I have no scanner and no digital pictures of Lady, a free-roaming dog that adopted me in Oregon. This is off the web showing pictures of half shepherd, half coyote dogs. It looks remarkably like her except Lady's ears weren't quite that big. Let's see, what do I remember about Lady? She could jump very high. She howled a lot. She was extremely playful, doing things like sneaking up behind me and biting my legs. She didn't want other dogs near me. She got along with cats. She was very smart, sly at times. She could follow the most complicated commands. In Oregon she jumped out of my pickup at a gas station and climbed a six foot fence to mate with a German Shepherd. The owner was upset because his dog had a grand pedigree and he charged a high price for breeding him. Later that summer I was hitchhiking cross-country with Lady. We laid down one night in a field in Ohio to go to sleep. I put my head on her belly and heard the mewling of puppies. Thinking they might be born any minute I got up and started hitchhiking and didn't sleep again until we got back to my home in Maryland. Lady calmly dug her a good spot under the back porch and that night had eight healthy, good sized puppies. She hadn't even looked pregnant. She was an attentive and hard-working mother. I kept one of the puppies and sold the rest for a good price. I've added this in an edit. When it came time to wean the puppies I took them across town to hold and take care of in my sister's woodshed until they were adopted out. Lady sniffed them out across town, found the woodshed and gnawed and scratched a hole under the siding, got with the puppies and started nursing them again. She lived a good life. We went to a lot of places and did a lot of things. She loved camping and riding in my canoe. When she had a stroke and I had to have her euthanized I held her and talked to her while they injected her. I cried and cried.
Thanks for that post. I share your feelings, and I have sat in the corner of a vet's office several times as you did. I always try to pet them and quietly talk to them as they are passing. Its never easy, but if they wag their tails as they are leaving, it somehow makes me able to bear it. And I think that I will see them again, in the next life (remember, there is no sadness in heaven), and that gives me comfort. This is one of my first dogs as I was growing up (we never owned a home, but always had to rent). Dogs made my life much better than it would have been, and I've never been without a dog for long. I lost my dog Gordon about 3 months ago, and I'm still trying to adjust to life without him
We lost our little Harry in 2017 and still can't consider another dog; seems that my heart will never mend. Being in the vet's office while his life ebbed away is a memory that tears me up but I can't imagine not being there with him as his life ended. He was the Best Dog Ever and a piece of my heart is buried in that little grave in the back yard. This is Harry in our RV; he was a great little camper and probably traveled to more states than most people ever do.
The first was Maggie a full blood schnuzher, a gift from my hubby we were dating at time. We had her 12 years before having her put down due cancer. Vet said her case was hopeless.For my hubby s 50th BD got a one year old German Shepard soild white- got him from a niece. Chukka turns sick quick and two vets said - no hope. I can still hear him crying as we left him with breeder who paid for his demise.I can't talk about him even today without bawling. Next was Dottie another Schuzner, turns out had a form of hepatitis One month after her 10 th BD ..she turned yellow and became weak and disorentated. She did not make it either. While we had Dottie a customer of mine gave me a 4.5 yr Chieenie dog- who is now 11 years old. He is another close bonding dog and when he goes..I just don't know what I would do. Pets are our family and losing them painful.
I like people who love their pets. I don't care for people who don't care for animals. Thanks for that. Gloria.
With the hard cold winter we have been having this year, Bobby put the little electric heater that looks like a tiny fireplace in the front room for the dogs to keep warm. It is a small heater and the warm air blows out from the bottom, so it is perfect for keeping Poodle and Tootsie warm, and they head right for the heater after having been outside for a little while to do their chores.