Pets

Treading Water · April 26, 2014, 01:08:01 PM

Just had to put my 18-year-old mutt down on Wednesday. My son picked her out when he was 4. The people we got her from told us she was 8 weeks old but the vet told us she was not more than 5 weeks. Long, long journey. She out-lived her litter mates by the time she was 3. I had always had large dogs and she was smaller than any cat I ever had. I called her my "fake dog."

Out of all the dogs I fostered, rehabbed, and lived with, she was with me the longest. We buried her next to a tree that my son brought home for Arbor Day when he was in Kindergarten.

Really shitty winter.

yumyumtree · April 26, 2014, 01:33:56 PM

I have two black and white moggies. I won't mention their names because Ive learned that's a good way to get your Internet accounts hacked, not that anybody here would do that, but better safe than sorry.
The female was acquired as a kitten at the Everett animal shelter in 1998. The male is an interesting story. When I lived in Seattle, my cat door was a window and they would jump and climb up and down the fire escape. A strange new black cat(mostly black) appeared at the window. I thought he was lost or homeless so shut him in and took him to veterinarian because there was something wrong with his ear and I also wanted him scanned for a microchip. The veterinarian gave me ear mite medicine and told me "she's either a female or a male with a very small penis." (Dr. Small Penis was our private nickname for him after that and avoided him after that and made appointments with one of the others) He was chipped and the owner lived 4 blocks from me. The owner came to get him, saying he'd recently adopted him and the cat was being mean to his other cat. He gave some money for the vet bill. 6 days later I woke to find this cat on the foot of my bed. Again his owner came to get him, saying he was taking him back to the shelter this time. I said "Don't, I want him." He just happened to have the second dose of earmite medicine with him. That was 7 years ago. This cat is difficult but I guess he loves me, assuming that they can love. I expected him to run away again but he never has.

yumyumtree · April 26, 2014, 01:37:04 PM

Quote from: Treading Water on April 26, 2014, 01:08:01 PM
Just had to put my 18-year-old mutt down on Wednesday. My son picked her out when he was 4. The people we got her from told us she was 8 weeks old but the vet told us she was not more than 5 weeks. Long, long journey. She out-lived her litter mates by the time she was 3. I had always had large dogs and she was smaller than any cat I ever had. I called her my "fake dog."

Out of all the dogs I fostered, rehabbed, and lived with, she was with me the longest. We buried her next to a tree that my son brought home for Arbor Day when he was in Kindergarten.

Really shitty winter.

My sympathies.

UnscreenedCaller · April 26, 2014, 02:11:54 PM

Quote from: Treading Water on April 26, 2014, 01:08:01 PM
Just had to put my 18-year-old mutt down on Wednesday. My son picked her out when he was 4. The people we got her from told us she was 8 weeks old but the vet told us she was not more than 5 weeks. Long, long journey. She out-lived her litter mates by the time she was 3. I had always had large dogs and she was smaller than any cat I ever had. I called her my "fake dog."

Out of all the dogs I fostered, rehabbed, and lived with, she was with me the longest. We buried her next to a tree that my son brought home for Arbor Day when he was in Kindergarten.

Really shitty winter.

I'm so sorry, Treading. I know how much your dogs mean to you.

Treading Water · April 26, 2014, 04:22:33 PM

Thanks yum and UC. I didn't mean to bring this thread down, just couldn't stop once I started. I love everyone's pictures. Great thread. I know I'll get another dog eventually. I haven't been without a critter of some kind for long - ever.

West of the Rockies · April 27, 2014, 07:03:21 PM

There is a very interesting story today on the NPR page about how animals grieve. Well worth a read!

HorrorRetro · April 27, 2014, 07:10:52 PM

Quote from: Treading Water on April 26, 2014, 01:08:01 PM
Just had to put my 18-year-old mutt down on Wednesday.

I'm so sorry. I've been there, so I know how hard it is. Hang in there.

Jackstar · April 27, 2014, 07:25:40 PM

And, just like that, all of my problems become insignifcant.

Sincerest condolences for your loss.

UnscreenedCaller · April 27, 2014, 07:56:22 PM

Quote from: West of the Rockies on April 27, 2014, 07:03:21 PM
There is a very interesting story today on the NPR page about how animals grieve. Well worth a read!

Of all the heartbreaking pictures in the world I've seen, some of the most heartrending are animals grieving their dead. I don't understand why we still underestimate their capacity to feel emotion, but it makes me more convinced that we'll never understand true alien intelligence unless we get a handle on our own animal kingdom inhabitants. For two years after one of my companion cats died, the other looked and called for him. She would lie down on things that had his scent. She grieved.

Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost · April 28, 2014, 10:03:00 AM

Quote from: Unscreened Caller on April 26, 2014, 08:30:49 AM
wr, your newest addition is adorable!

I've been on the Monterey-Carmel drive in California. There's a spot there where there are dozens of squirrels that are very tame, like my buddy below who's high fiving me.

Great pic! He looks like the squirrels I saw at the Grand Canyon years ago. They were big, furry, burly bruisers who knew all the cute critter panhandling tricks. There were signs everywhere asking to please not feed the squirrels, but they were no match for squirrels that stand on their hind legs, wave their paws at you, and give you a look that says, "Pretty please, may I have a nut?" Here's a nut buddy outside our front window with that same expression.

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