Snickers crossed the rainbow bridge

[SarahBeth9394]

Some of you may remember a few posts about my dog Snickers. We knew that she wouldn't take another winter. But this summer her slowing down came to a halt and she stopped meeting us at the door and we had to go to her. Unless we had a treat she wouldn't come anymore. She had lost weight and wasn't putting it back on for the winter like all the other animals. She had a real hard time squatting to poop. This last week was especially hard on her. She would try to get on her back to roll and scratch and she couldn't wiggle her rear anymore and she would just cry. She woke us up in the middle of the night several times crying this last week. She had severe osteo arthritis where her tail met her back and somehow she tore a ligament in her back knee which required surgery that might not be successful and was painful and a couple thousand dollars. She was already suffering more than enough and I had to make the hard decision to let her go. I stayed with her and held her because she deserved having family with her. It was faster than I thought it would be but when she relaxed I could feel that she wasn't in pain anymore. I told her to go find the rainbow bridge. And she did. I knew I would cry but I blubbered like a baby off and on all night and now I'm tearing up again.

When I got home the decision had already been made that our other dog Dotty was now an indoor dog. We had already decided that we weren't going to get any more animals and had talked about Dotty coming inside when her buddy was gone. I went out to see her and she knew Snickers was gone. She sniffed me up and down like she's never done before. So after dinner we gave her a bath and brought her in. This morning we went and got her some Comfortis and fed her but she hasn't eaten yet. While she is happy to be inside with us you can tell she is sad.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

I am so sorry for your loss, but you did the right thing. You made wise decisions and were a very good owner.

 

[flappinhappy]

The unconditional love of an awesome pet is a hard thing to part with but the happy puppy times never leave, not in their eyes nor your heart <3 so sorry

 

[SarahBeth9394]

I got a glimpse of that happy pup face for a moment just as she passed.

 

[bgelber]

It's never a easy thing,letting them go but you made the right decision. So sorry for your loss.

 

[SarahBeth9394]

Dotty still hasn't eaten any dog food so we have given her extra treats and lots of lovin. Funny thing is she has heard my son drum so much that she's sleeping right through it.

 

[Kaitie09]

I'm sorry about Snickers. Try mixing up some ground beef and rice. If she wont touch that, add a little gravy. That has always been our go-to for when one of our dogs stopped eating or is sick.

 

[SarahBeth9394]

If she ignores some canned food tomorrow we'll make her up something she can't resist with rice added so it will be easy on her tummy.

 

[satay]

I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[wyoDreamer]

So sorry for your loss. It is such a hard decision, but it was best for Snickers. You have my sympathy.

We are facing the same thing tonight, a trip to the vets for our Irish Setter. He has advanced lung cancer and he can barely breath anymore. He is such a strong dog, that we never even noticed that anything was wrong until it was too late. I am a little worried about our English Setter. He has always had company, and although we got him at 11 months, the two bonded like brothers. They would run around and "protect" the yard together, they would push each others buttons and make me break up the fight (nothing bad, just squabbles, no real biting happening), and now he will be alone for the winter. I am going to see if the neighbor will let us bring his dog over for playdates - just to give him some company once in a while - and another body to warm up the doghouse.

Good luck with your "new" indoor dog. The transition from outside dog to inside dog can sometimes be very stressfull for a pooch. But I believe also, that they mourn the loss of their buddies. I saw that in both of my setters when our Lab passed last February, she was the alpha and leader of the pack.