Sebastian died.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

6 years ago, my wife's co-worker was being evicted from her grandmother's home so the estate could sell the house. She asked us to foster her dogs. She promised to bring food visit them until she found a place where she could have them. Of course that never happened. When the dogs were delivered, her husband said Sebastion was 11 years old and the smaller one, Oreo was 9 yrs old. Sebastian was a medium size dog but looked like a German Shepard, except his ears flopped down. He had no personality whatever. He did obey commands very well. But he did not like to be touched and would growl if I tried to brush him. He stank and would not let us give him a bath. When we persisted, he snarled and snapped at us so we just let it go. In addition, he was not house broken. Crate trained but not house broken. The smaller dog was a great dog. listened very well, loved attention, liked just being with people. We did have to house train Oreo and it was frustratingly slow. Oreo is a regular member of the family now and has been for years. Because he was not house trained, Sebastian was never permitted to roam the house, and always was confined in his crate in the basement whenever he was indoors. He was fed and watered away from the others. When he was outside, he could look through the glass and watch them at their bowls of kibble. I always felt so bad for him. I could see it in his eyes that he yearned to be treated the same, but that was not going to happen. Well years went on and he grew deaf. He would wander off and not come back. I would find him curled up in the barn or in the foundation of the burned out house. Especially one bitter cold night when I found him shivering in the barn. From then on, we kept him confined to the fenced back yard. A year ago, I realized that he could barely see. I would have to tap him on the shoulder to get his attention. But he still jumped high in the air for treats when he smelled them. He would still run around the back yard. When days were hot, I would let him into the basement where there was AC. When days were cold, he spent every night in his crate in the basement and if bitter cold, he spent most of his time in, going out periodically for some exercise. A few months ago, I realized that he lost some teeth, so I gave him soft canned food. He perked up a little and gained a little weight. For the first time back around May, he let me brush him. I brushed him a little every couple days. Then two days ago, he had trouble standing up. I called the vet for an appointment. They couldn't fit him in until Friday. Last night he refused to come into his crate to sleep, which wasn't a big deal since it was a nice night. This morning he could not get up. He was laying in his favorite place with his two toys. The only two toys he ever paid any attention to. I offered him some soft food and he would not eat. I measured his respirations and pulse. It was pretty bad. I called the vet. They could fit him in late in the afternoon. When I went back out to make sure he was not going to be in the sun, he had passed away. I buried him up on the hill with the other dogs we had. Wrapped in his blanket. I took off his collar before I buried him. I drove into town where his owner worked, explained that he just passed away and offered her the collar. She acted like I was bothering her and didn't give a crap about her dog. I never loved that dog but I felt so horrible about his predicament. I put up with his snapping and growling because I desperately wanted better for him. I cared for him for a little over six years. My wife and daughter would have nothing to do with him because he was was "mean.". Hopefully he is now in a place where he is loved.

screamer (http://forums.kountrylife.com/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=338) Posts: 1188Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2009 8:24 am

[Jim Matthews]

You did right by Sebastian.

He might not make it into your Heaven, but you made his.

[James Cheever]

You did the best you could for him, Perry.

Hopefully now, Sebastian can be at peace and be loved and play forever.

[Howard Pollack]

Death of a loved one can be so difficult. I'm sorry for your loss. You gave him as good of a life as possible. -Howard

[Lisa Starr]

Thank you for caring for him all these years. Sometimes we can never overcome a pet's early years, no matter the love we offer. You did right by him and gave him a better life than he would have had anywhere else. I'm sorry for your loss.

[Ron Selzer]

Thank you for what you did for Sebastian.
You gave him as good a life as he would accept and way better than anyone else was willing to
Ron

[Mel Fulks]

You did everything right. Took “dominion over the animals” seriously.
Thank you.

[michael langman]

It is posts like yours Perry, that give me hope. I am glad you posted it.

Thankfully Sebastian got to spend his latter days with you.

[Erik Loza]

My condolences for your loss. We have always had rescue dogs. Aside from losing my dad, saying goodbye to Leonard, our German Shepherd, was one of the toughest moments in my life. The grief is still in the background but it's mostly good memories these days. I wish the same for you.

Erik

[Warren Lake]

be easier if they made them so they can talk. I ended up with a six year old sheepdog that came from a bad marriage. She was likely around people fighting all the time and she was messed up. First time she bit my arm it left teeth marks for days. As time went on she changed and changed to the point you could rub her back and she would look at you like she could not believe someone was being nice to her.

I still had to watch her with little kids, she had no idea what they were and one time saw the neighbours 3 year old pulling on her tail. (yeah still had a tail) She put up with the kid but turned and was thinking. It was okay for me to grab her tail if she was going to get into trouble or just grab a clump of hair. Others no then its not ideal to hold onto a dogs tail anyway.

You did good caring as you did and not the easiest guy to deal with. I have friends that are the same. One has an animal sanctuary where they get a new good home and have to better life. some have arrived in such bad shape it makes her cry.

You made his life better and many would not have the patience and care to do that.


,

[Tom M King]

He was lucky to have found you!!

[Jim Koepke]

My condolences, it is always a difficult day when we part with the ones for whom we have cared.

jtk

[Patrick McCarthy]

Perry, you are a good man. Thank you. Patrick

[Richard Hart]

:( I'm hurting for you... please accept my deepest condolences. We've been through it 3 times, and part of me went with them, and it's exquisitely painful. It will fade in time but for me it always runs in the background.
I choose to believe that we'll be reunited with our animals in time, if not, I don't wanna go there.

This is Noah:

463714

Lost him to lymphoma just 3 years ago... he was "my guy" and he was with me through depressions, hospital stays, law enforcement and a separation and God knows what else.

Always sends pangs when I see these thrreads, but that's life... gonna go cry now for you and the two of us.

[John C. Wilson]

Theres a place in heaven for people like you. The dog probably liked you more than you know. May he rest in peace.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Something tells me she was being evicted for more reasons than that. The way I see it, people who do not treat animals with respect & decency show their true colors towards all humanity. While Sebastian may have been born "distant" towards people, he could have learned to be that way by his previous owner. Thank you for caring for Sebastian with respect and handling his situation as best as you knew how. While you may not have loved the dog, he did work his way into your heart. You were able to find good in him even though he had a hard time showing it.

[Jim Becker]

My sincere condolences for your loss of Sebastian. Even though your head may be telling you that you didn't love him, clearly, that was not the case in reality. He may have been a curmudgeon, but I bet he still knew that he was in a good place all those years. His taking comfort from you later in life is a clear indicator of that. So kudos to you for caring for him all this time. In fact, thank you for that. It was a blessing.

[Frederick Skelly]

Sounds like you did the best you could for that dog.
Thank you for caring Perry. I'm glad someone did.
Fred

[Bruce Wrenn]

Tears in my eyes. We have an inherited 16YO Brindle Pit. She was miss treated earlier in life before grandson rescued her. Took her a while to adjust to being around another (older, also inherited) dog. After older dog passed, she was left here alone. She made friends with children down the street, and would go and met them at bus stop each afternoon. Unfortunately this meant crossing very busy road. So, in order to keep her from getting run over, we had to restrict her to back yard. Then hearing loss set in. She now can only hear the thunder, which because it breaks the silence, terrifies her. Used to love to "go for a ride," but now I have to help her in and out of the truck. Some times when she jumps down the steps (two steps) her front legs give way. The look in her eyes when this happens brings tears to my eyes. Spends these hot days laying her box on back porch, by the door, in front of a fan. I know her days are numbered, an it makes me sad to think about it

[Rod Sheridan]

It’s good that there are nice people like you in the world……Rod

[Richard Hart]

Tears in my eyes. We have an inherited 16YO Brindle Pit. She was miss treated earlier in life before grandson rescued her. Took her a while to adjust to being around another (older, also inherited) dog. After older dog passed, she was left here alone. She made friends with children down the street, and would go and met them at bus stop each afternoon. Unfortunately this meant crossing very busy road. So, in order to keep her from getting run over, we had to restrict her to back yard. Then hearing loss set in. She now can only hear the thunder, which because it breaks the silence, terrifies her. Used to love to "go for a ride," but now I have to help her in and out of the truck. Some times when she jumps down the steps (two steps) her front legs give way. The look in her eyes when this happens brings tears to my eyes. Spends these hot days laying her box on back porch, by the door, in front of a fan. I know her days are numbered, an it makes me sad to think about it

Anticipatory grief sucks.. I think it starts the day you bring them home, really.

Anyone that abuses them needs to be dragged to a post and shot, period. I get to pull the trigger. (or the rope)

God bless anyone that rescues! That's the only way we adopt.

[Adam Grund]

Anticipatory grief sucks.. I think it starts the day you bring them home, really.

Anyone that abuses them needs to be dragged to a post and shot, period. I get to pull the trigger. (or the rope)

God bless anyone that rescues! That's the only way we adopt.

I bought my current (first dog as an adult) because I wanted a boxer in a bad way and couldn’t find any to rescue. Paid about 1/3 the going rate because he didn’t have papers, which I wasn’t concerned about. Time went on and I’m not sure he’s purebred, again I’m not concerned in the slightest. But he’s 120lbs of pure freakin muscle. Most gentle, lovable, scaredy-cat and pain in the butt there could ever be all wrapped up in one.
Anyways, point of the post is he was 3 when my daughter was born. Those two are inseparable. My son could take him or leave him- but my daughter adores max. She’s 3 1/2 now, he’s 6. When she was about a year old I said it’s going to really suck losing max, because Sophia will be just at that age where she understands. My wife looked at me and asked how I could even think about such a thing. I don’t know, it’s life and dogs have shorter span then humans so it’s just a fact it’s going to happen.
About 6 months ago out of the blue they were playing and she said you know you’re right, it’s going to devastate her when that time comes.
Hope I’m better equipped down the road to deal with her heartbreak than I feel I would be right now…

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Tears in my eyes. We have an inherited 16YO Brindle Pit. Used to love to "go for a ride," but now I have to help her in and out of the truck. Some times when she jumps down the steps (two steps) her front legs give way. The look in her eyes when this happens brings tears to my eyes.

At 16 years old, I bet she would really appreciate a longer ramp over the steps with a little traction on it. (She might need a little coaxing with a treat to show her it's safe to walk on it.) By the time our old girl made it to 15+ years, we carried her up/down any elevation changes due to the tumble factor. She would patiently wait at even one single step for help up/down. There is nothing more helpless then watching a senior tumble in front of you and you can't catch them in time. We are all going to get there at some point in our life. Build up as much karma as you can!