Lost my puppy

[PennyQuilts]

Been kind of down because our 7.5 month puppy died the first week of December. With my kids and grandkids so far away, I am ridiculously attached to my dogs and they are definitely family members. Been grieving.

When she was about 2.5 months old she got really sick and they almost hospitalized her. They did every test in the book on her and finally decided it was some sort of bacterial infection. She seemed to bounce back but developed an irregular heartbeat. More very expensive tests, cardiologist, blah, blah, blah. They said her heart was structurally perfect and speculated that the earlier infection had thickened an area of the heart causing the electrical impulses to be irregular. They thought she'd outgrow it and the cardiologist said it wasn't dangerous and wouldn't get worse and that she should have a normal lifespan. She never slowed down or showed the slightest symptoms. She was just a ray of sunshine.

The day the big ice storm blew in, she was racing in and out of the house to play in the snow. That evening, she raced in and threw herself down by my husband's chair. She did that all the time. Within about twenty seconds she cried out 3-4 times. We were right there but she was GONE. No bringing her back. It was horrifying. I had my stethoscope handy because I checked her, regularly, and it was like listening to a brick - no respiration, heart, not even any stomach sounds. We tried chest compressions and my husband even did mouth to mouth. Nothing.

The whole family was upset and one of our other dogs who just adored her was beside herself and has had a relapse of an auto immune problem. In contrast, our other dog (who seemed to like her) has been acting like she won the lottery, the little sociopath. I suppose she is glad she no longer has a puppy jumping on her head but she isn't even making the effort to look sad.

Rough Christmas. We sure miss the little darling.

[flintysooner]

Sorry for your loss. It is always painful.

[PennyQuilts]

Thank you. Sucks.

[Achilleslastand]

We just lost one of ours Dec 8th which put a damper on the holidays. We have another that is older and just started having seizures and another that they cant figure out why he keeps losing weight.
My heart goes out to you and family big time.
Prayers inbound.......

[ljbab728]

So sorry, PQ.

[Mel]

My sincere condolences Penny, Losing a pet is hard. She will be waiting for you on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.

[zookeeper]

I'm sorry, Penny. Losing a pet is tough, tough, tough. Thinking of you.

[PennyQuilts]

Thanks - and I sure am sorry, Achilles, both for your loss and because you other dog is ailing.

Sigh. Every puppy is special but, trust me, this little girl was canine sunshine. We'd just let her sleep outside her crate like a big girl the night before and she was so proud of herself. She was a complete love bug. I am just glad that if she suffered, it wasn't long. I am still shocked at how fast she went. I have to wonder if her heart had stopped before she even got back into the house. Maybe a EMT knows how that works. I don't.

[bluedogok]

Sorry Penny, I know it hurts.

[PennyQuilts]

I could go on and on about all her cute/sweet/happy ways. I know anyone that ever loved a dog could do the same thing. She was just a puppy and was so robust and vibrant. She fit into the family the instant her wee paws hit the ground when I set her on the driveway. And smart? OMG, she was brilliant.

[Plutonic Panda]

That is extremely sad. That is the worst part of having a pet(esp. dogs imo) is the bond that forms between you and them. They become part of the family quick and develop a personality you can't replicate. 14 years is 14 years to soon but less than a year, that just sucks. Very sad to hear your loss

[kevinpate]

So sorry for your losses folks.

[Bunty]

I could go on and on about all her cute/sweet/happy ways. I know anyone that ever loved a dog could do the same thing. She was just a puppy and was so robust and vibrant. She fit into the family the instant her wee paws hit the ground when I set her on the driveway. And smart? OMG, she was brilliant.

I can relate to you how you feel, and I'm sorry for your loss. But it's not a total loss. That dog will remain forever alive in your most cherished memories.

After I had my devoted black cat put to sleep due to cancer, I was real sad about it. It had been awful leading up to it as the vet told me it would be up me to decide when. I knew the time had come to give up all hope when I came home and found that he had lodged his entire body in the narrow space between the clothes dryer and the wall as if trying to hide from pain. As with people, why do bad things happen to good cats? My friend mentioned he handled the loss of his dog by soon going to the shelter to find a new dog to adopt. So I did that and adopted the only black cat they had. Toby has worked out fine.

[venture]

Hang in there Miss Penny, sorry to hear what happened.

[bandnerd]

I'm so sorry for your loss I've lost quite a few pets over my lifetime, and it's rough. Hang in there.

[kelroy55]

Sorry for your loss... My animals are like my kids too.

[RadicalModerate]

I lost an unofficially adopted, unclipped, pit-bull to Parvo on account of the neglect of its adoptive "mother" back in the 70's.
It put me off having a dog for a pet unto this very day.
Since I'm thinking about the benefits of (sub)-urban chicken coops, that was probably a rational decision.

No kidding, Penny: I know how much it hurts to lose something one loves.

[PennyQuilts]

Thank you guys. I waited to post about it because, well, it just hurt and I was so sad. I decided to post because I know that the love of the furkids is something so many of us relate to. I must be healing. Bunty, I am so sorry about your cat. I can tell you worried that he suffered and that makes it extra hard. Sometimes you know the death is coming but you never really think the day it happens is the day it will. I am glad you found a new friend.

Losing Fancy was devastating but I keep telling myself that at least she went fast and if she suffered, it was only for a matter of seconds. Not a bad death and she had a wonderful life, if short. But it sure left a hole in our hearts. I changed my avatar to a recent photo of her.

[PennyQuilts]

Radical, we nursed two dogs through parvo decades ago and it is a horrible disease. We had a fountain in the garden and my teenaged son would sit in it at night holding the dogs who were burning up with fever. I give him credit for saving them. One made a complete recovery but the other developed seizures and eventually died several months after we thought's she'd beat it. I am so sorry you lost your friend.

[boscorama]

Tragic. I'm so sorry.

[Prunepicker]

I'm so sorry. Dogs are very important to our well being.

Condolences.

[PennyQuilts]

Thank you. One of those things in life that you know is hard and when it happens, you realize it is REALLY hard.

[Achilleslastand]

That's quite the handsome ladd/lass in your avatar. There is no worse feeling in the world then losing a beloved pet.

[Prunepicker]

When Midge goes it won't be easy to deal with. She's been with me through
thick and thin. I've always managed to make sure that she's been taken
care of even at the abatement of my own, i.e. she eats before I do. She gets
medical treatment before I do.

She always loves. Period. Love conquers all.

1 Corinthians 13. Read all of it.

[PennyQuilts]

Losing a long time companion like Midge is painful, Prunie. Sometimes I wish I had fallen in love with those smaller dogs that live well into their teens. Our Samoyeds usually give us 12-14 years and that is not nearly enough. Some dog breeds only live 8-10 years, though, and that just makes me sad for their families.

I've lost an old dog who was ready to go and the grief was really about missing her - but we were happy that she had a good long life and knew it was time for her to go

Lost a dog in her prime in an anesthesia problem about five years ago and I am still grieving and it still hurts. She was my girl, it was a shock to lose her. She was way too young and vibrant - we'd expected another 5-6 years with her and felt cheated. Just didn't see it coming. She'd been such a big part of our life for so long that when she was abruptly gone, we had to adjust to a new normal that didn't feel right.

Losing Fancy (our sweet lass, Achilles) when she was still a puppy is like sunshine going behind a cloud. She had sweet, loving, adorable ways. Because she was just growing up, she hadn't settled into a routine that an older dog has. Accordingly, we don't have the same sense of disorientation we had when we lost Jezebel but we sure miss the love.