Six weeks ago we had to put down our dog, George, who was ten. He had lost control of his bladder. I would have dealt with it a bit longer, but our house is on the market. My husband is getting transferred back to Colorado. We have lived in Pennsylvania for five years. Actually, today is the fifth anniversary of closing on this house. Anyway, a dog peeing all over makes it a bit challenging to make the house looks appealing enough to buy. So, George had to leave a bit sooner than I would have planned.
To further complicate things, our other dog, three year old Cinder, started having accidents. I thought she had a urinary tract infection. I took her to the vet. They immediately said she needed to lose 30 pounds. 30 pounds! After the shock of that statement, I explained what was going on with her. They got some samples and sent us home. They called with results, 30 minutes after we had put George down. I need to back up a bit. My husband doesn't like Cinder. He didn't want to take her with us when we moved. We had a big fight, I fought hard to keep Cinder. Anyway, the vet called with the results...diabetes.
I cried hard. Money is tight in our home, so my first question was "What is it going to cost?" With the syringes, insulin, blood tests, testing strips, etc., it is about $100 a month. Cinder is only three, I can't even think about putting her down, she has to be treated. The vet continued about her needed care...eating twice a day, same time every day, balanced daily exercise, no stress...without these things, Cinder's glucose levels would mess up and she could get sicker. I knew this wasn't going to work which only made me cry harder. I don't feed my humans the same time every day, how could I ensure the dog would? Depending on the weather, exercise levels change, throw in kid activities and who knows if any real exercise will take place. And no stress?!?...our house is on the market, we are moving 24 hours away. Just the thought causes me GREAT amounts of stress...certainly it would cause a dog stress. Also, she won't be able to be left in a kennel if we vacation. She will have to go to a dog hospital, or have someone keep her that can monitor her and give her injections. We don't travel much, but even to get my son to and from college is a four day excursion. The tears kept on coming. For a week the vet and I talked trying to come up with some solutions.
The vet called one morning and said they had just received a call from a former patient. She had put her lab down three years ago and was now looking for a special needs lab. Cinder was the answer to her prayers. This wonderful woman was the answer to mine. I met her, she is wonderful. In the weeks since she has adopted Cinder, she emails me updates and even sent Cinder's name/phone tag to us. I miss Cinder with every cell in my body, but I know I have made the right decision for Cinder. The day I surrendered her, I was crying hysterically. Cinder kept jumping up with her paws on my chest. She had NEVER done that before. She knew how distressed I was. In all my life, through all the dogs in my life, I have never had a dog respond that way to my emotions.
It's been six weeks with no dog. I think that's a record. I came home from the hospital as a newborn to two St. Bernard's. Santa brought me a puppy when I was about four. I don't remember these dogs, but I have seen pictures. I remember a lab mix named Shady. She had puppies, most of them black, but one was yellow. My brother and I named them all, the yellow one was "King". When people came to adopt the puppies, we would hide King. We wanted to keep him. As it turned out, we couldn't even keep Shady. After her puppies were gone, she started carrying my baby brother around.
Then we got Kemo. He was born on my Dad's birthday. He was a cockapoo. He was a good dog, a smart dog. Once we went camping and went on a hike. There was nobody around, so we took him off his leash. After a bit, he caught scent of a deer (we suspect) and took off. We called him and looked for him but ended up going back to our campsite very sad. In the middle of the night, the people camping next to us knocked on our camper door. Seems Kemo made it all the way back to the campground...was only off by one campsite. It was pretty amazing. Kemo died when I was about 20. I don't know how old he was, I guess around 14. I was working for an insurance company and for whatever reason came home for lunch that day. (that was VERY rare for me to come home for lunch) My mom was sitting there crying. Sad day.
When my brother was a sophomore in college, maybe a junior, he got a dog, Grover. My brother later went into the Navy. My parents inherited Grover. By this time I was married. Near our first anniversary, we bought a house and found Molson, a black lab/great dane mix. Molson was HUGE. He was a great dog, very protective of our kids. He weighed 125 lbs. He got cancer at age ten. When he started growling at us, we knew he was ready to leave and we put him down. Child #1 was in 2nd grade. Child #2 cried so much and wouldn't tell Molson goodbye. She has never again bonded to another pet. She is now 17. We had three other dogs in our home between Molson and George, we just couldn't find the right personality. For awhile I think I was teaching the kids that pets are just visitors, not members of the family. But, finally George fit just right. Then seven years later, Cinder fit too.
In the six dogless weeks, we have mentioned George and Cinder countless times. We have thought about our next dog. Child #2 (who really doesn't like pets) has fallen in love with her friends long haired dachshund, Child #4 really wants a chihuahua like one of our family friends. Child #2 just wants a dog. I like yellow labs. I kept George's kennel, he was a terrier mix, about 20 lbs. I have said the next dog has to be able to fit into George's old kennel, s no yellow lab. We went to a pet store (BIG MISTAKE!)and found a schnoodle (schnauzer and poodle mix) and my heart melted. I even went back a second time to see him. The kids want to name him "Bieber". I have goggled schnoodles. I am smitten.
Six dogless weeks and I am searching for a replacement. I like having a dog. The are always happy to see me. They eat whatever I make them. They don't talk back. They seem generally sorry when you tell them "NO". I like having a dog. I am trying to hold off on getting a puppy until we make the big move. We will see. Going dogless is tough! Unless you are a vacuum cleaner.
