Sudden Death

[Mia92]

Hi, my boy was 13 years of age and a happy healthy dog.. he had diarheo for a day or 2 and then yesterday afternoon he tried to stand when I called him and his back legs completely gave way.. he was paralyzed.. I took him straight to the emergency vets who said hes not going 5o make a recovery and the best option would be euthanasia.. I agreed and said goodbye to my best friend.. the guilt i am feeling is horrendous as i think i should of tried other options first? Also i have 2 other dogs who are noticing that their brother isn't there anymore.. 😥😥😥

[CharliesM0m2012]

6 hours ago, Mia92 said:

Hi, my boy was 13 years of age and a happy healthy dog.. he had diarheo for a day or 2 and then yesterday afternoon he tried to stand when I called him and his back legs completely gave way.. he was paralyzed.. I took him straight to the emergency vets who said hes not going 5o make a recovery and the best option would be euthanasia.. I agreed and said goodbye to my best friend.. the guilt i am feeling is horrendous as i think i should of tried other options first? Also i have 2 other dogs who are noticing that their brother isn't there anymore.. 😥😥😥

Hello,

firstly I am so sorry for your loss you must be so devastated.  A similar thing happened to one of our family dogs, Jericho, 6 yrs ago and now recently my little girl Patterdale x Jack Russell, Charlie, passed away suddenly of cancer aged just 9.   I thought she would have had a longer life span being a terrier breed.  The truth is, nothing could’ve prepared us for how ill she really was.  She could have had underlying tumours for months, and it may have been the case considering she grew less interested in food over the weeks.   My other dog looked for her in the days and weeks after she passed away.   He is only 6, but I had to explain to him that “Charlie was so poorly, Jesus took Charlie to live with him to get better…”.  I cried uncontrollably and still set off in tears at the odd moment, but I’ve got to make sure we’re not in a state of 24/7 doom and gloom for the sake of the other dog.   Charlie died 30 April 2022 at the age of 9.  She would have turned 10 this August.   The birthday remembrance is going to be very hard for us.  We wanted her to have this milestone birthday.  She was the centre, life and light of our family and things haven’t been the same without her.  😢.    

[KayC]

22 hours ago, Mia92 said:

the guilt i am feeling is horrendous as i think i should of tried other options first?

They obviously saw the onset of something that showed a bad future/outcome and wanting to avoid more suffering, suggested euthanasia.  We always think of the whatifs in early grief and beat ourselves up...it's not that we are guilty of doing something amiss, but it's too unpalatable for us to conceive of, that they're gone, so our mind looks for a different possible outcome than what happened, also we're in shock, we think 'This can't be!' and it's very hard to process this.  My heart goes out to you, it's the hardest thing in the world!  You will get through this, but I'd be the first to agree, it's not easy by any means.  I've lost my husband, my soulmate in a dog, my 25 1/2 year old cat, and recently my closest sister and best friend, I took care of her, we were in each other's lives daily, I've had so many more losses over the years, it doesn't get any easier with each one it doesn't seem. 

I'm glad you found this place, it does help to read/post, here people "get it" and understand, whereas the humans in our lives may or may not.

Comfort for Grieving Animal Lovers
A Dangerous Villain: Guilt
http://www.pet-loss.net/guilt.shtml
http://www.griefhealing.com/article-loss-and-the-burden-of-guilt.htm
https://www.griefhealingblog.com/2019/08/pet-loss-when-guilt-overshadows-grief.html
https://www.griefhealingblog.com/2017/07/pet-loss-when-guilt-goes-unresolved.html
 

22 hours ago, Mia92 said:

Also i have 2 other dogs who are noticing that their brother isn't there anymore.

Grieving Pet

I hope this short video brings you some comfort and peace.

 

 

[CharliesM0m2012]

UPDATE:  Charlie died nearly 2 months ago now and I’ve noticed a recent change in Charlie’s brother’s behaviours that is obviously tied to the death of his sister.  I just hope I can recover him from these “episodes,” what happens is he will hide under my bed and when I’m getting ready for bed, getting out of bed, tidying the room, etc, the snarling sharp bite on the feet will come out of the blue.   I’m a diabetic so it comes mega sharp, I’ve corrected him and said “no, you do not bite, naughty.”   It’s as if he is being territorial and protective over the spot where Charlie slept, because this is the area he’s doing it most in.   I plan to source someone who knows about dog psychology/ dog behaviours and phone them and consult them / obtain advice, I just hope he snaps out of this as he is not himself 

[KayC]

Wow, I'm so sorry, diabetics esp. have to be careful about their feet and any puncture wounds, esp. bites.

We had two cats, Autumn and Midnight, sister/brother...Midnight was caught in a trap a neighbor boy set on our property in the woods for five days, gangrene set in, he had to be shot, instantly killed as it was way too far gone when we found out, it broke my heart, we gave him his last meal of salmon beforehand.  Autumn did not witness it but she definitely reacted to his being gone and blamed us for it.  She would no longer come to us, come in the house, she'd be in the yard or patio the rest of her life...they were two when this happened and she died when she was 14, arthritic, went off to die alone.  I say all this just to say that animals definitely grieve and can be affected.  We live in the country, no vets, and Midnight could not have done an emergency trip to the vet, 1 1/2 hours away, he seriously had a hard time making his way back to us, I won't describe how bad it was, the smell, the pain he was in, my husband was an excellent marksman, he didn't suffer when he died instantly, it was the kindest thing we could do even though it sounds horrible.  Oh, and the kid that did this?  No consequences.   He grew up to be a kidnapper/rapist.  Is it any wonder.

I hope you learn something from the animal psychologist, please update us if/when you learn something!  I'm all for continuing to learn...

[Goforth860]

When Snoop died our girls knew their sister was gone. Before I had to lay her to rest Cali was stuck to her like glue. Would barely leave her side. When I  found John and kept screaming his name begging him to come back to me our girls hid scared. I mean we were loners. Antisocial only social with each other and we didn't have company.  Period. Our house was ours. If someone (who worked for John or even the kids) came over on the rare occasion our girls would hide. Then after everyone left that day the cops and the family they came out still skittish.  Precious has stuck to me like glue. Shes pretty much connected to me at the hip. Barely leaving my side and has been really clingy. Cali on the other hand has stayed scared. She has her moments of somewhat calm but she's really been traumatized.  They both have. First they lost their sister who was alpha over them. She was older and had seniority.  Then they lost John (daddy)  and then I was diagnosed with a lung disease. The radiologist was saying I had like 3 years left. I was so scared I  had to make sure they were kept together if they had any hope of living through losing their whole pack. Sister daddy momma. Honestly if something was to happen to me I would be really surprised if Precious would survive and if she was to pass I would be most certain that Cali wouldn't live long after Precious.  So I called the humane society.  I talked with a lady and begged her to take care of my girls. When I first started all I got out was please and I broke down. I was finally able to find my voice and speak to her after about 5 min of searching for the ability make a sound. All I could say was please keep my girls together and take care of them before I broke again. Animals are as sensitive as we are. And we are as much their family as they are ours. Like I said they are our oack and we are theirs. I pray that your baby will be able to calm down and grieve but come out of his protective state of her spot.  I hope you can get some help for him.  My ex husband just had his leg amputated from a toe injury from a pedicure.  It was a nick to start with. He's diabetic and that nick turned into 4 surgeries to amputate a toe bone then more bone and they finally decided to try to get ahead of the infection and cut his leg off at the calf. It started as a nick. A small piece of skin. I'm also diabetic and I am very careful with my feet as I'm sure you are too. Just please be careful.  And if he does get you get immediate medical attention.  Like I said a small nick and now he's an amputee. Get antibiotics. Something.  I pray for you and your baby. I know we all can use any and all prayers we get. 

Diane 

[KayC]

On 6/23/2022 at 4:19 PM, CharliesM0m2012 said:

I plan to source someone who knows about dog psychology/ dog behaviours and phone them and consult them / obtain advice, I just hope he snaps out of this as he is not himself 

Let us know how it goes!