Sentimental primitivism bullshit. Like "life" and its endings aren't known and harsh for human or animal in South Central LA or other urban farmlands.

Similarly, I've know rural farmers (my dad) who had sadness all their lives because of pets put down. Being "closer to the earth" only partially mitigates the shakey horrors of conscious trying to figure death out, hence the epidemic of crank in rural America.

Very sorry to hear of your pet's illness... lost our 13 year old black lab a few weeks ago, and "medicine" is a limited way to deal with mortality.

True dat. I've seen my dad cry about his recently deceased Chow who lived outside, and not bat an eye about shooting up tank columns, etc, etc in Vietnam/Desert Storm.

Sucks about your pooch, harry. Stick around, this time.

Last week, one of our German Shepherds started to vomit. We didn't think too much of it at first, because regurgitation in and of itself isn't that unusual for dogs every now and then. But it continued into the next day, and he became very lethargic - which was definitely a red flag, given how active he normally is (only 1.5 years old) - so we took him to the vet on Saturday.

At first, the vet seemed to think our dog had been poisoned, but yesterday he started looking more at whether there was an obstruction or perforation. In either case, he was definitely suffering from Sepsis. Well, my wife just got back from the animal hospital, and things don't look good.

They're back to thinking it's a toxin working its way through his system, so surgery is not an option. His liver functions are bad and he's in a LOT of pain. If things don't take an upward turn by tomorrow, we're probably going to have to end his suffering and have him put down. As sad as it makes me and my wife, our kids are going to be DEVASTATED.

At this point, we're hoping for a miracle between today and tomorrow...



He's the one on the right of this photo. His name is Bruder (German for "brother").

dang FT! i'll pray for that doggie.

Yeah, i'm pulling for your boy too.

Damn that's awful. He looks like an awesome dog.

he is

still a little hyper, but he hasn't been neutered yet

in fact, he was supposed to get neutered today, before he got sick

well that'd be a helluva 1-2 punch, wouldn't it? "While he's here..."

Poor Bruder...he's a great lookin' pooch. I'm hoping that his youth is a plus and his body is able to fight back. Having been through the emotional impact of putting down a beloved pet, I know very well what you're going through.

Hang in there, Bruder! We're all wishing you the best.

That's actually what we did with my wife when she had our last kid. While they had her sliced open for the C-Section, they went in and did a tubal ligation as a two-fer. Saved me the snip-snip.

damn, that sucks. hope it turns out well bob.

So what's the word today bob?

And e-stone, whatever happened to seamus?

dang...tough bump here. hoping for the best for your pooch bob....



ol seamus went up to doggie heaven last august. i think i made quick mention of it in that months random thread. it was time. he had gotten to the point where he turned down a mcdonalds cheeseburger...and that's just not seamus. we still miss the fuck out of him and talk about him almost daily. even the boy mentions him a lot...whenever he see's another golden he screams "that look like saymuss!"

not to take anything away from molly (our other pup), but he really was one special dog. it's crazy how attached we can become. i'm really hoping a miracle comes your way bob!

Man, i'm sorry about seamus.

I know what you mean about special dogs, i love our newer dog, Jude... but Sadie is the favorite by a nose.

still waiting

hoping to hear something soon

Good luck man

Latest from the vet is that while we're not yet out of the woods, Bruder is doing better today. He finally has gotten back a little bit of his appetite, and has managed to hold down some solid food. He has even started to wag his tail a bit.

His liver and kidneys are still very weak (especially his liver), so he'll probably need to stay at the vet for at least another day or two, but things are starting to look a little bit promising.

I am cautiously optimistic. Thanks for all of your words of support!

Good news Bobbo. Fingers crossed.


Did the vet ask about antifreeze maybe being the poison?

That was one of the first things he asked back when we initially brought him in. We don't have any stored in our yard (or anywhere in/around the house or garage), and there doesn't seem to be any sign of it. Our other dog has been in the yard many times over the past few days and shows no ill effects of any kind. If there was poisoning, it must have been isolated to a very specific item only he ingested.

thumbs up

Ditto, my dad is as tough an SOB as they come (hell he's the guy who coined the phrase "Grandaddy died...he was a good man") but he still hasn't gotten over putting down our lab almost 20 years ago. Loves my dogs when he comes by but will not own another dog himself.

Sorry about this for you, Jason.

Yeah, it's ridiculous. My dad's the same, about as emotional as an alarm clark but when his spaniel died? Jesus christ, my mom said he took to bed the day she got put down. He still won't really talk about her.

Hope the pup pulls through Bob, I'll keep a good thought. And sorry about yours e-stone. I remember the pics of Seamus.

shoot guys, i do appreciate the sentiment and all, but this thread is over a year old. ol FT bumped it to talk about his pup, so all vibes, etc. should be sent his way!

Me and my wife went to go visit Bruder last night, and he seems to be doing better. He perked up and wagged his tail when we got there. My wife even got him to eat some chicken.

The vet said he took him out for a walk earlier and he did well. One of the vet techs said he had barked a little for the first time since he'd been there, and even ran up and down the hall a couple of times.

We're hoping he gets to come home tomorrow. The vet said they'll see how he does today. What really struck me was that while we were there last night, the vet thanked US on three separate occasions! He kept saying that he was thankful we gave Bruder a chance. I guess they see a whole lot of people who pull the ripcord in similar situations without opting for spending on treatment.

The bill's up to $1,500 now, and will probably end up near $2,000 when it's all said and done. We're definitely a paycheck-to-paycheck family and have nothing in savings, but giving up on Bruder was never an option. We'll figure it out somehow.

Oh man, this is great news to hear, Bob!