Poor old Molly

[Rick Potter]

Molly is my black Lab, and is now 14 years old. She is still spry, and caught a mouse just a couple days ago, but she is almost deaf now, and her eyes are clouding. She never was one to bark too much, and for a while now, she takes a lead from our Jack Russel (Jack) when it is time to bark at the mail man and such.

But lately, as the kids say, she barks at walls, and shadows. I used to just call her name if she barked too much, but now she can't hear me unless I get close, then she thinks she is in trouble. We got her at the dog shelter, and she was always very skittish if someone yelled at her. We think she was abused. She has always had abandonment issues too. If I am in the shop, and take a step towards the door, she has always jumped up and out the open door whether I am going out or not.

Molly has always been a real love machine. If you stop petting her she will herd you like a sheep. Sit down, and she will force, and I mean FORCE her head between your arm and body till you pet her. It's tough to see her going downhill, but I hope to have her around another year or so.

Then again, I will be a septuagenarian next month, and my family is looking a bit oddly at me lately too.

Rick Potter

[Paul Gallian]

Sad and happy story at the same time.. more please

[Rick Potter]

Well, Paul,

I could add that other than shots, she has only been to a vet once in her life since I got her. She was less than a year old (dog pound guess) and she got into some DeCon mouse poison that I set too low in the garage. There wasn't much, but we took her in and a dose of epecac (sp?) later, she was back home in an hour or so. Maybe that's why she is such a good mouser?

Rick P

[Phil Thien]

I had to put my giant black lab down about two years ago. Hardest thing I've ever done. He had just had a seizure and it was accompanied by some kind of stroke. I rushed him to the emergency vet but hours later he was still unable to use his rear legs. He was a BIG guy (100 lbs) and had previously had small seizures, and each time he seemed to lose some control of those hind legs.

He had been with me nearly 24 hours/day for 12 years, my constant companion. I still think about him every single day.

Good luck with Molly. She sounds like a wonderful friend.

[Paul McGaha]

Bill was a black lab our family was fortunate to have for 12 years. Bought him as a puppy. An excellent family dog. Very hard on the family when he passed.

About 6 months later our daughter helped us find another black lab named Mandy. She was 1 year old when we got her. We've had her for 10 years now and she is a little over 11 years old. Seems to my wife and I she's beginning to slow down a little.

It really is hard to put into words what good a friend a good dog can be.

I hope Molly and you have a few more years together Rick.

PHM

[ray hampton]

my wife and I give a pet sheltie [dog not pony] away because the dog tried to bite the wife and her grand daughter after the grand daughter baby starting to cry , some dogs know how to herd without any training

[Greg Peterson]

Perhaps rather than speaking loudly at Molly, what if you went over to her and gave her a reassuring touch and spoke calmly into her ear?

We said our last good night to Brandy earlier this year. The loss was/is profound. We had thirteen great years with her, countless funny stories and walks. I still hate leaving in the morning and not having her giving me those puppy dog eyes. But I like even less coming home and not having her head pop between the blinds and great us at the door like we are long lost friends. I sure do hope to see her again one day.

[Don Morris]

I got Princess when I was 12. A German Shorthair Pointer. Put her through Obedience Dog training, Companion Dog training, and hunted over her. She was trained to hand signal, and I often walked with her off leash. She stayed by my left leg unless signaled otherwise. The only time I put the leash on was when other dogs came along. Not because she would go after them, but I didn't want their owner to be concerned. As part of the Obedience Dog training class we had to put our dogs in a circle of 6 to 8 dogs about 2' apart and leave the room for 5 minutes. Princess leaned over and went to sleep. When you hunt with a group of dogs, they also must behave around other dogs. The kids down the street would come and ask if Princess could come out and play. I would give them a Pheasant wing and they would hide it and she would find it. She slept on my bed, and she brought me my socks in the morning. She had 16 great years. I still miss her after 60 years. But dogs require at least 3 walks a day, 7 days a week, rain or shine. They're a responsibility like children. I don't take that lightly. So at our age and stage, that's why we went to having a cat. Maybe less fun than a dog, but lots less care. We could put enough food and water out and go for a weekend without worrying about it. Still, having to part with one is terribly difficult. But we say we would be happy to be reincarnated into any of the animals we've owned. Because they were loved and had a great life.

[Jim Matthews]

Our love of dogs parallels a Japanese concept (http://perfumeposse.com/wabi-sabi/), beauty in the transient.
Unlike the classic Greek notion that beauty is permanent, this recognizes how quickly we pass.

We who love dogs wish you strength to bear what you anticipate.

[Bob Rufener]

Our pound puppy turned into a "mostly" yellow lab. Rocky was a great dog and wonderful companion. When he was about 5 years old, he began having seizures. Phenobarbatol worked well and we fed him the medicine daily and no more seizures. When he was about 12, he developed a tumor on top of his head. Some time later, he started acting really old and one day, we caught him several times, leaving our rural property. We realized that he was dieing. A trip to the vet, some teary eyes, and a sad heart, we had him put to sleep. Hard to do but it was the right thing. If I get to that point, I hope I can end it quickly so there is no suffering involved.