Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 23

Thread: Sebastian died.

  1. #1

    Sebastian died.

    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 Posts: 1188Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2009 8:24 am

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    South Coastal Massachusetts
    Posts
    6,824
    You did right by Sebastian.

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

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Center Valley, PA USA
    Posts
    141
    You did the best you could for him, Perry.

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

    James Cheever
    Ga Tech NROTC - 1978
    Run Silent, Run Deep
    Commander, USN (Retired)

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    330
    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
    Last edited by Howard Pollack; 08-27-2021 at 10:53 AM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Waterford, PA
    Posts
    1,225
    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.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Lancaster, Ohio
    Posts
    1,346
    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

  7. #7
    You did everything right. Took “dominion over the animals” seriously.
    Thank you.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Putney, Vermont
    Posts
    1,042
    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.

  9. #9
    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
    Ex-SCM and Felder rep

  10. #10
    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.


    ,

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
    Posts
    8,973
    He was lucky to have found you!!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    My condolences, it is always a difficult day when we part with the ones for whom we have cared.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Goleta / Santa Barbara
    Posts
    962
    Perry, you are a good man. Thank you. Patrick

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2021
    Location
    Central Pa.
    Posts
    120
    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:

    DSC04215_1fixed.jpg

    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.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Manchester Iowa
    Posts
    30
    Theres a place in heaven for people like you. The dog probably liked you more than you know. May he rest in peace.
    Remember,What goes around, comes around.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •