What a way to start the New Year right? Tomorrow my DH will be taking Bentley to be put down mercifully. He's had a good life but now has no use of his back legs whatsoever. This morning he fell down an entire flight of stairs. It's breaking our hearts but the poor guy is suffering so.
Here he is..... 
http://www.rainbowbridge.com/Poem.htm
with sympathy on having to send a family member ahead.
(maybe he'll hook up w/ Scamp our family's poodle who is there waiting -- on second thought, that might not be good as Scamp just might be a bad influence! 
)
I'm so sorry...We had to put two cats down last year, and they were both 16+ and had kidney failure. It's a hard thing to do, but remember that the time comes where you're just prolonging their death, not their life. It's the kindest thing for your dog, it's jsust a sucky thing for you
I'm so sorry to hear about your beloved Bentley, my love, thoughts and sympathies are with you and your family.
Thanks guys! I was really hoping he'd pass peacefully in his sleep so we wouldn't have to bring him.
We cooked him up a nice sirloin steak for dinner tonight and I even let him have 1 of my Godiva chocolates that I got for Christmas.....a gourmet last supper for him.
Doug, that's a great site thanks for posting the link.
I am so sorry Deb. . . had to do it 1½ years ago with my 14½ year old Lab, Buford. You want to prolong their lives as long as possible but the best thing is for them to go before it gets too painful. You just need however long to mourn but those memories will shine through soon enough. xo
Oh Deb, I feel for you. Bentley is a cutie!
It is heartbreaking, but our fur babies don't have the length of life we do. So, inevitably we have to watch them age and become infirm .... It is our last gift to them, that we don't extend their discomfort when there is no possibility of recovery. It's probably one of the most difficult choices, we have to make. But we do it for them, because we love them, even though our hearts are breaking.
I am confident that I will eventually be reunited with all my fur babies. Love never dies.
HTH
wow. Dkelley, you have such great strength of character and such compassion to do what needs to be done. He's a cute dog too! 
Ah, Deb that's so sad. What a cute little buddy he is. I sure sympathize because our yellow lab who is 14 can barely get herself on to her feet any more. We know her time is coming, too.
Of course you're doing the right thing. Our pets depend on us to help them out when it's their time so they don't suffer.
I'll be thinking of you all tomorrow. Hugs.
My heart goes out to you. Just 7 months ago I had to put down my 16 year old ONLY one week after losing her daugther 14. I was in total shock because I never even expected it but not letting them suffer is truly the loving thing. I held them and I can tell you it's very peaceful and just kept kissing them telling them over and over through my tears that I loved them. Still brings tons of tears to my eyes. They were shelties and my babies (I have no kids) so my thoughts are with you and your furbaby. It's hard but it's the right thing.
I'm sorry for your loss. The greatest act of love we can give our pets is to let them go when it's time.
I am so sorry about your pet. My sister could never have children, so the boxer puppy we gave her 15 years ago, became her child. She loved and took care of her dog just as I did with children.
She lost her DH in 2002, her dog was her child...she took her everywhere. She would even have my mother watch the dog if she had to go shopping. Her dog became her rock after losing her DH.
In Sept. 2009, the vet told her that her dog had cancer, and that she might make it till Christmas. Two days before Christmas my sister had to put her dog to sleep. She said that she felt the two who love her so much has left.
Putting her dog to sleep was one of the hardest things she had to do, since losing her DH. I can understand your hurt and pain. A pet can become to be a family member.
She did something as what you did, the night before, she gave her anything she wanted to eat. Mine sympathies to you and your family.
God Bless,
Sharon
I'm so sorry for your loss Deb - here at the beginning of a new year and decade.
I can totally sympathize with you - we had to put our 14 yr old German Shephard down this past August. She had protected our family - especially our children - unbelievably! My DH was her master and you could see it in her eyes everytime she saw him - she totally adored him and would go anywhere he went (well except to be bred -- after 3 trips of trying to get her to allow the process to happen - she jumped out of the truck when he put her in the 4th time to go - she knew where she was headed and wanted no part of it!LOL!) She brought so much joy and security to our lives. Just when out kids were in their early teens and we thought 'hey - we can run out and get supper and leave them alone with Sassi in the house and they will be fine' and they were!
Then in November my DH's black lab came up missing - nothing was wrong with the pen - so we know someone took him. He was becoming quite a good duck hunting dog too. Since then my DH would come in the house after work each day and just sit - he had noone to play with.
So he got a 6 week old black lab puppy for Christmas - which he promptly name Suzy (after me!) - and my son got a yellow lab that was 8 weeks old and named her Emma - they are half sisters - and so darn cute! My DH looked at me the other night and said "You know I didn't even realize how much I was missing my dogs until I got the puppy, thank you!!" We actually sent him on a scavanger hunt with clues to find the puppies on Christmas Eve. My son had picked the pups out and his pup is actually for his upcoming birthday . . . . so DH found the puppies in a big bright red box with a huge green bow on top in their duck hunting boat with camo bows tights around their necks!
It was a precious site to see him open that box! So just remember Deb when it's time you can love another one again! Peace be with you and your family until then.
Suze
Hi everyone,
I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for your kind words of encouragement and especially for sharing your own heart warming stories.
I really dreaded this day so much but after reading all of your posts I know we did the right thing for Bentley, he was suffering so this past week. Our Vet is such an incredibly loving woman, she made all of us feel so comfortable with her kind words and it was a very peaceful ending for him.
Suzy, I loved hearing your story. How exciting to have 2 new puppies. Our 2 kids grew up with Bentley too, they were only 3 and 4 yrs old when we went to the SPCA and adopted him. They picked him out of 4 other puppies because he was black and white and they thought he was a Dalmation. (they were in love with the Disney movie at the time) lol!.
Sharon, I hope your sister is doing OK.....I feel so sorry for her to have lost both her husband and her dog. I'll remember her in my thoughts. You're so right our pets do become part of our families.....their ever loving loyalty is unmatched.
I don't know if we'll get another dog, at least not right away.
Again, thanks my friends I truly appreciate all of you.
((((HUGS))))) My heart is breaking for your loss.
Oh my, so sorry Deb.. We've had to go through that a couple of times in the last few years. First our dog Corkie, then our special kitty that thought she was a dog, Milo.
Its so very hard to do. My heart goes out to you and your family.
I was just thinking of you and your family. Hope you all are doing okay. It took me 2 months before I could think of my cat and not cry after I lost him. He was so patient and tolerant of my kids when they were babies! My pets are part of my family too. I hope it is not to long before you can think of Bentley and smile. He looks like a great dog! ((hugs))
Kat
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