A Tribute to Gator (very picture heavy)

[Kiki]

I don't like that dogs die.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I don't like that dogs die.

Dogs are merely angels sent to guide and help us. They need to eventually go home so that when we go we are greeted by them. That's what I believe about dogs.

 

[Brahmachicken240]

So sorry for your loss, such a lovely dog

 

[AnimalGeek23]

He was a sweetie, I bet. I'm sorry for your loss. What have we done to deserve dogs?

 

[aart]

AhhhCrap...inevitable, but it always guts ya.
My probably last dog(of 4) is nearing the end too.

We know from the minute we let them into our hearts, that one day they will break them.
The joy we gain by loving them will, in time, once again outweigh the sadness they can bring to our lives.
(((hugs))) hands over a tissue.

 

[ShannonR]

Thank you very much. He was definitely very loved and will be missed but I am glad he is not in pain anymore.



Yeah, I’ve had some people think he’s just a giant Lab (had one guy say “whoa that’s a big Lab!” On a walk once till I told him what he was and others who say the Pyrenees is very obvious. They say his head, stance, tail, all give it away. And of course the white markings. So it’s been kind of a mix whether people guess right. I had one woman right away ask if he was a Pyrenees/Lab mix, which typically didn’t happen (most of the people who guessed right were online and big dog people), and it turned out that her daughter also had a Pyrenees/Lab mix! Your boy is very handsome and cute!!



Thank you.



Thank you very much. He really was a great dog. He wasn’t always perfect but I don’t think any dog truly is and we learned a lot from him. Both about training as well as health and nutrition. We made a lot of mistakes with him but now we know better for any future dogs. For example, we neutered him far too early and I really believe that that contributed to a lot of his issues but of course it is too late but maybe what we learned will help a future dog. He was amazing and I will say we never lost a chicken to his care. The only time we did was to a hawk but it was my fault because I let them out too late in the day and forgot to tell anyone else I had and he was also inside. Plus he was already pretty sick when we lost the bird. That was the only loss. He really was a great dog.

Thank you!! The shape of his head tipped me off as to what breed... "pyrador".

 

[HennyPenny2019]

Thank you very much. He was definitely very loved and will be missed but I am glad he is not in pain anymore.



Yeah, I’ve had some people think he’s just a giant Lab (had one guy say “whoa that’s a big Lab!” On a walk once till I told him what he was and others who say the Pyrenees is very obvious. They say his head, stance, tail, all give it away. And of course the white markings. So it’s been kind of a mix whether people guess right. I had one woman right away ask if he was a Pyrenees/Lab mix, which typically didn’t happen (most of the people who guessed right were online and big dog people), and it turned out that her daughter also had a Pyrenees/Lab mix! Your boy is very handsome and cute!!



Thank you.



Thank you very much. He really was a great dog. He wasn’t always perfect but I don’t think any dog truly is and we learned a lot from him. Both about training as well as health and nutrition. We made a lot of mistakes with him but now we know better for any future dogs. For example, we neutered him far too early and I really believe that that contributed to a lot of his issues but of course it is too late but maybe what we learned will help a future dog. He was amazing and I will say we never lost a chicken to his care. The only time we did was to a hawk but it was my fault because I let them out too late in the day and forgot to tell anyone else I had and he was also inside. Plus he was already pretty sick when we lost the bird. That was the only loss. He really was a great dog.

I hear from people how many vets push early neutering. I insisted to the families that bought my pups (French Bulldogs) they not be neutered before a year old and encouraged even longer if they could wait.
It’s very obvious you loved your dog very much ... he was a lucky boy.

 

[Cebarmlds]

So sorry, he looks so huggable I wish I could have met him.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I don't like that dogs die.

Me neither but it’s inevitable I suppose. And sorry, that was probably kind of depressing listing like 10 dead dogs lol wasn’t my intention. Was just thinking there is probably a big huge pack up there and they are probably all playing.

Dogs are merely angels sent to guide and help us. They need to eventually go home so that when we go we are greeted by them. That's what I believe about dogs.

That is beautiful and I think that makes sense

So sorry for your loss, such a lovely dog

Thank you very much.

He was a sweetie, I bet. I'm sorry for your loss. What have we done to deserve dogs?

He really was! Thank you very much. And I don’t think we do lol I like this quote that says be the person your dog already thinks you are. And then there is another poem type thing I like that I need to find

AhhhCrap...inevitable, but it always guts ya.
My probably last dog(of 4) is nearing the end too.

We know from the minute we let them into our hearts, that one day they will break them.
The joy we gain by loving them will, in time, once again outweigh the sadness they can bring to our lives.
(((hugs))) hands over a tissue.

Thank you so much aart. I am sorry to hear about your dog too and I hope they hang on a bit longer.

But you are absolutely right, you know it’s inevitable and will happen one day, but it is always so sad when it does. But he was very peaceful, calm, and relaxed at the vet when normally he is stressed and anxious so I think he knew it was time too. He had been sick for about a year and a half and gotten progressively worse until the past month or so when he really took a turn for the worse and we knew it was time. We probably could have tried some stuff that may or may not have worked but we didn’t want him to suffer any longer and with his disease being progressive, he didn’t have much time left anyway.

I think the hardest part for me though was just the fact that he was so young (would have been 7 in March) and watching him decline like that. Especially when I look back and see how much joy he had and the spark in his eye, tail held high, full of life, and I really haven’t seen him like that in a while, so I think it was probably kinder to let him go.

Thank you again.

Thank you!! The shape of his head tipped me off as to what breed... "pyrador".

What’s his name? Pyradors really are amazing dogs

 

[ShrekDawg]

I hear from people how many vets push early neutering. I insisted to the families that bought my pups (French Bulldogs) they not be neutered before a year old and encouraged even longer if they could wait.
It’s very obvious you loved your dog very much ... he was a lucky boy.

Yeah, I think the traditional thinking is 6 months or before sexual maturity but even that isn’t so bad for smaller dogs but for large breeds it should be more like a year or 18 months and for some of the giant breeds they say it should be two years. I even know of some Golden breeders that now say 18 months 24 months (2 years) minimum. But unfortunately a lot of shelters and rescues are neutering puppies. My brother’s dog was already spayed when they adopted her at 12 weeks. With us, our first vet I don’t think really knew what she was doing much and said we could neuter him because he was “plenty big enough” and we had said he was humping everything. He was 4 months old. Yes he was “plenty big enough” size wise but that was very damaging development wise and we didn’t know any better and trusted the vet. Now in the almost 7 years we have had him, I have done tons of research on the subject and watching him have some of the exact problems they said early neutered dogs could have (increased likelihood ACL injuries, endocrine issues, etc.), I deeply regret neutering him so soon. I am glad I learned but I also feel bad for putting him through what he went through. We also didn’t know anything about training and the humping “issue” could have easily been trained and managed.

So sorry, he looks so huggable I wish I could have met him.

Thank you very much. He was definitely very huggable!! He was so big you could just sit down and wrap your arms around him and not have to bend down or anything aha