3 mins in he started to get sleepy and laid down. Then we pet him and let him know we were with him as he drifted off to a sedation sleep. She then shaved a place on his leg and gave him the euthanasia med.

It was horrible for us but for him, it could not have been better. If we have to go through this in the future we will definitely go the same route of having someone come to us.

[Menolly]

My wife and I said goodbye to our magnificent Collie, Dundee, this afternoon. Just a month and a half after finding out he had bone cancer. His poor little leg had swollen larger than a baseball. It was time but a sad time for my family. Some grieving to do still but glad we didn't take it too far.

May his memory be a blessing.

The Choice

[Skyweir]

Thanks all. I rack that up in the short list of all time worst days. What really moved the needle on the decision was someone wrote on another site, "Better a week early, than a day late". What made it harder was he was still eating well, and seemed pretty with it. But his little leg was in horrible shape with a broken front bone of his forearm was broken on one side, and the tumor had grown so large from inside the bone, I would be willing to bet that by the end his bones in that area were a mass of mini fractures. We were really scared that we would go too long and one night he was going to get up and that entire bone snap.... we just couldn't put him through that. And when you think about it, we were going to have the same day but worse because we would have a dog in agony as well.

We opted to have someone come to our house and euthanize him. That way he could be in familiar surroundings and go peacefully and not be scared cause he was in a vets office in a sanitized room. The lady talked to us, she had brought a couple of McDonalds hamburgers. My wife and I broke the first one up and fed it to him. The second we broke up and put in front of him, while he was eating she gave him a shot that was pain killer and sedation. About 3 mins in he started to get sleepy and laid down. Then we pet him and let him know we were with him as he drifted off to a sedation sleep. She then shaved a place on his leg and gave him the euthanasia med.

It was horrible for us but for him, it could not have been better. If we have to go through this in the future we will definitely go the same route of having someone come to us.

You did the most beautiful thing for your beautiful collie.
Having the vet come to your property is the most ideal & more comfortable option for all concerned. Love n hugs to you & your family

[SoulBiter]

Last post on this. My boy Dundee. We got him from a rescue as a puppy in 2012. He was always a tender soul who never saw a person or dog he didn't like. We always say he is a "dog of the people". This was taken last fall. He loved to play with his frizz. He looks like the picture of health and we figured he would go 14 years on the low end. We had no idea this was our last "fall" with him.

[Menolly]

Here on the west coast of the US, we’re only about halfway through the Olympic Opening Ceremony. But, I think for me, the highlight is going to remain hearing the bells from the Cathedral of Notre Dame for the first time in five years. The first time the bells were heard since the devastating fire.
“The Bells! The Bells!”

Notre Dame Bells Ring Out During Olympics Opening Ceremony

[Damelon]

That’s a handsome dog, SB! It’s sad to lose old friends.

[Menolly]

Rabbit
Rabbit!
Rabbit!!

eek!
I almost forgot.

[Menolly]

Pictorial update of my two raised beds at Marymoor Community Garden in Redmond, WA. Zone 9a, up from 8b last year. I’m basically treating it as a mixture of both zones.


South side of the arching trellis:
Purple collard trees
Various tomatoes I got for free from one of my gardening Facebook groups
Asparagus crown from a deserted plot at the gardens
Various herbs and field greens
Sweet corn I sowed from seed last month, so it has a ways to go
Underneath cardboard towards the front carrot seeds I sowed yesterday


North side of the arching trellis:
Various tomatoes
Various herbs and field greens
Another asparagus crown from a deserted plot at the gardens
Sweet corn I sowed from seed last month, so it also has a ways to go
Under the cardboard towards the front of the bed are parsnip seeds I sowed yesterday

[sgt.null]

Retired after 24 years in the prison back in April. Now working on disability.

[Menolly]

Congratulations on your retirement, sarge!

According to many I have discussed both disability and SSI benefits with, it seems as though applications for both are routinely denied on first submission. Specialty attorneys tend to be pricey, but they apparently have a much higher success rate with getting approved.

Good luck with the process!

[sgt.null]

Thank you. We have engaged the services
Of a specialist attorney. My doctor is on board.

[SoulBiter]

Congrats on retiring! I hope you are able to get your disability approved quickly.

[Fist and Faith]

@SoulBiter just reading this. Sorry about Dundee.

[peter]

Off to the opticians.

Get ready to be rinsed for hundreds of pounds for specs that 50 years ago would have been given free (if in slightly unfashionable form - not something at nearly 70 I loose much sleep over).

If this is progress you can keep it.

[peter]

SoulBiter.

Bit of time has passed and hopefully the glad memories of a good and faithful friend are kicking in.

But remember just one thing. Good dog owners should have dogs. There are countless numbers out there who need you.

[SoulBiter]

It's much better now. We will probably do what we did last time we went through this. Say we aren't getting a dog any time soon. Well we still have a Border Collie. But eventually see a picture or hear or story about a rescue dog that speaks to us and we end up bringing a new member to our family. We have always done rescue's. We have two cats, one we rescued from a back yard in a house we lived in. She was living in a tree stump and had a litter of kittens there. The other cat we got from an actual rescue, and she has the clipped ear showing that at least at one time, they had "Fixed" her and released her into the wild. The Border Collie was a dog that had been brought back to the rescue twice. Dundee picked him out for us.

But yeah, it will happen in time. Always more room in our hearts for another dog. Cats though, last ones. They can live 20+ years so its a very very large commitment. The one we rescued from the stump is 19 and going strong.