Friday, March 7, 2008

In Loving Memory



Our border collie/chow had to be put down this week. He bit my toddler on the shoulder in an unprovoked manner. Huck had become increasingly hostile towards males over the past year. I had people tell me that Huck almost bit them but never believed it, as he had always been friendly to family. Still, he made us feel safe at night, as he was an excellent watch dog. I had trouble with the whole idea of putting him down, but when border collie rescue and the spca wouldn't take him because of the biting thing I knew I only had two options. Option number one would be to take him to the pound. This seemed unusually cruel. Even though our dog we'd loved and cared for for two years since he was a puppy had been deemed a "biter"...I just couldn't bring myself to think of him sitting in a jail cell awaiting his walk down the "green mile". I called the vet to make an appointment. They made me feel like SHIT for my decision. I already felt like shit. I couldn't believe that they'd make it harder for me. Some young, fresh just outta highschool gal just poohed and sighed at my questions as if she was annoyed at me. She couldn't possibly understand what it takes to make this decision about your oldest child's pet. I wanted to smack her. So I called another vet. This time the vet was supportive. I turned out to be too wimpy to take him. My husband stayed there with Huck until he gently went to "sleep".

I'm not much of a dog "lover". I love my dogs mind you. Its just that I don't pour over them like some people letting them lick my face, sleep in bed with me and putting clothing on them (except of course for the poodle's dog sweater). I mean stuff like this http://www.cozypetclothes.com/product/e19021100 That, to me, is SICK. Sorry. If you think its cutesy...look at the price. Some people are nuts...or maybe just really really bored. Anyway, I don't believe my dogs speak English except for the commands they hear regularly repeated. I don't believe they have souls. I just know I like the little buggers, and I appreciate the companionship and unconditional attention they give. They truly are great to have around. I am equally as much against abusing an animal though (if not more against). I think a person who can inflict pain (on purpose) to an animal is cruel and something is wrong with their heart. I do believe that animals are good for us. People in hospitals seem to heal quicker http://www.therapydogs.com/ and children have a companion at all times who is quick to protect them and listens no matter what tone they take. Yes, I believe they were designed for our enjoyment. So this is in loving memory of all the pets I've had since I was a child especially Huckleberry who will be sorely missed. :-(

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

We recently had a similar experience in Albuquerque with our cat. The two vets we dealt with let us know 'we didn't care for our cat - if we cared for her we'd treat her'. When I phoned one of them, she told me she was an "animal advocate", she didn't advocate for owners. She told me we were "unethical people". We were heartbroken to lose Sadie and then we were scolded and berated as if we had no heart. Unreal situation. I'm so sorry you had to go through a similar thing. We loved her enough to take her in - we didn't allow her to suffer. I'm sorry.

Anonymous said...

Sorry you had to make such a difficult decision.
But your son over the dog was the right choice. Sorry you had to meet with Miss Insensitive. Going to another vet was the right choice. Aren't you happy you have a blog where you can public and permantely voice your tribute? Without this resource you could only tell your family, maybe a few friends and then that would be over. Now you can tell the world and forever be able to go back to that memory. Peace

doulanana said...

So sorry about your loss. We had to put down our 17 year old poodle last year and we miss him.
Thank you for your comments about my frame! It is so easy to do. I got the frame at the dollar store and then I used a cheap butterfly rubber from Michael's. I stamped on the wrong side of some pretty printed paper scraps and carefully cut them out. I mounted the butterflies with raised glue dots and there you have it. Enjoy!

doulanana said...

oops. That should say rubber stamp!... l!

doulanana said...

So , so cute!! Did you make that T-shirt? Do you sell them??? I would love to have some that say Love from you doula or something like that.
Yes,I am a doula and I do both home and hospital births but mostly hospital.At home a mother usually can have the birth she desires and we try to help achieve that in the hospital. We are hired by the client s ow here ever they chose to birth is where we go.Love your knitting too!

doulanana said...

Check out the doula blog I just started:
http://wisedoulanana.blogspot.com/

Nan said...

I'm so sorry to hear you had to make this decision and then be faced with being treated so poorly on top of it only makes the healing process of the loss and decision you had to make that much more difficult. I agree with you that taking your dog to the pound would have been much less humane, you did the mature and caring thing, to do this yourself rather then pass the responsibility for it to someone else who would be less caring and loving up to the end of your dogs life. To think how miserable your dog would have been before his end at the pound would have been that much harder for you to grieve and accept. Hugs

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peaknits said...

Thank you for coming by my blog - so I could find yours too:) I empathize with your decision, it is a tough one we also had to make when our chow bit our 3 year old - gosh just over 5 years ago now. He was a wonderful companion, but he was getting old and his hips were hurting him - she tripped on him while he was sleeping and he reacted - didn't even break the skin but you can't take chances with your children. Some people also made us feel bad while others were so understanding. Our vet had even "warned us" when I was pregnant to keep an eye out given Chows bad rap - so our vet, thankfully, was understanding. We mourned a long time and have since been blessed with a golden retreiver mix who is just like another baby in the family. I scrolled up and saw your new addition - my gosh, what a sweetie - so glad he is loving your family!

MRS MJW said...

Thank you for the comments. It was a very hard decision to make.