The Random thought thread

[rgmwa]

Thanks all. She was also practically blind and an insulin dependent diabetic but she soldiered on and was a pretty happy dog until the last two or three weeks when she lost weight and appetite and I had some late night trips to the emergency vet with her. It became clear yesterday that to keep her any longer was not the right thing to do. Nevertheless it was very hard to pick up the phone and make the appointment. She was well known at the local vet clinic and the staff there were as sad as I was when I brought her in. She was always with me and got me out of the house to take her for a walk a couple of times a day. I'd promised my wife I'd look after her, and know that I did that as well as I could for as long as I could, but I really miss not having her around to keep me company.

[onetrack]

My stepdaughter left her cat with us when she went to live the Pilbara in the late 1990's. This cat was a half-wild tabby moggie that had regular panic attacks and need to run away and hide, as the feral cat in her came to the surface. But she had character and was quite intelligent. When she killed a little bird in the backyard, I went her crook, and she never killed a bird again. 

 

We looked after her for 12 years as the SD roamed the world, an animal we didn't really want in the first place, but which became part of our home. Then, when she was about 14 in 2010, she got stomach cancer, so I had to put her down. I buried her in the backyard, and I actually sat down and bawled when I did so, I couldn't believe the loss of a pet that I never even picked, would affect me so badly.

[red750]

Yes, pets are family and losing them can be as emotional as losing actual family members. As the "old man", it has been my resposibility to take pets on their final journey, and become quite tearful driving to or from the vet or RSPCA. These are the two dogs referred to in my previous post.

 

 

After my wife passed, my daughter insisted on getting another dog. She chose another Spoodle. He has an endearing character, but is often a pain in the neck. He lives indoors, and barks, shits and pees anywhere he likes, and chews anything he can get in his mouth. The photo below was when he was only a few months old. We also have two cats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[facthunter]

You get very attached to them for sure, But there does come a time when they are suffering and distressed at their own condition and you have to make that dreadful decision , but you have to do it if you care and they Certainly DON'T suffer the way it's done.   Nev

[Jerry_Atrick]

About a year or so  before COVID locldowns, my Beagle was diagnosed with stomach cancer.. I was very attached to him, and we ensured his remaining days were as comfortable as they could be. Little fella never ate so well.. I knew it was time to come when he struggled to get up and peed his own bed. You could see the indignat look in his eyes. So, I took him to the vet.. We talked through the options as it was very distressing. In the end, I asked him if the dog was his, what would he do. He basically said the dog was in pain, not eating, and not really mobile. It is a day that I wish I never had to live, but at the same time, he gave us all 13 years of joy and unbelievable loyalty. 

 

We got a workign cocker spaniel during COVID lockdown. I didn't want another dog at the time, as the memory of the beagle was still raw. He was going to the my partner's dog, and she did a great job of training him. Butm he has bonded with me and won't leave my side when I am at home. Looks like another English immigrant will be winging its way to Australia. 

Edited Wednesday at 06:20 AM by Jerry_Atrick

[red750]

It was difficult that Roxy the retriever had to go into the operating theatre, so we had to leave her. With Bella, the black spoodle, she was given the needle at the local vet, and we were able to hold and pat her, and talk to her through it. I think that makes a big difference for them.

 

When my daughter leaves the house to go to work as a schol crossing supervisor, or to do the shopping, or go to the footy/rugby/whatever, Buster the fawn spoodle, lays beside whoever is at home with him, but I'm sure he hears her car turn into the street. He is up beside the door and all over her when she walks in, like she'd been missing for a week.He doesn't leave her side.

[rgmwa]

5 hours ago, facthunter said:

You get very attached to them for sure, But there does come a time when they are suffering and distressed at their own condition and you have to make that dreadful decision , but you have to do it if you care and they Certainly DON'T suffer the way it's done.   Nev

Yes, it's a responsibility you have to take on when you have a pet. Too many people don't and that's part of the reason so many pets are abandoned or end up in RSPCA shelters awaiting an uncertain fate. The saddest cases are the older dogs (and other animals) that end up there because their owner may have died or can no longer look after them. If I get another dog eventually I may opt for one of those over a young pup that might well outlive me.

[onetrack]

Perhaps surprisingly to a lot of us "out of the loop", you apparently have to be "vetted" today if you want a "rescue dog", to see if you're suitable and compatible with the dog in question.

Stepdaughter has a friend who lost her little companion a while back, and she went to get a rescue dog, thinking it was an easy process, but it wasn't, they treat you like you're adopting a child.

There's an application form, a formal interview, "a meet and greet", and checks on your background, living situation, finances, and so on. A far cry from the old days when you just picked up an unwanted dog, or an abandoned one wandered in, and you adopted it. As you'd expect, big dogs are hard to rehome, they cost a fortune in food and they're always a concern when little dogs come into contact with them. I see a lot of people with rehomed greyhounds, I can't see where a greyhound makes a good homey pet.

I went through a few dogs as a kid, a couple met an untimely end with poisoning, and getting hit by cars. After being bitten by a nasty Red Heeler that Dad owned, I decided I wasn't going to own a dog again, cats were easier to handle.

 

https://www.dogshome.org.au/the-adoption-process/

 

Edited Wednesday at 12:20 PM by onetrack
added link....

[spacesailor]

You have to make very certain. 

The dogs are not for  the dinner-table . 

Chinese red dog .

spacesailor

[facthunter]

Some people don't eat any meat. Nev

[onetrack]

"Chinese red dog"

 

Is that where Chinese hot dogs originate from?

[spacesailor]

England lost thousands of cats. They went into " curried chicken " .

Only a bone gave away that delicious  ( but fake ) meal . 

spacesailor

[Marty_d]

17 minutes ago, spacesailor said:

England lost thousands of cats. They went into " curried chicken " .

Only a bone gave away that delicious  ( but fake ) meal . 

spacesailor

I thought it was the French who were better known for eating p...  oh wait, that's different...

[red750]

"Our curried chicken is purrrfect."

[Jerry_Atrick]

Ahh.. so that is how they solved the feral cat problem.

[spacesailor]

Also, solved the " feral  pigeon " problem.  With a " tourist pie " .

Someone had to complain.  Unhygienic. ! .

spacesailor

[old man emu]

Then there was the Findus bolog-neighs.