I had to have my dog put down
 

I am so sad--
My dog, Peaches is a 10yr old Bulldog, had to be put down tonight-- very unexpectedly.
I think I just need to vent hear- so sorry if I ramble....
I get home tonight and there is a weird car sitting in front of my house-- the driver just stares at me, there is also a passenger reclined in the car. I get my boys inside- and decide I would put Peaches out front. She is very protective of me and can be growly at strangers- so I figured they would leave.
I called for her from the deck, no answer-- I went out the downstairs door, no answer-- I go out thru the garage with her food- she slowly walks towards me. Her face is swollen and she has blood all over her face. I get her in- she falls onto the tile floor-- I run upstairs tell the kids to get shoes on, call my mom to tell her I am dropping the kids off at her house, call the urgent care vet to let them know I am on my way in.
My poor dogs face looks like it has been eaten by something- she is bleeding all over the tile floor and the carpet and she can't get up the stairs. I get her into the car- drop off the kids, Peaches just laid in the floor of the car.
I called the soon to be ex- husband to tell him to meet me at the vet. I also called the cops about the weird people-- they send someone out to check them out.
We get to the vet, carry Peaches inside, the vet thinks something bit her (or something along those lines) approximately 24hrs ago-- he said there were maggots starting to "grow" around the wounds. There is NO way it was 24hrs ago- I was outside with her at 1am- she was fine, nothing wrong. Wouldn't the maggot growth accelerate due to the heat today, it was 95degrees?
The vet looked her over, the skin was pretty messed up-- he would have had to remove (via surgery) about a 3 inches circle of skin and hope that additional skin wouldn't die off. Her fever was extremely high.
We asked the vet if he could tell if another animal did this- he said he couldn't give a solid answer.
In talking to the vet, the surgery tonight, the healing process, the additional sedation to remove additional dead skin and clean her facial wounds would cause her alot of suffering. And he told us that even after all that, he couldn't promise that she would last a month with the amount of facial work she would need done.
So I sat in the vets office with my head laying on my extremely smelly dog, who looked like she crapped on herself, and smelled of infection-- and had to tell the vet to put my baby dog to sleep.
She was 10-- average life for a bulldog is 8-- so she had a good life.
I also had to go home and tell my kids. My 8 yr old is quite upset, as am I-- the 5 yr old doesnt get it....
This is the last thing I thought I would have to do. Now I have to go clean up her blood that is all over my entry way floor.
The cops also called me to tell me that the people sitting in front of my house for 20 minutes, the in front of my neighbors house "appeared to be ok" They told the cop they were waiting on friends to get home. I am glad they "appeared" to be ok people!

No words can be said that can come close to being right...so my {{{{{}}}}'s to you and yours.
I have been there mayself with my own dog, one I still look for many years later....:(
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Aww winnie b ((((hugs))))))

There are very few words to say to someone when they lose a member of their family. I've been there, I lost my dog of 13 years a few years ago to cancer, and still tough to this day.

My condolenses and my prayers are with you and your family.

Wendi, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Hugs to you and your kiddos.

I am so, so sorry. God Bless You.

awww...so sorry for you.
i had to do the same last year-i didnt eat for 3 days.
cried all the time, home atmosphere was gone. i still look at her pictures, she was the best doggie i ever had.
{{{hugs}}} i know there is nothing that can make you feel better.

<hugs> Wendi. I'm so sorry hon.

I almost had to face the same thing a couple of weeks ago...my dog was hit by a car and I don't know how he got home...his leg had a massive gash all the way down and you could see everything. They couldn't even stitch it...so it had to heal from the inside out and I've been changing his dressing every day at home and a couple of days ago he started putting the leg down.

I am so sorry...but I agree with you...no way did something bite that dog that caused that much damage...I think the dog may have been hit by a car (could he get out?), or in a fight with a stray...the "critters" invading probably came after the wound and they can set in at a very high rate when it's hot.

:( hugs to you and your little ones

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. :( Stories like this are why I'm afraid to even consider leaving my dog outside while I'm not at home.

I'm so sorry winnieb. Big hug. {o}

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

This broke my heart. I'm so sorry.:(

I'm so sorry for your loss. {{{hug}}}

How awful.. I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. There is a wonderful website that I hope you have a chance to read which may help to ease the pain a bit:

http://petloss.com/

Here is a poem someone sent me when I lost a pet, and it helped me. I hope it helps you as well:

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Winnie, I am so sorry to hear that.
{{{hugs}}}

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Please accept my most sincere condolences. My thoughts are with you today.

I am so sorry for your loss. *bighugs*

I am so very sorry for you & what you went through - hugs to you & the family {{{{{"Kisses to heaven for Peaches"}}}}}

Hugs, Wendi. I am so sorry.

winnie, that is just terrible. i am so sorry that you and your children had to go through this. you will all be in my thoughts and prayers.

Oh, I'm so sorry for your family's loss. {{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}} I just lost my bulldog in January. He was the bestest dog ever, and I still miss him very much. My hope for you and your kids is that you will work through your pain and be able to enjoy the memories you have of your beloved Peaches.

I'm sorry for your loss.

Hugs to you and your family.

I'm so sorry.

Sept. 30 is the 2nd anniversary of when we had to put down Nigel, our English Bulldog. He was 9 years old.

http://nigelthebully.tripod.com

(((((((((((((((((((((((winnie))))))))))))))))))))) ))))

Please accept my sympathy. That is by far the hardest thing someone can do for their pet, and I'm sure that Peaches knew you were always good to her.

Do try the pet loss site - it's helped countless people I know. Peaches is playing with her new friends at the Rainbow Bridge, until she's joined by her family. I'll be praying for you.

I truly know how you feel:( . I had to put my black Lab Shadow down 2 months ago due to age. He was 14. I'm sorry for your loss.

I'm so sorry {{{{{{{{{o}}}}}}}}}}}}

I'm so sorry for your family's loss Wendi. :(

I'm so sorry. :(

I'm so sorry and I know how you feel - we're putting my family cat down this weekend. I'm just glad I'll be there to say goodbye.

I am so sorry for your loss.

It took me couple of hours but I found the article I was looking for. Thank goodness and God for Google. It is a reprint of an article by Lewis Grizzard about when h is dog, Catfish died. ((Don't know the original blogger, lol.))

Friday, November 18, 2005
Thanksgiving--part one of many.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday in the whole world. So, with less than a week to go before Turkey Day, I thought I'd officially kick off the celebration with one of many holiday-related posts.

One of my earliest non-family-related Thanksgiving memories comes from when I was 13 years old. Already a lover of reading and writing (read: a giant dork), Lewis Grizzard was my favorite columnist. I've posted about him before, way back in the beginning of my blogging journey, and if I could ever figure out how to make links work, I'd send you back to that entry so you could read about his interesting life and enjoy one of his brilliant columns. The short story is that he was a wonderful Southern writer who loved greasy food, Georgia football, and his dog, Catfish.

I was hanging out with my friend Jennifer when we read in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Catfish had died (Jennifer, like me, was quite fond of Lewis Grizzard). To this day, the following column is one of my favorite pieces of modern writing. It's one of the most simultaneously uplifting and heartbreaking works I've ever encountered, and I remember crying and hugging my friend once I'd finished reading. I only hope that, one day, my writing will have even half the effect on people as Lewis Grizzard's had on me.

* I'm not trying to bum y'all out by posting this column, I promise! Even though it made me sad when I first read it, now it makes me smile--the love of and from a pet is truly one of the great joys of this world. I'm sure Lewis and Catfish have been reunited somewhere, somehow. :-)

Catfish, the black Lab, has up and died

My dog Catfish, the black Lab, died Thanksgiving night.

The vet said his heart gave out.

Down in the country, they would have said, "Lewis's dog up and died." He would have been 12 had he lived until January.

Catfish had a good life. He slept indoors. Mostly he ate what I ate. We shared our last meal Tuesday evening in our living room in front of the television. We had a Wendy's double cheeseburger and some chili.

Catfish was a gift from my friends Barbara and Vince Dooley. Vince, of course, is the athletic director at the University of Georgia. Barbara is a noted speaker and author.

I named him driving back to Atlanta from Athens where I had picked him up at the Dooleys' home. I don't know why I named him what I named him. He was all curled up in a blanket on my back seat. And I looked at him and it just came out. I called him: "Catfish."

I swear he raised up from the blanket and acknowledged. Then he severely fouled the blanket and my back seat.

A powerful set of jaws

He was a most destructive animal the first three years of his life.

He chewed things. He chewed books. He chewed shoes.

"I said to Catfish, 'Heel,' " I used to offer from behind the dais, "and he went to my closet and chewed up my best pair of Guccis."

Catfish chewed television remote control devices. Batteries and all.

He chewed my glasses. Five pairs of them.

One day, when he was still a puppy, he got out of the house without my knowledge. The doorbell rang. It was a young man who said, "I hit your dog with my car, but I think he's OK."

He was. He had a small cut on his head and he was frightened, but he was otherwise unhurt.

"I came around the corner," the young man explained, "and he was in the road chewing on something. I hit my brakes the second I saw him."

"Could you tell what he was chewing on?" I asked.

"I know this sounds crazy," the young man answered, "but I think it was a beer bottle."

Catfish stopped chewing while I still had a house. Barely.

Known far and wide

He was a celebrity, Catfish. I spoke recently in Michigan.

Afterwards a lady came up to me and said, "I was real disappointed with your speech. You didn't mention Catfish."

Catfish used to get his own mail. Just the other day the manufacturer of a new brand of dog food called "Country Gold," with none other than George Jones's picture on the package, sent Catfish a sample of its new product. For the record, he still preferred cheeseburgers and chili.

Catfish was once grand marshal of the Scottsboro, Ala., annual Catfish Festival. He was on television and got to ride in the front seat of a police car with its siren on.

He was a patient, good-natured dog, too. Jordan, who is 5, has been pulling his ears since she was 2. She even tried to ride him at times. He abided with nary a growl.

Oh, that face and those eyes. What he could do to me with that face and those eyes. He would perch himself next to me on the sofa in the living room and look at me.

And love and loyalty would pour out with that look, and as long as I had that, there was very little the human race could do to harm my self- esteem.

Good dogs don't love bad people.

He was smart. He was fun. And he loved to ride in cars. There were times he was all that I had.

And now he has up and died. My own heart, or what is left of it, is breaking.

*****
Mike Luckovich of the Atl.. Journal Consitution did a cartoon showing Lewis meeting Catfish at the Pearly Gates. I have 2 copies.

Thank you for all the kind words-- it has been a sad week around my house.
On Wednesday night, the night after I had to have her put down, I was in the living room about 10pm and heard a couple of coyotes outside (my back yard backs up to a field). Within a couple of minutes it sounded like a pack of coyotes out there going crazy. I looked outside the next day and there was a picket that was broken on the fence, enough my little Peaches could have gotten her nose/face through which would explain why it waw only her face that got attacked.
But thank you all!!!

I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend, Wendi. I know this is a very painful and difficult thing to go through. You and your family are in my thoughts.

I am very sorry about your dog. Our female dog last Christmas was attacked by something and we opted to do the surgery and heavy antibiotics. It was horrible, she was near death. They had to put drain tubes in her wounds and oh God, it was horrible. The only reason the vet encouaged this was because she wasn't 2 years old yet. Now every time she gets a nick or scratch on her skin we freak out and feed her a series of antibiotics we keep on hand just to protect her.

I don't blame you for making the decision you did about Peaches. Just remember she is free from her pain and it sounds like she had a great life with you.

~Rainbow Bridge~