I met my husband in 1989. The first thing we did together was get a dog, then have a baby...lol. Our first dog was a pug we named Pugsy doodle. Our daughter we named Arielle.
About 12 years ago my husband and I saw this add in the paper for rottweiller puppies. So, we took a drive to the address in the paper and were appauled at what we saw. In the basement of this house in a tiny tiny little closet area with a cement floor were a littler of about 10 puppies and a very malnourished momma dog. No food or water dishes were visible.
The stench was enough to knock anyone out it was so bad. The puppies were in good condition as far as we could see, but we now no longer wanted a puppy. We decided we wanted the momma dog. The owner informed us that the momma dog was not for sale. They were just using her as a breeder over and over again and reaping the benefits of the puppy sales at the momma dog's health.
When we saw the father dog in another area of the basement... he too was very malnourished and timid. Enough was enough in my eyes. We threatened the owner if they did not release both adult dogs to us that we would have the humane society down there that day. Little did the owner know that there was no local humane society in this area. But the threat worked.
We had this little sports car with T tops. It was quite the site to see these two dogs with their heads poking up through the top of the roof. Even though they were both malnourished they were still quite large dogs. The male dog (we named Terra Lou) even snapped at my hubby as he tried to coax him into the car. The female (we named Alissa Baby) went in no problem... I think she was glad to be going. It was that day we discovered she gets car sick.
It took us a whole year of working with these two dogs who by vet guess were approximately 2-4 years old. After that year of really working with them they trusted us and loved us. They turned out to be the most wonderful dogs. I am getting teary eyed just thinking about them because the love was so incredibly deep that I had for them.
We must have been crazy one day a few years later because we decided to get another rottweiler. This time we got a puppy.... Gretta bum. She took right to the pack and found her place without incident. The dogs were together all the time. They were wonderful companions to each other as well as us. Everyone I knew always told me I was nuts to have 4 indoor dogs in at that time was a very small house we were renting. But you wouldn't throw your kids outside in the rain or cold to sleep... would you?? I should say not. These dogs were like my kids.
In 2003 Alissa Baby started to go down hill. She had some kind of abdominal cancer we opted not to have surgery on because she was approximately 11 years old at that time. The day came when I was home by myself and Alissa could not get up off the floor. We had already been carrying her big butt outside up and down the stairs for weeks to go potty. But this day was different... she was in pain and crying as she tried her hardest to get up off the floor. I fell apart and just layed on the floor with her and cried my eyes out as I stroked her trying to keep her still. I called my hubby at work and could hardly talk. I managed to get out one sentence he understood "it's Alissa... please come home" He came home and we both decided it would be our selfishness to keep her living in this state. So, we took her to the vet and had to have her euthanized. I bawled my eyes out right there at the vet... I think the whole waiting area heard me. I cried so bad I got the vet all flustered. He was such a compassionate man and that made me feel a little better to know my beloved pet was just not another account number. He helped my hubby carry her to the truck and they placed her in the back seat and we took her home to bury her. Here's a photo of my Alissa Baby:
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Things were never the same after the passing of Alissa. She was the alpha female of the pack. She was Terra's soul mate and he never really recovered from the loss of her. His whole personality changed. He still had many days where his old perky self shined through... but you knew he was terribly sad and it broke my heart. Gretta never did take head position in the pack which kind of surprised me. I think what killed me the most was that Terra would go outside to potty or just hang out if it was nice and I would find him lying right on Alissa's grave. He never even saw us bury her there.... but he knew that's where she was.
Life went on and eventually there was some kind of normal meshing of the remaining 3 dogs. Not this summer, but last summer Terra was now approximately 14 years old and his body was giving out on him. He could no longer go up or down the stairs and we had to carry him. He stopped eating and was losing weight. He looked somber everyday and you could tell he did not feel well. My mom was visiting us for the week from out of state and I remember my mom getting all glassy eyed and saying "nancy, you know what you have to do" I lost it and cried like a baby. I knew what I had to do, but I was being selfish and didn't want to let him go. I prayed and prayed it was just a bad day for him. But as that day turned into night it was clear he was now suffering. I made him a nice comfy bed on the living room floor and I made myself a bed right next to him. I hugged and kissed him all night as I watched him slowly dying. There was no vet open at that hour that would help us out unless we wanted to drive a distance and I just didn't want to put him through that because he cried when you touched him anywhere. So, I took one of my mom's valium and gave it to him hoping it would relax him enough to rest until the morning. But it was a very rough night for the both of us. I just wanted so bad to help him and make him comfortable and I failed him. In the morning we had a local horse vet come out because no other vet would make a house call. He was very pleasant and compasionate to Terra. He put him to sleep right there in my living room as I cradled him as he took his very last breath. I never did get over his passing. It's been over a year and I still have his collar on my tv. And I am crying like a baby now.. the tears are just rolling down my face. I look at his pictures and I cry... I talk about him and I cry.... I just think about him and I cry. No one understands the grief I have over the loss of this dog. People think you can just put your dog to sleep and it's over. I am still grieving him. Here's a picture of my Terra Lou:
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This post is continued so read on because it wouldn't let me fit it all in one single thread.
About 12 years ago my husband and I saw this add in the paper for rottweiller puppies. So, we took a drive to the address in the paper and were appauled at what we saw. In the basement of this house in a tiny tiny little closet area with a cement floor were a littler of about 10 puppies and a very malnourished momma dog. No food or water dishes were visible.
The stench was enough to knock anyone out it was so bad. The puppies were in good condition as far as we could see, but we now no longer wanted a puppy. We decided we wanted the momma dog. The owner informed us that the momma dog was not for sale. They were just using her as a breeder over and over again and reaping the benefits of the puppy sales at the momma dog's health.
When we saw the father dog in another area of the basement... he too was very malnourished and timid. Enough was enough in my eyes. We threatened the owner if they did not release both adult dogs to us that we would have the humane society down there that day. Little did the owner know that there was no local humane society in this area. But the threat worked.
We had this little sports car with T tops. It was quite the site to see these two dogs with their heads poking up through the top of the roof. Even though they were both malnourished they were still quite large dogs. The male dog (we named Terra Lou) even snapped at my hubby as he tried to coax him into the car. The female (we named Alissa Baby) went in no problem... I think she was glad to be going. It was that day we discovered she gets car sick.
It took us a whole year of working with these two dogs who by vet guess were approximately 2-4 years old. After that year of really working with them they trusted us and loved us. They turned out to be the most wonderful dogs. I am getting teary eyed just thinking about them because the love was so incredibly deep that I had for them.
We must have been crazy one day a few years later because we decided to get another rottweiler. This time we got a puppy.... Gretta bum. She took right to the pack and found her place without incident. The dogs were together all the time. They were wonderful companions to each other as well as us. Everyone I knew always told me I was nuts to have 4 indoor dogs in at that time was a very small house we were renting. But you wouldn't throw your kids outside in the rain or cold to sleep... would you?? I should say not. These dogs were like my kids.
In 2003 Alissa Baby started to go down hill. She had some kind of abdominal cancer we opted not to have surgery on because she was approximately 11 years old at that time. The day came when I was home by myself and Alissa could not get up off the floor. We had already been carrying her big butt outside up and down the stairs for weeks to go potty. But this day was different... she was in pain and crying as she tried her hardest to get up off the floor. I fell apart and just layed on the floor with her and cried my eyes out as I stroked her trying to keep her still. I called my hubby at work and could hardly talk. I managed to get out one sentence he understood "it's Alissa... please come home" He came home and we both decided it would be our selfishness to keep her living in this state. So, we took her to the vet and had to have her euthanized. I bawled my eyes out right there at the vet... I think the whole waiting area heard me. I cried so bad I got the vet all flustered. He was such a compassionate man and that made me feel a little better to know my beloved pet was just not another account number. He helped my hubby carry her to the truck and they placed her in the back seat and we took her home to bury her. Here's a photo of my Alissa Baby:
Things were never the same after the passing of Alissa. She was the alpha female of the pack. She was Terra's soul mate and he never really recovered from the loss of her. His whole personality changed. He still had many days where his old perky self shined through... but you knew he was terribly sad and it broke my heart. Gretta never did take head position in the pack which kind of surprised me. I think what killed me the most was that Terra would go outside to potty or just hang out if it was nice and I would find him lying right on Alissa's grave. He never even saw us bury her there.... but he knew that's where she was.
Life went on and eventually there was some kind of normal meshing of the remaining 3 dogs. Not this summer, but last summer Terra was now approximately 14 years old and his body was giving out on him. He could no longer go up or down the stairs and we had to carry him. He stopped eating and was losing weight. He looked somber everyday and you could tell he did not feel well. My mom was visiting us for the week from out of state and I remember my mom getting all glassy eyed and saying "nancy, you know what you have to do" I lost it and cried like a baby. I knew what I had to do, but I was being selfish and didn't want to let him go. I prayed and prayed it was just a bad day for him. But as that day turned into night it was clear he was now suffering. I made him a nice comfy bed on the living room floor and I made myself a bed right next to him. I hugged and kissed him all night as I watched him slowly dying. There was no vet open at that hour that would help us out unless we wanted to drive a distance and I just didn't want to put him through that because he cried when you touched him anywhere. So, I took one of my mom's valium and gave it to him hoping it would relax him enough to rest until the morning. But it was a very rough night for the both of us. I just wanted so bad to help him and make him comfortable and I failed him. In the morning we had a local horse vet come out because no other vet would make a house call. He was very pleasant and compasionate to Terra. He put him to sleep right there in my living room as I cradled him as he took his very last breath. I never did get over his passing. It's been over a year and I still have his collar on my tv. And I am crying like a baby now.. the tears are just rolling down my face. I look at his pictures and I cry... I talk about him and I cry.... I just think about him and I cry. No one understands the grief I have over the loss of this dog. People think you can just put your dog to sleep and it's over. I am still grieving him. Here's a picture of my Terra Lou:
This post is continued so read on because it wouldn't let me fit it all in one single thread.
