I'm 18 and I have had one dog since I was about 6. He has had health problems lately and has had a kind of blister on his ***. Today I got home from school after a great day. I'm about to graduate in two days and we had a senior vs. faculty softball game and it was a lot of fun. Then I get home and my dogs blister thing had popped and there was blood all over the carpet and on his leg. I called my dad and told him and he left work and picked him up to take him to the vet. He was crying and the only other time I have seen him cry was years ago when his cousin was murdered. My mom said he might have to be put down because my parents can't afford any treatment or tests.
I'm not crying about it like my dad is and I don't know why. I'm sad but I don't really know how I'm handling this or how I'm supposed to handle it. I have never really had to lose a family member or anything like that so I don't know what to do. Help.
My dog is about to die?
Re: My dog is about to die?
It sounds like some kind of infected cyst and shouldn't be fatal. It could be cancer but cancers don't usually pop. But 12 years old IS pretty senior for a dog, though without knowing what breed it is hard to say how senior. So you might lose your dog, you might not.
Either way, though, this is a senior dog, and sometime in the next few years, if not now, you are going to lose him. The sad fact of life is that dogs age faster than we do. You were young together, and now you are just a young adult, like a dog who is two years old, and he is an old man. I think when we accept the nature of the relationship- we outlive our dogs over and over again- it helps to deal with it. We are entrusted with the care of a dog for its lifetime, not ours.
The good things are that we get to practice loss- now it might be your dog, someday it will be your grandma or even mom or dad, and learning to deal with grief is one of the things dogs teach us. Their shorter life also allows us to love many dogs over a lifetime.
If you do lose your dog, it may help your dad to talk about it, or to do something to remember him. Maybe plant a tree or a rose bush in his memory.
Either way, though, this is a senior dog, and sometime in the next few years, if not now, you are going to lose him. The sad fact of life is that dogs age faster than we do. You were young together, and now you are just a young adult, like a dog who is two years old, and he is an old man. I think when we accept the nature of the relationship- we outlive our dogs over and over again- it helps to deal with it. We are entrusted with the care of a dog for its lifetime, not ours.
The good things are that we get to practice loss- now it might be your dog, someday it will be your grandma or even mom or dad, and learning to deal with grief is one of the things dogs teach us. Their shorter life also allows us to love many dogs over a lifetime.
If you do lose your dog, it may help your dad to talk about it, or to do something to remember him. Maybe plant a tree or a rose bush in his memory.
Bobbie Mayer
"Corgis on Wheels: Understanding and Caring for the Special Needs of Corgis with Degenerative Myelopathy or DIsk Disease available now!
http://www.corgiaid.org/cart/corgisonwheels
"Corgis on Wheels: Understanding and Caring for the Special Needs of Corgis with Degenerative Myelopathy or DIsk Disease available now!
http://www.corgiaid.org/cart/corgisonwheels
-
michaeljohhsen
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2013 2:05 am
- Location: Los Angeles
Re: My dog is about to die?
First of all, I am sorry you have to go through this painful waiting experience.
Now You need to spend every moment with taking pictures, brushing, walking, loving and doing your dog's favorite things and give favorite treats. Memorize every hair on his face so when you close your eyes you can remember her exactly how he was. Decide now if you will cremate him and keep her ashes in a box, scatter or bury them.
Now You need to spend every moment with taking pictures, brushing, walking, loving and doing your dog's favorite things and give favorite treats. Memorize every hair on his face so when you close your eyes you can remember her exactly how he was. Decide now if you will cremate him and keep her ashes in a box, scatter or bury them.