Old Dogs - classic or dud

Also, while you can't teach them new tricks, you can get them to run through a fairly impressive repertoire of old ones.

And they tend not to wet the floor, eat your school books, hump your friends, or trip you up so much.

Old dogs = CLASSIC

dud in that they fart way too much.

On the very plus side, she hasn't shown a bit of discomfort from the surgery, and she very carefully took out her own stitches so the vet wouldn't have to.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/WilliamCrump63/tracy.jpg

This tumor was fairly small, but I'm afraid it will come back sooner rather than later.

So like all dogs, old dogs are classic.

And they tend not to wet the floor,

This proved not to be the case with our family dog, a contibuting factor to his being put down. I will keep this in mind for when my parents are old and senile.

Last year my two dogs died within 8 months of each other, both having lived to 15, and the second to go we'd (my mom and I that is) had since he (Gus) was a month old. He'd been around for over half my life, and it's still hard to think he's not alive anymore since he died so suddenly and I wasn't there to say goodbye. Gus got to be a real grumpy old man in his last year, mostly blind and deaf but still with the same funny and loving personality. We were more attached to him than our other dog, probably because we'd had Gus since he was very small, and the other had been maltreated by previous owners and had a bit of a behavioral problem as well as not being too bright, although he was a real sweetheart. He declined gradually...it sure is sad to see animals age.

One of mine is getting pretty old. He's almost 13, and really starting to show his age. But he gets cuter every day. He's next to me right now.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/dave225/thedogs.jpg

Our best guess for Tracy is sheltie/spitz, unless the black tongue of a chow (which she doesn't have) is a recessive trait that would disappear before the tail curl. She's not a big dog -- about 24 lbs.

He and I walk 2 or 3 miles every night. I used to take him mountain climbing, but this past summer was the first year I left him at home on those days. Not an easy decision.

This proved not to be the case with our family dog, a contibuting factor to his being put down. I will keep this in mind for when my parents are old and senile.

Yeah, that's what happened with our dog too. In fairness, she hadn't just reached the not-being-able-to-get-outside-to-pee stage, she was on to the not-being-able-to-stand-up-to-pee stage, so I do not blame my parents for taking such a tough decision. I found it especially hard because I was on the far side of the world and felt really guilty that I wasn't there for her when she needed me.

All old dogs that you love are great. Healthy old dogs are the best ever.

That's me and my new dog Milo. He's two. He's the sweetest little dog you ever saw.

We're also fostering another dog at the moment, but she's going off to a rescue centre tomorrow, hopefully to be rehomed soon.

He also likes eating things out of the recycling bin.

Tracy's at the vet today for regular shots, destinkification and a leg checkup. The black mass is already back, below the surgery scar, so the goodbyes will probably happen sometime this year.

However, everytime I take her out somewhere, there's always the one joker who passes along the enlightening information that "big dogs don't live that long." We're more than aware of her mortality which perhaps makes us appreciate her more. If we wanted longevity, we'd adopted a godamn tortoise.

Our family dog (I keep typing god) died three years ago and my parents made the decision then not to get another dog. It would just take too much getting used to.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/ephender/58881.html

Here is Chessie, sometimes known as Cheesy Chessie because of his old dawg aroma.

I feel that this should be followed by "But Caitlin loved him" and then the Bagpuss music, even though Woody is a dog and not a cat.

Mine has this as well. All over her body. Very strange. I freaked thinking it was cancer, but no, just lumps.

I've watered a spot in the back yard to soften up the soil. I'll start digging in the morning. Jude, my landlady, has had him for a long time, but we don't know exactly how old he is. Probably 15 or 16 years.

k/l: Shel Silverstein? Maybe Willie Nelson.

We had great fun with her over the years, and I think my parents and especially my dad is having a hard time adjusting. She really made a big contribution to our family and I hope my parents decide they can take on another dog quite soon.

(13 year old) Puck says, happy trails Chessie Bear. You look like the best kind of dog.

Austin, sorry to hear about Chessie Bear. At least you're there for the hard part and he's not lonely. Pin, you should post a picture of your old dog. Pictures rock.

http://static.flickr.com/22/33193010_ea7ca5ac14.jpg

My doggie Lucy. About 11,5 yrs. :-) She had this weird anal infection last week. A sac near the anus basically burst open after she was rubbing her behind on the carpet. Ick! But it's healed now. I had to give her pills - some painkillers and antibiotics.

But Shel Silverstein wrote the songs.

She told us what we pretty much already knew: he had something that was either a stroke or close enough for government work, and despite the fact that he's gotten a little better since the 'event' Saturday (he's been able to occassionally lift his head and has taken small amounts of especially succulent food - bacon, chicken salad, etc.) any improvement he might have made would be relative to his current condition. His previous condition was a thing of the past. There was a 1 in 20 chance that steroids (prednizone) might help him a bit, but he'd still require round the clock attention, and there's just no way we could keep that up for much longer than the weekend. So, I carried him out to the backyard where, amazingly, he stood up on his own long enough to take a long pee and walk a few steps, then promptly collapsed on his side. The vet gave him the painkiller/sleeping formula shot, then the heart-stopper shot. We wrapped him in a sheet with his collar and favorite toys, and put him in a quicklime lined hole, the one that I spent Sunday and Monday digging. Then we toasted him with a little wine with some friends and neighbors.

Then I logged online and started doing my laundry.

The good is that we spared him any more helplessness and sickness. He's always been very fastidious about peeing outside (for example, that picture I posted upthread of the massive piss trail) and seemed very guilty about messing himself in the house the last two days, so that last outside piss under his own power actually seemed like a restoration of diginity that might've made him very proud and happy. Also, Craig's dog Ben can now have the run of the house and will probably grow a little calmer and more mature now that he isn't kept in a bedroom all day.

I'm okay. Well, as okay as usual, so still pretty fucked up. But all things considered, okay.

Here's Puck. He's 14, looking a little winded here, but that's hardly ever the case. He's still a champ!

A few years ago, not so white in the face. A lady killer.

This was Jasper last winter when he was 14. He died in July. I buried him just up the hill from where this pic was taken.

Now he is beautiful, and our entire house is drenched. It's amazing how much water they can hold in their paws. I could have dried them more thoroughly, but he wanted to get out of the bathroom so badly, and the house did need mopping.

this thread is making me think that I should get on the property ladder and become a serial old dog rescuer.

Now Puck has run away. Mad at us.

Hot spots are itchy spots, typically on the haunches, that the dog can't stop chewing. They chew all the fur off, chew it raw. Sometimes a flea allergy starts it, sometimes it's OCD and they give them Prozac!
German shepherds are very prone to it, and Puck seems to be a shepherd/beagle kind of mutt.
Dobermans are prone to a related syndrome called "flank-sucking."

Puck is back, as you said.

http://www.frelsifarm.com/puppies.itml

A day for old dogs to be thankful for their favorite quilts.
Puck has Erlichiosis (yet another disease spread by ticks) and has just started on a month-long course of Doxycycline.

"I look good for my age?! I look good period, byatch!"

How's your old girl doing, Rock Hardy?
Puck fell down the stairs last night and tore his dewclaw. Lots of blood. We were TOTALLY freaked out (it was 11:00—too late to call the vet!) until I googled dewclaw injury and found out how common it is. It's not bleeding any more. He licked it for hours. He's a bit depressed-seeming. He gets shaken up by this stuff,. Plus he must be sore. We're kicking ourselves for our carelessness. We had been barricading the bedroom door at night (can't close it or the pellet-stove heat won't get in), but what we really should have done as well is barricade the bottom of the stairs, too. Climbing up is harder—all of his bad falls have been going up. So now the stairs are secured, and we escort him when he wants to go up or down.
OUR POOR BABY!!!!
Here he is, sleeping it off. Prior to the horrid event we had a two-hour beach walk, so life is not all sorrow.

Tracy's doing really well! She's even holding her pee at night better. (Of course I just jinxed that.) We got her a longer lead line for the back yard, so she can follow the sunny spots well into the afternoon and laze all day. Her coat's thickened up for the winter and today, with sunny skies and no wind, she has no interest in coming in and getting near a heater. (It was 26 degrees when I took her out, 46 now).

img src=the•URL•of•the•image

with html brackets () on either side. The image has to exist somewhere on the web, so start a free photobucket account. Practice on this thread!

13 yrs old! the one on the right. the one on the left is our baby who's about one yr old. :-D

almost there...

YES!!!!

Blurry because extreme cold made for shaky hands.

Fourth of July, when it's a good thing that your dog is deaf!
Puck was kidnapped today! By an animal lover who saw him lollygagging in THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. Drivers were HONKING at him! Egads! He had slipped out while my husband was loading trash in the car. The lady took him home and called the animal control officer, who called us. He had no collar on. He hates his collar. All those annoying tags. ID tags, town dog tags, rabies vaccination tags. For fuck's sake, he sounds like a percussion section. We're going to get him a clean new collar and write his name and phone # with a Sharpie on it. To hell with the tags.

Oh Puck. He is well named.

I'm thinking of getting nameplates on our dogs' collars, because anything you hang off their collars, they eventually just pull off, no matter how robust the manufacturers claim they are.

I am very pleased to hear that Puck is going strong. This thread always scares me when it bumps.

Our Lucy, almost 14 yrs old, is doing really great (knock on wood!). She even jumps and runs after the ball... I had bought for Ophelia. The latter laughs and giggles whenever I throw the ball at Lucy and shouts BABA.

We should bump a "DON'T WORRY, OLD DOGS ALL FINE" thread prior to bumping this one.

Oh Puck. He is well named.

He actually came to us as a six-month-old pup, already answering to the name "Buck," which seemed too macho for him, so we morphed it into Puck.

He's having some swordfish right now.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/marthasminions/50puckinrockgarden2.jpg

Yes, I am in your rock garden.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/marthasminions/49puckdrinkingfrombirdbath.jpg

Drinking from your birdbath. What are you going to do about it?

Lucy and Tracy, how are you?

Puck was VERY bad tonight, running off when I was walking on the beach. He came trot/waddling back to the parking lot almost half an hour after I had returned to the car. I was about to go looking for him with a flashlight (dark by then). He showed absolutely no remorse. Not a shred of conscience. God! I was a basket case. I thought he'd had a stroke and been swept out by the surf. Now he's asking for another walk. The GALL.

<3 give him some chicken.

As a matter of fact, we're having chicken for dinner, and he always gets the cartilage from the tips of the thigh and drumstick bones.

:)

He is calling you out because you tried to bring a strange dog into the house. DON'T FUCK WITH PUCK, PUNY HUMANS! Is what he's saying there.

puck looks great, i miss dogs.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/marthasminions/PuckandCole.jpg

Puck still hanging in there, despite the fact that we did the unthinkable and GOT ANOTHER DOG!
Cole, a 3 year old Aussie Shep mutt who was surrender by an elderly dog-hoarder in Tennessee and transported north in a horse trailer. He's making himself quite at home. We've had him since Friday. We're totally besotted. Goners.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/marthasminions/Coleonofficerug2.jpg

That's Cole. I know, he looks like Puck.

Shaggier and 10 lbs lighter.

your sister just got a new dog! must be something in the air.

i like that your sis changed her dog's name from brandy to dandy. i like the name dandy.

Like Jim Dandy from Black Oak Arkansas, only it's a girl dog. We were on the phone for about an hour tonight, talking about our dogs. Did you know that somebody got bitten at the dog park today? Yikes.

oh beth, he is gorgeous, i would be a goner too. and i'm so glad puck is going well, i got the finger of fear when i saw this thread was up again.

dandy!!

Dandy's my sister's dog. My new dog is Cole. Confusing, this bounty of muttskies.

i got the finger of fear when i saw this thread was up again.

Me too, especially when I saw on your other thread that you had got a new dog.

Does Puck not mind him, after all these years of being top dog?

Hi Trish! I got your excellent card!
Puck is so old at this point, he's just grateful that Cole doesn't try to PLAY with him. He's not the jealous type. As long as he gets enough walks and treats, his cup runneth over. Cole doesn't care for doggy treats, so I can give them to Puck and he thinks he's being favored, but Cole doesn't care. It's a win-win.
Cole doesn't turn down cheese, though. I'd have been seriously worried about that.

Hooray! I'm glad you got the card. And that Puck is in good form.

God yes, I don't know how I'd bribe my dogs if it wasn't for cheese.

Soon we'll have to up the ante and buy them cave-aged Gruyere.

RIP Tracy
Spring 1990-Jan. 2008
Now go chase a rabbit in heaven.

What a sucky start to the year. Sorry, WC.

Poor Tracy. At least you lived with a really nice family while you were alive, old dog.

Echoing that. Sorry to hear it, sir -- dogs are the best.

Our family dog is getting older and looks it, especially when she limps after first getting up from her bed. I really hope this Xmas wasn't the last one I see her at.

Thanks everybody. Sad morning, but happy memories.

Sorry Rock.

xpost to Ned: My family's black lab is much the same. Getting much skinnier, grey muzzle, etc. She still pulls on the leash while on walks, but the years are piling up. The recent disappearance of the family cat (put to sleep in old age) has apparently spooked her out a bit, too.

I too am sorry to hear about Tracy. But it sounds like she had a good life.

Thanks, rener. She did have a good life.

I'm not up to digging a grave, and not sure where on our property we'd put it -- and she was too much a family member to be disposed of as medical waste -- so we're taking her down to the veterinary school in Starkville for cremation later this morning.

Aw, Tracy! I thought she'd make it to 20! What a good girl she was! Hugs, Rock Hardy and Jude.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/WilliamCrump63/tracy.jpg

An extraordinarily pretty girl, and she knew it.

Our little girl - Abby - is a 5 pound Yorkie who still has a lot of fuss and fight left in her at 13. She keeps us entertained.

Little dogs live so long! Pictures of Abby!

I love puppies, I am such a dog for christmas type.

I am so much more excited over puppies than I am over human babies. All my molecules do the crazy dance when I see one. Dogs in general, actually. Their souls are right on the surface. My husband is the same way. Whenever we're away from home we make spectacles of ourselves, falling all over complete strangers' dogs, on account of our dog-starvation.

Rock - sorry about Tracy. 18 years... what a dog.

my 16 year old cocker was diagnosed with a sarcoma yesterday. the doctor told me that it might not be life-limiting, but he also has bad teeth and heart arrythmia. things aren't looking so great. last year he was a lot more lively, but now he mostly sleeps.

i'm feeling pretty low about this, but am trying to love him as much as i can while he's here and ok.

this is junie:
http://i29.tinypic.com/10e54sp.jpg

;_;

What a lovely old dog. Sorry to hear he's not well, but it sounds like he's got a good owner looking after him.

dear milk lady: ;_;

I think I love old dogs more than puppies. I'm pretty pumped because the place I'm moving into has a 14 year old kitty named Lizard. She sleeps all day and roams all night, and I work the graveyard shift full time, so I think she and I are gonna be best buds this summer.

thank you dudes. i am trying not to think about it and to spend lots of qt with my old man.

here is another photo of him, at dog day at the sox stadium (sorry if the img is huge.)

http://i31.tinypic.com/b703o5.jpg

look at his mustache!

Such a gorgeous guy, with that wavy blond hair and those dark dark eyes!

There is nothing more sad-happy than old dogs. I love them all.

He looks like he's doing some sports commentary there. Woof!

he got a haircut especially for the occasion
dog day at the sox park is really something to behold; there is a little parade around the field and then they periodically show people's dogs on the big screen. junie didn't make it to the screen, but he did pee in the stadium on his way out. classy!

he's so adorable!!

He looks like he's doing some sports commentary there. Woof!

Yah, he totally looks as if he's just grabbed the camera-lens with his paw and pulled it round to say something disparaging about whateveryanksport that is he's watching.

he does have a lot of opinions!

this is after he got tired of sports commentary
http://i30.tinypic.com/292mr8i.jpg

i am going to stop posting photos of my old dog now
i promise

=O

it's okay, no need

Oh god he looks so sweet and tired there.

Keep posting pictures.

GO SOX
http://i25.tinypic.com/2ymx4ao.jpg

sorry about the equipment in that photo

one more, then i am outta here

SNOOZIN
http://i27.tinypic.com/2dkpag.jpg

whoa
sorry about that
but dig his center part

I like that dog.

Oh, I'm sorry, La Lachera. Cockers have a real unparalleled sweetness. You've had each other for a good long time, and I'm sure he loves you.

At my parents' house in Oxford, have discovered a rather sad and lost looking old black lab sitting on the front steps. She has a mobile no. on her tag, but no answer from there, so we've let her into the garden.

She seems quite happy in the garden, blithely strolling through and rooting around in the borders, or rolling on the grass

http://i34.tinypic.com/24c9shy.jpg

http://i38.tinypic.com/24wznkj.jpg

Following a call to the dog warden, she has been collected by her owner. Didn't seem overly eager to be returning home! Apparently she is nine years old, and the last time she went missing she got on a bus headed for Wantage, 20 miles away!

That is an excellent grass roll, especially the first photo.

today we had to say goodbye to our little man, the best littledog who ever was and ever will be

can't stop crying
don't want to talk about it, but feel i should mention it here as there are photos of my boy upthread

my heart feels like it's in a vice whenever i think of him

i'm so so sorry, i loved those photos you posted of him, he looked like such a darling, i was admiring him just a couple of weeks ago when this thread was last revived.

Molly on the left is my 11 year old baby girl! Maggie on the right isn't old but she is huge!

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/expatrica/Thanksgiving005.jpg

They are best buddies and they have bows on for the festive season.

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v640/203/62/513642357/n513642357_1238917_3396.jpg

(Not my dog; my aunt and uncle's.)

I just read the entire plot of the movie Old Dogs on wikipedia and still have no idea what it's about

Dan and Charlie make it out of the gorilla enclosure and into the penguin exhibit, where the penguin's attack Charlie as Dan hurries away. After once again finding he will not be able to make it to the party, he spots a superhero who has been hired by Vicki to fly in, as Emily wanted a superhero.

Robin Williams plays a penguin, I hope.

the previews are inscrutable. Like SETH GREEN GETS A GOLF BALL IN THE NADS THE MOVIE

in the profile of robin williams in the times the other week, all they said about this movie was that he didn't want to talk about it.

For what i've read on wiki, I'm gonna guess this was a wacky, mildly raunchy teen-comedy that Disney realized was terrible, so they neutered it and are marketing it as a family movie. But that's just a guess

a teen comedy starring john travolta and robin williams? i think it was meant to be a middle-aged man comedy in the vein of "wild hogs" which the director also directed.

Dead Frogs
Tired Logs

i though only retarded 19 y/os saw wild hogs shows how much i know peace

basically got dick cook fired imo

i though only retarded 19 y/os saw wild hogs shows how much i know peace

― fantastic mr. forks (Whiney G. Weingarten), Sunday, November 29, 2009 2:58 PM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

it's like you live in this bubble where people don't know about kevin smith

pretty sure i didn't originally post the xtra large version of that pic upthread.

i though only retarded 19 y/os saw wild hogs shows how much i know peace

― fantastic mr. forks (Whiney G. Weingarten), Sunday, November 29, 2009 2:58 PM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

it's like you live in this bubble where people don't know about kevin smith

― 311 is a joek (s1ocki), Sunday, November 29, 2009 3:39 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Just realizing I thought that Andy Samberg movie about the motorcycle guy was called "Wild Hogs."

Hot Rod

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/expatrica/Thanksgiving005.jpg

My parents had to put Molly (one the left) to sleep today. She was nearly 14 and was in pain. I know it's for the best but it's still sad. Dogs shouldn't die god dammit!

sorry to hear that. our dog -- an 11-year old black lab mix -- has a pretty comfortable life: lots of sitting, periodic walks. she used to have so much energy, she was exhausting. now, lots of sitting. we love her like mad.

classic.

I'm sorry to hear about that, too. Snowflake, our 16-17 year old miniature Eskie, is still healthy enough to play with the three other little dogs. The only difference is that she doesn't bark anymore--she makes an odd howling/squalking sound.

my mother's elderly tibetan spaniel, seconds after being woken rudely (by me): http://plixi.com/p/65418784

<3

haha I love the little face he is making. "Seriously, why?"

our lab-mix is about 10 years old, which is v. old for a "jumbo" dog (i say "about" because josie was a stray who wandered up to us while we were walking our (then 11 month-old) daughter, so i'm basing the estimate on the vet's best guess). josie is a total classic. she has always been so protective of, and looked out for, our daughter.

http://i56.tinypic.com/s4cqqg.jpg

awesome thread & I'm relieved to see it has nothing to do w/ John Travolta, Tim Allen or Martin Lawrence.

Happy 10th bday, Mr Afraid of Everything
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8520/8610137254_032f662f71_z.jpg

HAPPY BDAY CARL!!!!

That's great doggie right there.

Kenny the whippetlurcher is 17 and a half, the oldest dog in Bloomsbury. His arthritis is making him slowly sit down a lot, people walking him need to pull his lead taut to make sure he doesn't backward-somersault from a standard poo crouch, he can't do stairs apart from up/down curbs, he's gently senile and selectively deaf, and he has cataracts. But he'll have flashes of activity: a slow canter on the lead, whirly food dances when I'm putting his bowl together (expensive renal diet - did I mention his kidneys? - and bits of chicken for smuggling in his Vivitonin, Tramadol, and kidney pills), and the sleep-running he does every night, at exactly 12 am. He's stretched out asleep on my bed right now. Ken still eats with vigour, but can't finish a meal without sitting down.

Everything's pointing toward the end, and I think he's in a certain amount of pain because of the way he breathes now. At some point after the New Year, we've decided to pick a day and summon the mobile vet, but nothing's properly decided yet. But this is so hard, because he's such a gorgeous dog in every respect and so very, very loved.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10396283_10152438645291949_7897643830556726926_n.jpg?oh=dc7f0f3ef654d855c2a76d6d3810f46b&oe=553B661C&__gda__=1429387107_7669facb4cf731af06a4a00397b96447

what a beauty he is.

I love when they smile as they sleep, it makes you feel like you've done a good job.

Sadly, letting go is part of the very, very loved part imo

What a lovely old doggie. Such a nice life he's had!

kenny <3 and :(

happy christmas Kenny

Old Dogs, or, rather, Senior Dogs, are wonderful!

https://www.aspca.org/adopt/adoption-tips/top-10-reasons-adopt-older-dog

and

http://www.sanctuaryforseniordogs.org/id3.htm

Senior Cats are also wonderful:
http://www.aspca.org/blog/adopt-shelter-cat-month-consider-bringing-home-senior-kitty

Senior Companion Animals, in general, are wonderful:
https://www.pinterest.com/ASPCA/adopt-a-senior-pet-month/

aw kenny <3

Kenny has rallied somewhat. This morning, I found him a timeline in a parking lot:

https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10489970_10152499976121949_8724484881562763157_n.jpg?oh=02f048610373f7f6228f996a1793aae3&oe=55359119

At risk of turning this into the Kenny thread, here he is - still hanging in there. Walking is a bit harder for him than it was, but his blood tests are good, he eats everything we put in front of him and he's enjoying the sunny, warm weather.

https://scontent-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/q84/s720x720/1533715_10152678050336949_637514376385994875_n.jpg?oh=8deb4fe1e2db7a68b76c83d31b3dd83f&oe=55A4C8B3

<3
beautiful. that gaze.

One of his many nicknames is Noble Beast.

What a beautiful dog.

a noble & kind old soul enjoying the sun: few finer sights in the world.

Working from home under Ken's watchful gaze.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/11265254_10152741406756949_3557591537840321780_n.jpg?oh=fd009d121064b7357832d2a1818b5371&oe=560D2BF5&__gda__=1439196682_c7bd0fcaa0a84c61eb060d8055315fac

lovely ken

<3

Sad news. We said goodbye to Kenny on Tuesday afternoon. He remained quietly dignified right to the end, and the vet said it was one of the most peaceful exits she'd ever known. We took this picture recently, intending to post it on his (notional) 18th birthday - as a Battersea dog who'd been found as a stray, we couldn't be totally sure of his age. Ken, you were amazing. That's why J and I are still in bits, two days later (and probably for awhile to come).

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/11008573_10152753355591949_7663980263216054681_n.jpg?oh=776266fd8403cc8dd899ed5b082419ee&oe=5605BA83

RIP Kenny :((((((

my condolences for your loss, suzy. thank you for sharing images of beautiful, noble, gentle kenny.

Be easy, Kenny.

A lovely dog, a lovely life. So sorry for your loss, suzy.

oh suzy :(

What a grand old handsome dog he was, he always looked marvellous in your photos. RIP Ken

<3 <3

RIP Noble Beast

rip kenny and condolences, suzy. he was a most beautiful dog, i'm glad he had a long and lovely life and that his death was peaceful.

My mum just texted me to tell me she's taken her 15 yr old labrador Murphy to the vet and he isn't coming back. He was a great dog and did well to get to 15 as labs' life expectancy is around 12, but he's had arthritis for a couple of years (alleviated by swimming therapy but you could tell he was still having the odd bad day) so it's for the best.

Kinda unexpectedly cut up about it tbh, I'd left home about 8 years before she got him so it's not like he was a beloved childhood pet.

"as labs' life expectancy is around 12"
My lab is now 8 and is still athletic enough to jump over the gate, but the idea that he might be in a bad condition in 4 years is quite depressing.

My parents' Basset Hound was just diagnosed with pancreatitis last week. Everyone's crossing their fingers it's only temporary and not chronic, because chronic is bad fucking news.

Kenny spent a year on pancreatitis meds and Royal Canin food as a potential 'chronic' case but after about a year, he showed no symptoms. All of this happened when he was 16, and was very expensive. Basically your folks must never give their guy people-food snacks ever again (exception: unseasoned poached chicken breast) in addition to keeping him on the special food and the pills.

It's Carl's birthday again! I don't honestly know if he's 13 or 14 but he is 100% old.

our little dog harry, aged 15, died last week after falling suddenly very ill. he was a wonderful little dog and we loved him with all of our hearts. we think we have never cried so much in our lives, but having him for all those years was was worth this grief. rip little man, you were the best.

i'm sorry, estela. if there's a doggy heaven i'm sure that harry is romping around in it right now.

thank you karl

My condolences, Estela <3

<3

<3 thank you suzy and darragh

i'm sorry to hear about harry
the time we have with dogs is so short and their love is so true
hope you are coping alright!

sorry estela - rip harry <3

Indeed, very much adding to the sympathies. Sounds like a lovely guy.

Friends here in the city just lost their dog as well; she suddenly started to fade, and they made the decision after a couple of days when it was clear there was no coming back. They adopted her when she was nine or so, so they knew the years would be shorter. I met her a couple of time -- she was a sweetheart.

I met a dude this weekend who was wearing a baby diaper around his waist because he's 17 and just can't hold in the pee like he used to. He was roaming the grounds in the middle of a first grader's birthday party like he couldn't care less, just all into whatever smells and affection he could find along the way. Screaming 6 year olds with plastic swords were no worry for him, he'd seen it all. Much love to Harry. Here is one of the better sentences that some Wikipedia person wrote:

Dogs are domesticated descendants of wolves and have a significant impact and role in human lives.

my friends rescued an elderly terrier named Hampton a couple of months ago.

poor dude was almost hairless from malnutrition when they got him so he has to wear a jacket to go out in the sun.
about a month ago he had bad dental problems stemming from the prev. malnourishment & poor Hampton had to have all his teeth removed. his little tongue pokes out the side of his mouth now.
two weeks ago an ulcer formed on his eye & he now has to have surgery to get his eye completely removed.

i feel so bad for the poor little man. he's so cute & his new parents love him so much.

i love ppl who care for these lovely aging pooches. yall are a+ ppl

RIP Harry. Sounds like you had a great life with people who loved you. All dogs should be so lucky.

My two male dogs are thirteen this year, and we are really feeling the difference in our house. On the plus side, I no longer have to get up at 6:30 on the dot to stop them tearing the house apart - they'll happily sleep in till 8:30 or even later. On the minus side, a walk that used to take twenty minutes now takes at least twice that long. Not so much a walk, more of a detailed forensic examination of the neighbourhood.

<3 thank you La Lechera and VG and ned and tomboto and trishyb, i really appreciate your kind words. it's been a very sad time but we are getting through it. there is comfort in knowing harry had a happy life. he was a clever and cheerful wee darling and it was our great pleasure to care for him. and although it was horrible for us to lose him so suddenly, it's much better for him that he was enjoying life right up to the last day.

i've always loved all the old dogs on this thread, they are such wonderful animals. i hope hampton fares very well with his new family<3

My dog is only 3 but has hip problems that we recently learned about. So this sounds verrry familiar:

Oops

On the minus side, a walk that used to take twenty minutes now takes at least twice that long. Not so much a walk, more of a detailed forensic examination of the neighbourhood.

<3 estela

thank you ross.

i'm so sorry your dog has hip problems, karl.

our walks were also getting slower--there would be very lengthy sniffed deliberations about whether or not a particular leaf or twig or bush was spray-worthy. he became quite pedantic about it in his later years.

my old dog (who isn’t even that old really, at 8) has very suddenly succumbed to cancer. really, in the space of a month she’s become irreversibly lame in one leg. she has been at the vets today and the MRI confirmed that it’s comprehensive. there’s nothing we can do either and she is clearly in a lot of pain when she has to move/bear weight on the affected leg. she probably only has 2/3 days left with us and it’s just so sad. we’re heartbroken. mostly because it’s been so sudden and she’s such an angel. they become such a part of the rhythm of your life too. I can only imagine the house will feel empty once she’s gone. sorry just wanted to post somewhere about it

genuinely sorry to hear that:( My dog is knocking on 11 and his legs are getting worse and I'm increasingly thinking/or blocking the thought that I'm going to be completely distraught when he is gone. Like you say "the rhythm of your life" and I've been walking 40+ miles a week with him in recent years.

Bucket (chihuahua/dachshund, almost 19) was diagnosed with bladder cancer in May and given maybe a few months to live. She does not seem to have received the memo. She pretty much pees 100 times a day so we have had to make her a delimited area of about half of the living room, but she marches around and demands her meals and barks when we come home so whatever, we have the apartment that smells like pee, it’s cool

I'm really sorry to hear about your dog. Eight is no age.

We have a 14-year old mutt who was just diagnosed with advanced multiple tumours. Sadly, one of them appears to be affecting his heart, so the chances of him defying the odds are pretty slim, because it is already bothering him. Our vet thinks he has only weeks left. But the steroids have given him a new (temporary, but still) lease of life, so at least he's a lot more comfortable. And I'm delighted (in context, obviously) to be able to spoil him.

thank you

today was really hard. poor girl was really unsettled in the night and my partner slept downstairs with her to keep her company (and so she wouldn’t try climb the stairs on her sore leg). we spent the morning just fussing over her and making sure she was comfortable and resting. around 11 she stepped out into the garden and just basked in the sunshine. it’s so sad, she was a little pain confused but seemed to be enjoying the outside. we had called the vet in the morning and they came round to see her after lunchtime. it was very quick and peaceful and we’re glad she’s no longer in pain. it’s been a very tough and teary day. we really miss her

oh

:(

I'm sorry for you. It sounds like you did everything a person could do to make her end as good as possible.

yeah it’s sad. particularly for my partner because she really really loved her. and for me too because I’ve had a couple of tough years, struggling a lot with loneliness and she’s always been there for me. which is kinda what dogs do I guess

aw, my condolences. that is exactly what dogs do. <3

I’m sorry to hear that, but glad you were able to comfort her and have time to say goodbye.

I’m sorry you had to say goodbye, but what a lovely exit you gave her—exactly what I would want for myself tbh!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DtBDhb0VYAAgAJ-.jpg:large

RIP Dogsby

The vet said: physically he was in remarkably good shape for such an old boy. But alas the swelling on his stomach might be an internally bleeding tumour and he was clearly on his way out and in severe discomfort. After he had gone I went out for a walk and was struck by how shitty and grim everything seems without him bounding about and was seriously losing it after seeing his legacy of nabbed from the grounds near the tennis club balls in the front garden. He looked absolutely fine last night and was splayed out on the couch and looking like he was on course for a comeback:(

Another depressing trigger was supermarket guy just knocking on door now and then silence rather than barking.

Aw, that’s rough, Calz. But what a lovely picture and of such a happy VGB in glorious countryside.

aww, rest in power dogsby

that photo is only 9 days ago, and he had a stroke that night after it was taken:( I suppose a positive is that he lived a very high quality and fully active life until then.

:***(

sorry calz. you have my sympathies - know how tough it can be

i'm sorry calzino. that brought tears to my eyes. RIP good boy.

i think i mentioned my dachshund-chihuahua Bucket got diagnosed with a tumor on her bladder wall in May - the sense given was probably a couple of months left to her. 7 months later she is totally incontinent (has been since shortly after the diagnosis) and v skinny, but ambulatory and still wants her damn food; it's looking likely she will make it to her 19th birthday (january).

i mean she is definitely dying but she is such a ridicuously determined little bastard.

half the livingroom is her area now which we keep paved with pads; i change out her bed once a day. Our apartment smells like pee and so do we, probably.

old dogs.

i'm sorry calzino. that brought tears to my eyes. RIP good boy.

same here. you helped him have a good long happy life, that's as much as any being can ask for.

jon not jon i'm glad Bucket is still hanging around. 19! that's damn impressive.

big dog-hugs to Bucket, Jon.

Thanks for Dogsby commiserations ppl. I've taken this much harder than when my dad died, which isn't saying much but still it really feels like a dagger in the heart. Dogsby was just so sweet, never had a fight in his life. Just loved play and gallivanting about. The purest spirit you could ever meet.

Oh Calzino I’m so sorry. I dread the day when I will have to deal with Benson passing. Thinking of you. ❤️

sorry for your loss Calzino, Dogsy looks like a very good boy in that picture

i’m so sorry, calzino. rip dogsby, what a gorgeous boy. i really feel for you, it’s such a painful loss. our dog died a little over a year ago and it was heartbreaking. the relationship with a dog is such a pure and uncomplicated love. i’m glad he had such a good life with you right until the end.

and jon, best wishes to bucket who sounds like a little trouper<3

Oh Estela I’m sorry to hear that. I remember your little pup. ❤️

thanks enbb<3, harry was 15 so we knew the day was going to come eventually, but it happened very suddenly during the night (he had internal bleeding from a mass on his liver, but he showed no symptoms of illness until the last couple of hours) so it was really shocking and terrible to go to the emergency vet and come home without him. i hated how quiet and empty our house was, and how clean the floors were after he was gone. but it was still worth it because he was a joy and i can think of him with joy now (as well as sadness) and it was great to be able to give him a good life. dogs are so wonderful. give darling benson a kiss and a treat from me.

I'm sorry for everyone's old dogs. We lost Milo recently. He was nearly 15, and also had cancer. He was only sick for a few weeks before he started to refuse all food and stop going out for walks. He put up absolutely no resistance at the vets when we took him to be put to sleep. Even having a load of other dogs doesn't stop the house from feeling stupidly empty without him.

yeah the silence when delivery vans park outside and the postman clanks the gate is eerie and sad. I can't deal with it tbh, might be posting to the puppy thread soon. I keep thinking I can hear him shaking his ears or trotting up the stairs.

Went for a walk today with a friend who has a puppy golden retriever called Stanley. He has some very bad habits like jumping up at joggers and trying to bite their upper arm, chewing wooden pub furniture, eating just about anything on the ground including plastic and manure. I had forgotten what a riot puppies are in comparison with sensible old Good Doggies!

Yeah, the only thing that has made me feel better is taking in a young foster dog while he has his snip, gets vaccinated, and gets used to living indoors. The nurse in the vets said, "Milo would approve." I laughed. Milo would not approve. He disapproved of young dogs and their annoying, lively, young dog ways.

Like, I'm not ready to find another dog to walk in front of me on the beach every day for ten years, but I need the distraction, so fostering is perfect right now.

I am so dog broody right now, it’s unreal.

Calz, rescue a lurcher, maybe?

it's probably really bad, but I'm quite rigidly stuck to the idea of bringing them up from puppies. And with an autistic boy in the house they do need a bit of autism training, well conditioning maybe is the right word. Which some of is learning to walk very very slowly sometimes and some of is staying calm during storms!

we are in a weird space where Bucket has not really loved us in an outwardly doggish way for a few years (she went deaf ~3 years ago and as a result became mistrustful of petting and snuggling - my vet said this is not unusual and my take on it is that with that huge avenue of sensory input subtracted, they do not feel fully aware/in control of what you're doing to them and thus would rather have you where they can see you? Prior to deafness she was a total affection hog at all times) and feel a longing for a dog that wants to show us affection, but there is no way nohow that a new young dog can come in to this pee barracks hospice situation - for one thing, there's not enough space and for another, god knows what kind of ideas they would get about when and where to pee with her as their mentor.

*it is revealed that she still secretly loves us when we are gone too long and she sets up major complaining when we return

Ah, totally get that you’d need a puppy, Calz. Lurcher and whippet puppies grow up into gentle dogs and are not terribly expensive compared to retrievers. I watched the late and much-missed Kenny Whippetlurcher behave with unbelievable patience when accosted by autistic kids (I live a block away from Great Ormond Street hospital so any future dog I have must not be weird around random children).

but it happened very suddenly during the night (he had internal bleeding from a mass on his liver, but he showed no symptoms of illness until the last couple of hours)

Very similar to Dogsby really and other sad stories on this thread. I so wish old dogs could live longer and not die damnit:(

I'm totally set on getting another black lab now before Christmas (just tell the breeder the lad got bored of the last xmas present:p). There will never ever be another Dogbsy cos he was a one off, but I'm putting no unrealistic pressure on his successor.

And six weeks after we lost Milo, our other fourteen-year-old boy, Cody, has followed him. He got sick with a bug that's going around, and went downhill fast. He went into the vets on a drip on Wednesday night, and by Friday morning he was no better at all, so the vet scanned him. Multiple huge liver tumours. She said "this isn't like with Milo. I think it need to be today."

Amusingly, I was up at the recycling centre with a car full of glass and old electricals to get rid of, and I figured, fuck it, I have to get the recycling done. So I walked around just openly weeping, and men just took my bins of glass and my old electricals from me and recycled them for me and handed them back. God knows what they thought was wrong with me.

Anyway, I am utterly flattened by this. Losing Milo was awful, but somehow losing Cody is even worse, because they were our two core dogs and now they're both gone.

That first few days after Dogsby passed was probably the worst grief I've felt in 30 years, locations and pics that trigger memories of him still get me welling up at times. All the best to you trishyb + rip Cody.

sorry trishyb. losing my dog was one of the worst days of my life

2 dogs 2 months. i am very sorry trishyb, that must be so tough.

Thanks. It is crap. Yesterday we went up to the vets and handed in all of Cody's meds. They said they can credit us for the unopened ones, which is good of them. The receptionist hadn't heard, and when we told her, she had to leave the desk for a minute for a little cry.

However, we still have our other two dogs, and our little foster, and they are definitely helping.

When you get used to your four legged sentinel barking at the postie/delivery ppl/any person walking past your house, the silence when he had passed was too sad for me. Glad you have others to help you get through the grief. I got me a puppy to get through mine, he's a handful alright - but I wasn't expecting any less!

Yes, I saw him over on the puppy thread. He looks full of beans.

We can't take a new full-time dog till the summer at the earliest, because of reasons, but we might do a bit of fostering before then. Our circumstances are very different from yours.

Old dog update, obviously the temporary small foster who was not going to stay did stay and has now been with us for four years. He is an awful, awful skinny, tiny, yappy, annoying dog, exactly NOT the kind of dog I would have picked for myself, but my friend begged him off us when we'd had him for a month, then she realized after a month of "owning" him that she just couldn't cope with his energy levels and she gave him back. I didn't want him to have to go through that again, so we just kept him. Then we got an amazing Patterdale/something or other terrier, and he is the apple of our eye. So we are back to four dogs.

Our other old dog, Lulu (14 this year), is now going downhill. She has arthritis in her shoulders and paws, and nerve damage to her hips and back, so she can barely walk. Recently we've started walking her by herself without the other three dogs, and we've realized that she can't really see. Like, we'll open the side gate and she'll hear that it has opened but she won't walk through it. She doesn't really know where she is without the younger dogs around her. So we'll have to figure something out where they can all walk together for Lulu's sake and then the two young boys get a walk on their own for their sake. Like, we're not THERE yet but we are getting there. She still has plenty of things that she enjoys, she just has become a lot of work for us.

I do think this is the end of the four-dog lifestyle for us, though. I recently sprained my knee on stupid Bruno's tennis ball (I love him really) and it is taking me a long time to recover. And it's too busy round where we live now. There are loads of places we used to walk them off the lead that are no longer off-lead friendly, and it's too hard to walk them all on the lead all the time.

Tess, our 11-year-old JRT, remains indestructible and chipper and will probably live to be 25.

Wilf, the beautiful and well-behaved blue whippet who stays with me from time to time, is now 12 and his people have started wondering which of his behaviours are part of the early stages of dementia. My friend G told me that Wilf recently ‘dug into’ the sofa they’ve had for years, and wondered if this was down to that. I thought about it for a second and said, ‘that’s totally out of character, there’s got to be a reason - did a mouse get inside the sofa?’ G took a deep breath and said ‘maaaaybe?’ Wilf is definitely slowing down and occasionally forgets why he wanders into a room, but he’d never wantonly destroy anything because he’s one of those dogs who never even rips his own toys apart.

My sister's stupid, aggressive, smelly and badly behaved dog is now 17 and looks like he might last forever.

I have a young dog (3y.o.) who is simultaneously super sweet and the absolute worst. she is v. dog reactive which makes walking her a nightmare : /

Our Patterdale (or maybe he's a cairn terrier, who knows) is extremely dog-reactive when he's on the lead. He gets all puffed up and barky and shows his teeth and will not walk away, and it's awful, because he actually LOVES other dogs and just wants to be pals with everyone.

I've tried Bob Martin and Frontline spot on and tablet treatments, vacuuming up the mutt's sleeping areas and combing the mutt every morning with metal comb and executing the evil fleas on sight. And I only seem to be thinning out their numbers for a week or so and they keep coming back with a vengeance. I really hate the little bloodsucking bastards. I'm going to look up some nuclear options, that will no doubt be some dodgy poisonous shit that you sprinkle everywhere and make yourself ill in the process.

We once had to fleabomb our house because our cats had infested everything. That was a long time ago. Now we don't usually get fleas at all, even though we rarely treat for them.

I have a young dog (3y.o.) who is simultaneously super sweet and the absolute worst. she is v. dog reactive which makes walking her a nightmare : /

Same! Except male. He is insanely loving and such an embarrassment on the leash. And half German shepherd so his leash reactivity growls are frightening to ppl

xp

I thought you were posting figuratively with "fleabomb" but sheeit, I've only just discovered these are actually a real thing. I've ordered some that you light up and you leave them to fill the room with flea annihilating smoke for 2-3 hours and they don't leave any toxic residue. Them blood-sucking creepers are so fucked!

My boy is 13 today! We got him when he was 9 and he has only improved w age. He has no teeth, weighs 5.5 lbs, just got a sweet fresh haircut, and has more sass than many dogs half his age. Happy birthday to my Bunji!!

wishing Bun the H'iest BD of all time and hopes for many moar!!

I hope Bun had a great birthday.

He did -- thank you!

Pour one out for best beloved Wilf, denizen of many ILX-adjacent picnics and gatherings. He was 15 in August; last week my concerned friends took him to the vet for scans and tests after he’d suddenly dropped two kilos. The vets found spleen and liver cancer, and after a few days of being spoiled rotten and receiving visitors befitting whippet royalty, my friends sent him on at home. He was a fantastic dog, and elegant with it.

It’s Widget’s turn on uncle duties now - he turns five next week.