Thursday, November 20, 2008

I'm the one with the broken heart


Yesterday was the most heartbreaking day we've had at our house for a very long time. We had to have our dog Fred put to sleep. Freddie was approximately 11 years old and had been with us for 10 years. We got him through the Ohio Basset Rescue after the death of our first basset hound and we loved him from the very first day. Fred hadn't felt good for the last couple of weeks, had lost a considerable amount of weight and was obviously in pain. We took him to the vet last week and he gave him a cortisone shot and some pain pills, thinking he had arthritis in his spine, not uncommon in older bassets. When he continued to fail, they did bloodwork and after it didn't show anything significant, did an x-ray where they found a softball sized tumor in his bladder. This explained the repeated urinary tract/lack of control problems that were also thought to be age-related. According to Doc Franks, this type of tumor is always cancerous and would grow back if removed. At Fred's age, surgery really wasn't an even an option. We decided that he had suffered plenty and silly as it may sound to some, he had a look in his eyes that seemed to say that he'd had enough. We will miss our Freddie desperately and certainly wish we'd had more time with him. Many of you know about all of the kittens we've "fostered" at our house over the past couple of years - of all of us and our cats, Fred was always their favorite and he seemed to always have a cat in his dog bed with him. Our cat Lottie especially loved to be close to him. All of you who have a dog - maybe you'll take them for a walk in memory of Fred and make it all about them, letting them sniff as much as they want.
Laurie

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hugs, Laurie and family. I have three dogs and two cats and have had to put cherished pets down before. It's always heartbreaking.

Cheryl said...

So sorry for you and your family on your loss. Even when you know you did what was best for your beloved pet, it doesn't lessen the pain. Hope knowing others care and understand what you're going through helps in some small way.

Hugs,
Cheryl S.

Melissa Schroeder said...

ahh, sweetie, I am sorry to read this. We went through the same thing a couple of years ago with our Shelby.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Mel

Patty L. said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Losing a pet is heart breaking.

It has been a week since our dog Skip was put to sleep. He was so sick with bone cancer that it honestly was a blessing. We miss seeing him in the morning and watching him make his daily rounds around our farm but as my hubbie says he's in dog heaven.

Michelle B said...

I'm so sorry to hear about Fred, Laurie. Losing a pet is always so hard. My thoughts are with you and your family.

Laurie G said...

Remember the fun times you shared with Fred!!

Judy F said...

Hugs. I am so sorry you lost your Fred. I know how much joy and laughter he brought to you and your family. Losing a pet is so terrible.

Sending you lots of love and hugs

Anonymous said...

Aw, I'm so sorry!! I'm sending hugs and warm thoughts, and I'll definitely walk Mountain Barbie and Ashes today in Fred's honor.

Fedora said...

Hugs, Laurie! I'm so sorry to hear about Fred, and hope you'll be able to enjoy the sweet memories you have of his being part of your family.

Asylumgirl said...

Laurie, I'm so sorry for the loss of your beloved fur-baby. We were afraid we were going to lose our Boston Terrier, Gazzy a few weeks ago. His lot got broken, exactly how, we're still not sure, but the x-ray showed five breaks. He has done surprisingly well though. It doesn't even look like we'll have to do anything further after his course of antibiotics and painkillers. Dogs are much better at adapting than we are.

Deidre

Asylumgirl said...

Excuse me, I meant his leg. I'm trying to eat Doritos and type at the same time. LOL

Deidre

Stacy~ said...

Laurie, your post has me crying this morning. I'm so sorry about Fred - he was a special member of your family and I know he's missed deeply. A ton of hugs to you and your family for your loss. I'm glad you had him for as long as you did. I know it hurts and right now nothing will make it feel better, not right away, but one day it will not hurt so much. I'm sure Fred left you and your family with a lot of wonderful moments to cherish.

robynl said...

I so so so well understand your pain as we went through that a couple of months ago with our beloved Sam, 14 yrs. old. His problem was his teeth and too old to go through the surgery also. My heart still aches for me and for you.

Jane said...

Sorry for your loss.

Karin said...

Laurie, I'm sorry to hear about your dog. Having to put a pet down is always hard. We've had to do it with the of the cats we had when I was younger.

*hugs*

All’sReads said...

It's clear Fred was much-loved and will be greatly missed. Sending comforting thoughts to you and yours.

Stacy S said...

I'm so sorry. It's a hard thing to do.

Dina said...

Laurie,

I am so very sorry to hear that Fred sickness and end. Sendging ciber hugs.

MY dog is 10 yrs old and I get that worry about how long she'll live. I hope for awhile.

Barbara said...

Laurie-

So sorry to hear of your loss. I knoe you will have many wonderful memories of the many ways Fred touched your lives. Sending you lots of hugs.

Take care

Susan said...

My heart goes out to you and your family, Laurie.

Dena said...

Oh Laurie I'm so sorry to hear about your beloved Freddie, it brings tears to my eyes thinking about your families loss of such a sweet dog. We have always been cat people until 2 years ago when we took in an abused Pom mix and I can't imagine our life without her. We will be walking her in memory of your wonderful Fred. Hugs to your family.

Cryna said...

Laurie I am so sorry for the loss of Freddie to you and your family. Losing a pet is heartbreaking. Hugs to you and the family.