Why Old Dogs are the Best Dogs

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 10:40am

I read an excerpted version of this article yesterday (which in turn is an excerpt from a book). It's a really sweet and moving account of the effects dogs can have on our lives.

Fair warning - if you're a sap like me, it may make you cry.
Something About Harry

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 10:44am

Yeah I have to finish it at home. Why I cry in my office the boss freaks out.

[clever name]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 10:54am

Well.Phyllis, you warned me. Bad timing (and Im trying not to cry at work too, joe)

Last night I took my 13 yr old dog, one of the happiest souls on the planet, to the vet and heard what I knew I was going to hear. He has a tumor in his mouth and it doesnt look good. He is going under this Sunday to have it removed. He also has the little wobbly legs like Harry.

I think this may be the last pet for me. I dont think I can do this again.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 10:58am

personally I like old cats.....yeah man, yeah...hip cats

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 10:59am

Miss Holly, at a puppy-ish one and a half, with not a care in the world.





Miss Holly now, at 12 1/2, having lived through the failure of her career as a showdog, her disastrous mating with Champion Bully-Bully, the loss of her puppies, and the onset of cranky old age, with arthritis, cataracts and various upsetting dermatological and kidney disorders.



Sorry to hear about your dog's tumor, Clever Name.

Updated On: 10/23/08 at 10:59 AM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 11:49am

Clever, a few years back my mom lost a dog named Bob to old age. She - and me and my brother - was distraught, because he was truly one of a kind. My brother, who'd always before been too young to really grasp the magnitude of the death of a pet, said he didn't think he could ever go through that again. My mother, having been through it many times, said that he'd feel differently in time, as Bob had been one in a line of beloved dogs in our family. She did say that it was going to be a while before she would be able to get another dog.

Bob died at the beginning of December of that year. She wound up welcoming her latest dog, Stanley, into her life before that Christmas.

We're all made differently, but you may be surprised at yourself. But whatever the case, I'll hope for the best with your dog. And remember that even though they are only with us for what really is too short of a time (no matter how long they live), each one holds its own special place in your heart forever. I love my little monster more than just about anything in the world, but sometimes I remember good old Bob and for a split second my heart breaks all over again. Then I remember all the love and joy he brought us. That's what you'll really keep with you.
Updated On: 10/23/08 at 11:49 AM

[clever name]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 12:19pm

Thanks PJ. And thank you Phyllis. You should never say never. I went through this before and I still get pangs of loss like you talk about with Bob. Now here I go again.

Has anyone read a children's book called Dog Heaven? I buy it for all my friends when they go through this. It is SO sweet. It makes you cry and smile and you hope dog heaven is exactly how it is described!

[Weez]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 12:30pm

Clever, I'm so sorry about your situation. The two of you are in my prayers.

I've never read Dog Heaven, but I do spend a lot of time on the internet hunting down various Rainbow Bridge poems. When I'm not bereaved, the whole concept seems a little silly, but there'll always be a part of me that finds it extraordinarily comforting to think I'll see my beloveds again one day.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 4:35pm

There's nothing like being with a dog from puppyhood to old-doggiehood. My arctic wolf-husky mix is now 13. His back legs shake, but we still go on long walks. He can't do everything he used to, like jump up on the couch and he has a difficult time getting in and out of the car. He's got a great mind still. Still as sharp as a whip. He has cataracts but the eye vet says he can see through the cloudiness created by the cataracts. I've been giving him Eyes Alive, a supplement the vet recommended that helps minimizing the effects of cataracts.

He's also starting canine water therapy to help his spine and back legs. It's a giant jacuzzi that has a constant temp of 94f and the dog is in it for one hour, the water taking the weight off his legs and the temp increasing circulation. It's a therapy that has been used for race horses for ages but is only recently been applied to canines. It does work. He is much more active since he's undergone the therapy. If anyone wants more information about it, PM me.
Eyes Alive

[blueroses]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 5:08pm

Edited...sorry, that pic was way too big.



Updated On: 10/23/08 at 05:08 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 5:25pm

Shakespeare wrote "There is a divine providence in the fall of a sparrow." There is something almost holy about taking care of an animal as it gets sick and frail. The thing was helpless as a puppy and is helpless again, and it brings out the very best in us to be the caretaker.

Plus it all happens so quickly. We only have 10, 12, 15 years with a pet--and they get so old so quickly in those last few years.

Nothing makes you appreciate every moment in life as much as the "fall of a sparrow." And that, in turns, teaches us to fully and deeply appreciate the time we have with our family and friends.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 5:39pm

Awww, I am tearing up. My old Foley who is 16 has just lost the use of his back legs. The description of the walk is very true and so describes where I am at with him now. He suddenly has problems on the wooden floor and winds up spread eagle like Bambi on the ice. He forgets where he is going when we leave the apartment to go out. He stands in the hallway looking confused.
I am afraid that soon we will have to take that final walk to the vet. One that makes my heart ache even thinking about it. Even the two little demons in my avatar have been looking at the old man with concern.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 5:43pm

Dogs know.

[snl89]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 5:44pm

That just made me miss my doggy that we had to put down last year soooo much


Maggie <33




SUCH a good, and completely true article.


I think people who've never had pets just can't understand HOW much they really are a loved one. Just as much, if not even sometimes MORE, than human loved ones

Updated On: 10/23/08 at 05:44 PM

[KrissySim]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 9:18pm

Ruff Wear has harnesses for old dogs. The harness has a handle and three straps designed to distribute the weight evenly if you need to help lift or support the legs. It also has reflector trim. Look at the
Web Master Dog Harness

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 10:05pm

I tend to prefer the company of dogs to the company of people.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 10:34pm

Updated On: 11/5/08 at 10:34 PM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 10:41pm

I couldn't find one of dear, sweet, departed Bob, so he's one of the very much alive Kringas, who farts more than any dog I've ever known! He just did!

[NYadgal]

Posted: 10/23/08 at 11:12pm

This always makes me cry...

That was an amazing article, PRS. Thank you.

A Dog Named Beau

[Paul W. Thompson]

Posted: 10/24/08 at 12:21am

That Maggie has the sweetest old face I have ever seen. You just know she was a great dog.

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 10/24/08 at 12:32am

I've always been a cat person, but thank you all for making me cry my eyes out this evening. (Actually, I really mean that.)

[tommyboy]

Posted: 10/24/08 at 11:50am

I have recently put my 11-yr.old Lab on the Eucanuba product with Glucosimine(sp?) and Condroutin(sp?again). It has helped her hips dramatically.

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 10/24/08 at 12:00pm

My best friends dog, Toby turned twenty this year. Yes, twenty! Other than going partially blind and partially deaf over the past two years he is still as spry as a pup most of the time. He's not on any medications. He amazes me.
Updated On: 10/24/08 at 12:00 PM

[xxnewgirlxx]

Posted: 10/24/08 at 2:07pm

IF you haven't already, read "Marley and Me". A real tearjerker. While I read it, I wouldn't stop hugging and kissing my cat to the point of his annoyance.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 10/24/08 at 2:12pm

Glucosamine & Chondroitin are good for joints. Not only for canines! Dancers frequently use this stuff. I give my dog 2 pills a day, but he doesn't dance, run & play yes, but he hasn't mastered ballet.
Glucosamine & Chondroitin