The end of an era

RWilson2526

RWilson2526

God
Well after 20 years plus of being a multiple pet owner we finally find ourselves with no pets. Still have 2 gold fish and 3 hermit crabs but they dont really count.

This is definitely not a post about how bad I feel that our last dog died...I'm almost starting to think its quite the opposite and more like "thank god that last dog finally died". When I met my wife she was a package deal...came with her two childhood dogs...2 smelly old mutts that were great dogs though....dog #1 died and replaced him with dog #3. Dog number 2 died and replaced him with dog #4. Shortly after picked up dog # 5. (3 in the house at one time). At the same time had 2 cats and picked up a 3rd one (dumped on us temporarily by some "frieds" whe never came back.

Lost 2 of the dogs about 4 years ago and replaced him with a beagle....2nd dog died 2 years ago . The 2 cats died a couple of months ago and we just put the beagle down on Thursday.....

So in our heyday we had 3 dogs and 3 cats (and a couple parakeets which are also gone in the last year or two) and today find our selves completely with no animals.

Point of this post is to state that you have no idea how much work (and money) is entailed in having pets until they are gone. man is it weird not worrying about leaving a bag of garbage out on the back porch, or being able to leave the gate open to the yard or not leaving your sandwich on the coffee table because somebodies gonna snatch it....

Now the real question how long can I get my wife to wait before getting another one!....I would like a good old dog again sometime I think...one that likes to swim and all but man the break is SWEET for now...
 
i feel your pain & joy. we have 3 dogs now and the one next door is over here more than his house. we have 2 old dogs and a new one that was going to be my daughters, but you know how that goes. i had to have a lab put down and my daughter was potty trained in the same week. it was like getting a $100 a week raise.
 
Right off the top of my head we've had at least 10 dogs the last 25 or so years (cats don't count). All but 2 were strays we picked up, best ones ever.
Currently got 2 outside dogs, 2 inside dogs, a one eyed outside cat and a Betafish that's been living in a quart jar on the kitchen countertop for over 3 years.
Just gotta have animals around!
 
Point of this post is to state that you have no idea how much work (and money) is entailed in having pets until they are gone.
Click to expand...
YOU COULD NOT HAVE SAID THAT ANY BETTER!

However, I do love my two 14 y.o. cats and my 4 y.o. old dog with a passion. It is those two smelly guinee pigs that drive me nuts! All they do is eat and crap, eat and crap, etc. The food ain't cheap either. I think about how much money I spend on pet food all the time. Sometimes at the grocery store I'll have more $ worth of pet food than people food on the checkout counter. Since the cats are old they have had several teeth pulled and are no longer able to eat dry food. They eat 4 cans of wet food per day which adds up to over $3 per day just for the 2 cats. I'm easily in for over $200 per month on pet food. WOW!

I can see it now, when they are gone the wife and kids will be begging for another cat (or two). Not on my watch. Never again. One dog is PLENTY!! Or maybe 2 when I get my fence up. But sure as heck not 3.

Good post!
 
Definately one of the more "bitter-sweet" threads I recall on this forum...if my present Lab lives to 15, I'll be 68 years old myself...don't know if I'll want to start w/a new one at that age or not...we'll have to see...till then, I think I'll keep the old shrimp stealer around...

For sure won't replace the Jack Russells...if my wife wants to, that'll be up to her...have really enjoyed having them over the years, but they're a lot to deal with...
 
When I first met my wife, she had a Daschund, I was never a little dog person, I grew up with a Lab/Chessie mix that was one of the best dogs ever. My room mate had a cat, I wasn't trilled with it, but it was a pet, he paid for the up keep and his closet was the cats crapper. After my wife and I married, that daschund became one of my best friends. He pased away due to a seisure, most upexpectantly. I missed that dog as much as my lab/chessie. My wife and I talked it over and we decied that we would wait till our second child was born(she was pregnant with Kendall at the time) and became a little older, but due to the overwhelming issues that Kendall(and my Wife) has had, we still hadn't gotten a dog. I kept talking about it to my wife, even found a litter of lab/chessies(a whole another story) but ended up getting another dashund(black and tan this time), we are going thru the whole house training thing, and yes at times he's mroe trouble than he's worth, but he's part of our family.
 
Well, everyone else seems to be contributing to this thread, so I guess it's only proper that I do also. I completely agree with everything that everyone has said... pets are expensive and can be a PITA, but having said that, they are also (at least for me) a never ending source of enjoyment. I think you get out of them exactly how much you put into them. If you're a kind and loving person, they sense that and respond in kind. Truthfully, there's nothing nicer than coming home and having your dog come running...not walking, running.. up the walk to great you simply because he or she is happy to see you....or to have a cat jump up into your lap while you're watching TV simply because you're warm and they know you're a safe place to be. I guess what I'm saying is I love animals, and while it's nice to have none for a while, everytime that's ever happened to me I found myself going to a shelter to find a new one that needed a home and love. :love: Rob, I'm sorry for your loss... I understand how you feel...but I suspect that sooner rather than later you'll be taking a drive to the shelter, just to look around... :beer:
 
I just love coming home to the wagging tail of my lab. She has to run and get one of her toys in her mouth before she comes and greets me, sits down in front of me with her whole body shaking from the wagging.

The wife however, won't get off her fat ***.

I always loved this test:

Put your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car for an hour. Then see which one is happy to see you.

rkc
 
Have two dogs now, yea they are a pain sometimes but for me as an adult I always had dogs that offered something more than just the companionship which in itself is wonderful.
I have had two dogs, well one in particular, a Standard Schnauzer, not the miniature, the original German version, who was the most fabulous watchdog for my home and my wife. Especially with me being at work for years at night with my shift work and often long hours.
God help anyone who would try to get to my wife and kids when I was not home, but would sit and play all day with adults or infants like a doting grandmother. His name was Smokey and he knew evil when he saw it and had the sword of Gabriel to deal with it, he was tested a couple of times.
A couple of years after when I got involved with the bird hunting I started with an English Springer Spaniel and the past eight years with my two Brittany's who are phenomenal hunting dogs.
They all contribute more than they receive so I don't see it the same way as some.
When they have left i felt it a lot.
 
Hey dont get me wrong guys , I'm not some animal hatin' douche bag or anything which I think 6 dogs and 3 cats (all shelter dogs by the way) kind of proves but in the last 2 years we lost 2 dogs and 2 cats and unfortunately none of them went "elegantly" should we say....

One of the cats had diabetes for 10 years.....gave that cat insulin shots twice a day every day for 10 years....when we finally put him down the vet was utterly amazed and said she has never seen a cat go 10 more years with diabetes requiring insulin.... and just a brief mention of the last year or so with the cats for some reason when they got older they would hang their *** OUT of the litter box....that was a fun daily ritual.

When my favorite dog got towards the end 2 years ago he had some major digestive problems that none of the vets could figure out....only thing that worked even moderately well was boiling him chicken breast for dinner every night....cooked that dog boiled chicken breast every night for at least a year.....(could tell you what grocery store had chicken on sale at any given time) and you know what a dog does that has digestive problems and things arent right? lets just say its quite a mess and it was pretty much a daily routine of cleaning up after him as he could rarely make it out the door in time...

The beagle had tumors in his belly which were pushing on his bladder....had to keep him in a crate while at work which entailed washing his blanket and such every single day for about the last 6 months at least as well as dealing with his accidents in the house (thank god for hardwood floors)

I'm just burnt out a little about now....maybe I hold on to my animals a little longer than I should but if they arent in any pain or discomfort I could never bring my self to put them down. Throw a 7 year old boy and 3 year old girl in the mix ....a boy is equivalent to at least one dog and girl may be like 2 dogs!!

Its just been a tough 2 years.
 
Bittersweet, that is all I can say.

I have my sons Beagle, he could not keep him because of his wife's allergies, so the Beagle got shipped to me from Ca.
This dog (Bentley) is great, he does not howl like other beagles and he just loves to be around me and my wife.
When my son had brain surgery for an AVM, Bentley was his best companion and stuck by him making him feel better.
Last Christmas, Bentley started to hunch his back, so I took him to the vet
and it turned out he broke his back. The choices were emergency surgery or put him down.
I just could not bring myself to put him down especially with my son coming home for Christmas, what a holiday that would have been, welcome home and oh yeah I put your dog down.
So, Bentley is now my new boat engine, as that is how much his surgery was.
And to top it off Bentley is now crippled and has to wear diapers all the time.
Bentley can be a real pain at times, but his companionship and affection to me and my wife, offset the bad times.
 
Parish and RW I understand, have had my share of care issues with them. Went without a few times in my life and yes, it is a relief sometimes.
 
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