Damn That Was Hard!

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whitebuffalo58
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Damn That Was Hard!

Post by whitebuffalo58 »

At eleven o'clock this morning I said goodbye to the best dog and one of the best friends I've ever had in my 60 years. Jackson was a 14 year old German Shorthair/Red Healer mix. We got him as a pup. In his prime, he could point a bird in the morning, herd cattle all afternoon and still be ready for the evening hunt. Over the past year, his health had been failing rapidly. A tumor removed, the loss of muscle mass in the hind quarters until a couple of days ago he got to the point where he couldn't get up to use the bathroom. One last trip to the vet and we brought him home to his final rest.

Fellas, as John Wayne would say, "my hides as tough as boot leather", but as that ol' dogs eyes closed for the last time, I was wiping away tears.

Goodbye old friend, till we meet again!

Thanks for listening,


WB ::tear::
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FRJ
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by FRJ »

All the best to you, WB.
That is never an easy thing to go through.
My sympathies. ::handshake::
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by djknife13 »

Been there, and it was one of the two worst days of my life. I really feel for you.____Dave
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by philco »

I've been down that road myself and only those who have can really understand how difficult and painful it is. It's part of the price we pay for the love and devotion of a good dog.
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Steve Warden
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by Steve Warden »

I, too, have been there.
May the Lord bless you with His peace.
Take care and God bless,

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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by LongBlade »

I'm really sorry WB :( .. The hurt of losing a best friend is never easy for anyone... I can relate as it is soooo hard and nothing I look forward to again myself.. My guy "Blaze" is getting up there and the inevitable will happen - he had a malignant mast cell tumor a few years back that was successfully removed but he went into anaphylactic shock in surgery and almost died - the vet revived him... but when the vet told me what happened she cried as did I - she knew how much I love my guy... I slept on an air mattress with him for 2 weeks while he recovered because he couldn't come up the stairs to our bedroom - my wife and I sat with him all night when he came home from surgery as he was not comfortable and we gave him the unconditional love he always gives us.. You know WB the unconditional love of a dog lasts a lifetime in our hearts despite their short time with us... be well WB and let his memories help you through this time of grieving knowing that he is now in peace.. ::handshake::
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by stagman »

Had to do it 4 times over a 38 yr period...a ruff, ruff go for sure WB
A wish for fast healing for your whole clan

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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by zzyzzogeton »

Sorry to hear about your loss. It's always hard to loose your best friend.

I recently had one of my dogs run over 4 days short of her 10th birthday celebration by a person who never even hit the brakes. Spice, my red heeler, got out when the back door of a shed blew open. Spice was total naive with respect to vehicles as she sent her 10 years as a house dog who had a 2 acre fenced yard to play in and didn't have a clue how to act around moving vehicles.

My mother was out in the road 50 feet from Spice chasing her down and I was 100 feet behind my mother. The truck just barreled past us and hit Spice. THEN the truck's brake lights came on. The woman driving the truck would have run over a child in the road the way she was driving.
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by glennbad »

I've had to put a few pets down over the years. It's so hard, I feel sad for you and your pup. You guys had good years together though. I know that's hard to think about right now, but you have fun memories to look back on, I'm sure.
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by treefarmer »

Whitebuffalo,
Most folks know where you are coming from. That old dog has been one of the family for years, just think he was 98 years old in dog years. What a wonderful long life for him to have been loved by you!
Like all the others, I too have been there and done that way too many times.
So many times I hear folks say, "I'll never get another dog", but in a short time there usually is another pup to fill the void and they soon become part of the family.
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by rea1eye »

Sorry to hear of your loss WB. We had to put 2 of our dogs down in the past 2 1/2 years.
It is never easy.

We were so sad when we were talking to the vet and asked why the time passed by so quickly and
why dogs just can't live longer lives so we can be with them longer. She thought for a second and
then said dogs give us so much love and companionship in their short life that we humans cannot
really understand. Science, history, or philosophy can never explain the bond that develops
between man and his dog.

Bob
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by Mumbleypeg »

Sorry to learn about the loss of your freind. It's an ordeal most of us have had to through. Be assured you did the right thing for him, and the alternative would have been worse. You have his lifetime of good times together to remember.

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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by TwoFlowersLuggage »

Yup - been there. The latest time was Dec 2016. We got another pup in April 2017 - and as much as I miss our previous girl, our new girl is also simply awesome. I believe in honoring the friends that are gone while also moving forward with our new friends.
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by TripleF »

So sorry bud.
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by kootenay joe »

Dogs are special. There is no other animal that devotes it's life to an animal of a different species, other than a few of us humans. And a dog demands nothing in return.
Your dog obviously had a fine life with lots of outdoor time and the freedom to follow his nose, which is a dog's favorite activity.
Unfortuntately only a few dogs get to live this good life. Many are abused daily despite their unconditional love.
I think the best way you could honor Jackson would be to provide a good home for another dog.
Dogs need you because there are more good dogs than there are available good dog owners. Jackson would be pleased to share his former owner.
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by whitebuffalo58 »

Thanks guys, I knew there'd be several of you that would understand. It's been good to have friends to share with.

Like many here, Jackson wasn't the first, but by far his passing is the worst. We've always kept and trained dogs for work, but he was the first in a long time that we actually formed that "special" bond. No matter where I was on the property, there he was. Once he even saved me from a Copperhead strike, by taking the hit himself. (long before that and from a very young age, he had a nose for and an absolute hatred of ALL snakes, big or small)

He will be sorely missed and we'll most likely end up with another dog, but it'll be hard to truly "replace" him.

Thanks again for lending a sympathetic ear, it helps...a lot!


WB
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by jerryd6818 »

whitebuffalo58 wrote: He will be sorely missed and we'll most likely end up with another dog, but it'll be hard to truly "replace" him.
WB
You won't be replacing him Rob. You'll just be adding a grand-puppy.
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by XX Case XX »

I've been there twice so far. I'm so sorry to hear that news. Each time that happens, a part of me never comes back. I think I understand your pain. Think about them all the time. I'm sure some of you have noticed the quote at the bottom of all my posts from Will Rogers. I put that there because that's how I really feel.

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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by whitebuffalo58 »

Jerry, you don't know how much I wish it could actually be a grand-puppy. Fact is Jackson was named for his dad "Jack". Hence the name "Jack's Son". Jack was a great dog, a registered German Shorthair. We intentionally bred him with a registered Red Healer in hopes of getting a good cattle dog that could also hunt. It actually worked!

The difference was, Jack took his tasks in life seriously and really didn't seem to have that hardcore bonding gene that his off-spring did. I was very fond of him and we were Pals, but he just wasn't the type to lay at your feet in front of the fire on a cold winters night.


WB
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by whitebuffalo58 »

Mike, love Will Rogers and that's a great quote! Thanks for that!!


WB
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by TwoFlowersLuggage »

I forgot to add: I cried like a baby in the vet's office when we let Roxy go. She was 14 and a month prior she had the canine equivalent of a stroke. She couldn't walk or stand on her own and spent 2 weeks at the animal hospital getting 24/7 care. She was slowly getting better, and we brought her home. We had a harness with a handle on her and we would help her stand & take steps and each day she seemed to get slightly better. Then, she had another episode and this time she couldn't walk and couldn't hold her head up. It was no longer in her best interests to try to keep her going. The quality of her life was just too low and we loved her too much to make her keep trying. It was incredibly hard, but it was the best thing for her. I couldn't stand to see her suffering, and there was no hope she would get significantly better. I cried. My wife cried. My kids cried. We cried together.
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by carrmillus »

......been living here for 53 years now, we've got 14 dogs and cats buried in the back yard under a row of oak trees. I have to repaint the names and dates on the stones every year and I have yet to do it without crying.............
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

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I figured I had said enough in my 1st comment but all these kind words have brought back a lifetime of memories.
Having been raised in the country, animals were just part of our lives. Cows, horses, dogs and cats were always present. Death was always close by for many reasons.

One particularly bad remembrance that always comes to mind was the day I got home from school and found my hound dog and one of the horses in very bad shape. The Walker hound's name was Pokey and honestly I can't recall what had happened to her but she had to be put down. My dad worked the 2nd shift at Martin-Marietta southwest of Orlando, so I was the "man" of the day. Mother said your dog shouldn't be allowed to suffer any more. ::teary_eyes:: That very same afternoon a neighbor called and said one of our old horses, Smokey, was "down" in a pasture near their house. Again I don't remember what had happened, the old feller was just old, wore out and it was his time. ::teary_eyes::

I suppose that day toughened me up a bit, I was probably 13 or 14 at the time. Many more occurrences like this over the years have happened, it never gets easy but I would like to lighten this up a little with an incident that was sad but always makes me smile when I think about it.

When we raised our children here in the Panhandle, the animals intended for the freezer were always named "Hamburger" or "Steak" or "Pork chop", y'all understand the logic. They were different than the momma cows we kept over the years, we always sold their calves and usually no tears were involved. Cats and dogs came and went over the years with Daddy always taking care of the "problems".

Fast forward a few years, the cow crew has gone off to college, graduated and out on their own. So naturally they all have dogs and when one of the dogs gets old and starts to fail they knew that mother and dad would do their best to nurse them back to health here on the farm. There were two Basset Hounds, several years apart, that came home to die, if you will. We spent money on them at the vet and made sure they were as comfortable as possible and of course the day that White Buffalo just experienced eventually came. Concerning one of the old Bassets, Miss Joy said, "You're not going to do this, you must take the dog to the vet", I agreed. This particular Basset had an ear span of 23 inches and the ears were just as silky as could be. Rather than take the dog into the vet's office, he came out to the Jeep and administered the shot in her front leg. She very peacefully went to sleep as the vet and I stroked her extra long ears. He could see that it bothered me a bit and he said, "This reminds me of something that happened years ago." He went on to tell of a day when he was docking the ears of a Doberman. His young son was in the room with him and he handed the left over ear pieces to his son and told him to put these in your pocket and we'll have ear sandwiches when we get home. He thought no more about it till his wife discovered the ears in the laundry basket several days later. :lol: The vet cheered me up a bit and sent me to dig another grave.

Bitter sweet memories of many great and some not so great dogs. As I write this, there is a 70 pound Shepador, (1/2 Chocolate Lab 1/2 red merle Australian Shepard) rolled up under my desk because she is afraid of thunder. In the living room there is a miniature Dachshund that will bark every time the thunder sounds, he's got an attitude and if you happen to be a barn cat you're in big trouble! We spend more money on the heartworm and flea/tick preventive medication than we ever did on our children's doctor visits. ::shrug:: They are part of our family and one day they too will be a memory.
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

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whitebuffalo58 wrote:Jerry, you don't know how much I wish it could actually be a grand-puppy. Fact is Jackson was named for his dad "Jack". Hence the name "Jack's Son". Jack was a great dog, a registered German Shorthair. We intentionally bred him with a registered Red Healer in hopes of getting a good cattle dog that could also hunt. It actually worked!

The difference was, Jack took his tasks in life seriously and really didn't seem to have that hardcore bonding gene that his off-spring did. I was very fond of him and we were Pals, but he just wasn't the type to lay at your feet in front of the fire on a cold winters night.


WB
I know where you’re coming from. I’ve had birdgogs and beagle hkunds all my life, and my wife and I now raise and work English shepherd stock dogs. Ive had to put a few down over the years and it ain’t never easy. But when it’s one of your buddies, man that’s tough.

I have a couple of ES now that are my buddies. They herd the goats, tree squirrels, play like puppies, baby sit the boys, and make every step I do around the place. When the day comes for them......well I don’t even want to think about it.
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Re: Damn That Was Hard!

Post by whitebuffalo58 »

Colonel26 wrote:
whitebuffalo58 wrote:Jerry, you don't know how much I wish it could actually be a grand-puppy. Fact is Jackson was named for his dad "Jack". Hence the name "Jack's Son". Jack was a great dog, a registered German Shorthair. We intentionally bred him with a registered Red Healer in hopes of getting a good cattle dog that could also hunt. It actually worked!

The difference was, Jack took his tasks in life seriously and really didn't seem to have that hardcore bonding gene that his off-spring did. I was very fond of him and we were Pals, but he just wasn't the type to lay at your feet in front of the fire on a cold winters night.


WB
I know where you’re coming from. I’ve had birdgogs and beagle hkunds all my life, and my wife and I now raise and work English shepherd stock dogs. Ive had to put a few down over the years and it ain’t never easy. But when it’s one of your buddies, man that’s tough.

I have a couple of ES now that are my buddies. They herd the goats, tree squirrels, play like puppies, baby sit the boys, and make every step I do around the place. When the day comes for them......well I don’t even want to think about it.

That's pretty much it in a nut shell, Colonel. We've had quite a few dogs over the years and I've cared for and about every one of them. But every so often one comes along and it just seems to click. Those are the ones that are especially hard to say goodbye to.


WB
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