Lost my best friend this morning...

[The Crippler]

His name was Pete. He was a 5 1/2 year old brown and white boxer and he went so suddenly. He was running around, jumping and playing just last weekend and then Wednesday, everything changed. He couldn't stand up straight, he kept falling over to the left side and lost all of his balance. We took him to the emergency vet that night and then to our regular vet yesterday.

We thought he was doing better, but this morning, everything took a final turn for the worst. He was disoriented and we took him back to our vet. I got the call about an hour ago when I was on an appointment that he passed away and there was absolutely nothing they could have done. The vet told me that it was a brain tumor and that boxers have them quite commonly.

I didn't even get to say goodbye.

He had a great, yet extremely too short life. I am having him cremated and we are going to spread his ashes in his favorite places.

Give your puppy a huge hug when you see them next. They love you unconditionally and deserve that from you.

[The Crippler]

you can see him in my avatar. he was a great doggy. the best. I miss him more than I could ever imagine.

[u2sarajevo]

Man.... I am sorry to hear that.

I love dogs. I don't own one currently. We had the best dog ever, a Lab that we rescued. I started traveling and was never home except for weekends and my wife was pregnant with my son so Bailey never got walked. We felt guilty so we gave him up to a good home. That was 4 years ago, I still miss him.

We are moving to a new house in a couple of weeks and are talking about getting a Corgi. We have a friend with one and that dog is the coolest.... and everything I've read says they are great with kids... which is important for us.

But it's hard to get over losing a friend like that.

[Flacolaco]

Ah dude that sucks. My best friend has a boxer, they're very awesome dogs. I didn't know they often have brain tumors.

I'm sorry to hear that.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

I lost my 16 year old tomcat 2 years ago. He died because of a renal failure, lying at my patio. I was with him as it happened.

Half a year before he died, my neighbors get also a tomcat, a very aggressive one. At a fight between the two cats, my was bitten. It had not looked very bad and my tomcat had not shown any signs that he had pains. After 4 weeks my cat looked more and more dizzy and didn´t like to eat. I went to the vet and he ascertained that my cat had a bad inflammation at the spot of the former bite injury. You couldn´t see that something was wrong from outside, because the spot of the injury looked like completely healed. The vet removed the purulence (nearly the capacity of a coffee cup!) but the kidneys were already affected, so my tomcat lived only for about 5 month after that.

So I understand you very good and feel sorry for you to loose a beloved pet and friend. By the way, the tomcat of my neighbors was killed by a tractor 2 weeks before my cat died. He was only one and a half years old.

[Dirkadirkastan]

My 11-year-old cat was murdered by some weird neighborhood cult. All we found was the tail and a back leg around a crude ritualistic scene.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Too bad that you most often never catch those f´king criminal morons in the act.

[dude1394]

Sorry about that crippler. Our family has had one dog, a sheltie that we got when the kids were very,very small. Very much a part of the family, went everywhere with us. An endearing trait he had was that he always wanted all of us to be together and he would gently try to herd us.

Once we were at Lake Murray swimming. My wife and the kiddos were close to shore but I took out for a little swim, probably 30 yards away. "Downie" couldn't take it, he had to swim out there to let me know that I should come back to the group, really sweet.

It was quite poignant when we lost him, he was at the house and my wife and I both woke up knowing something was happening. He laid on the bed between us and we just stroked him as he went.

We got us a cement statue of a sheltie and have carried it to our new home, it's right outside the front door.

My condolences...Sorry to ramble on... You've lost a good bud.

[bobatundi]

Originally Posted by Dr.Zoidberg

Too bad that you most often never catch those f´king criminal morons in the act.

While carrying your shotgun.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Yes, I have to admit that sometimes you would like to have a gun. Even in Germany.

[bobatundi]

We've lost two pets over the past year.

The first was my dog, Mr. Bones. No telling how old he was--when I got him from a shelter he was already at least 8-10 years old. He was a lovable, if occasionally ornery, little shih tzu. He actually choked on a piece of rawhide (please, don't let your dogs have the ones with the knots on the end, that's what did it) about six months earlier, in the middle of the night--for some reason I was up reading a book at 2 am and heard something that didn't sound right, and found him choking in the living room. Thought he was having a seizure (he had had them before), but when he went limp and his lips started turning blue, we checked his airway and found the rawhide. Managed to bring him back with some mouth-to-nose and chest compressions, but he was never quite the same. He started getting very aggressive with everyone but me, and frequently disoriented. His kidneys started to fail too--that's what ultimately did him in. He was down to less than 10% kidney function when I had to make the decision to have him put to sleep.

Second was our cat Fyodor. My wife had had him for 13 years and he seemed like he was in perfect health. We noticed he was lethargic and had a swollen spot in his mouth, so had the vet look at him and he extracted two teeth. A few days later, he was still really lethargic so we had them x-ray his mouth; turned out he had cancer & half his jaw was already gone. My wife had to put him to sleep right there--she couldn't even bring him home to say goodbye.

The happy ending is our cat Lucy. We have an 8 ft high fence around our yard, and Lucy liked to lay out in the sun but never ever tried to get out. One day, she was gone. No idea to this day how she got out, she's also 13 and arthritic so no way she jumped the fence. We put up signs and looked for her for days, but it rained nonstop and we had no sign of her so we assumed the worst. On top of that, we then left town for a week to visit a sick relative; my brother-in-law drove over from Fort Worth to Frisco several times to look for her, but still no luck. Then, when we got back, a little girl from the neighborhood called and told us she'd seen Lucy in the gutter a couple blocks over. We searched them all but didn't see her. Dropped food down there daily, and dirty pillowcases (so they'd smell like us), but couldn't see how an old housecat could survive in the gutter for two weeks. We didn't give up, and finally, my wife spotted Lucy down the drain. She was able to barely reach her and pull her up & out and, other than losing a pound and being a little freaked out, she survived the whole ordeal, amazingly.

[Kirobaito]

I am so sorry to hear that, Crippler.

For my 11th birthday (which was eight years ago), I received a beautiful short-haired German Shepherd mix named Peanut. She was my best friend, too. In October of 2005, she was diagnosed with lymphosarcoma. I spent my college money on chemotherapy for her, and every penny of it was worth it. She went into remission for 35 weeks, from early '06 to August '06. Then I had to leave for college, the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. I went home every weekend that semester to see her. By October, we had run out of medicines to try, and she began to lose the ability to stand up. She passed away on November 10th, 2006. I was not able to be there, though my parents were at her side. I have her cremated remains that I plan on being buried with me whenever I go.

So while these moments are always hard, be aware that others go through them, too, and that those of us who have suffered through losing best friends will be there for you, should you need us. God bless Pete.

[MavsFanFinley]

Crippler, I'm sorry for your loss. I lost my 19 year old cat 3 years ago and still don't have the heart to get another one yet.

[Fidel]

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

My 11-year-old cat was murdered by some weird neighborhood cult. All we found was the tail and a back leg around a crude ritualistic scene.

Seriously those who did this should be shot in the head with a shotgun right after having their arms and legs cut off with a chainsaw. What sorry individuals they must be getting fun out of torturing helpless animals.

Also sorry to hear about your dog Crippler. Ours passed away just a couple months ago. He now has a grave in our yard. Sad times.

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

My 11-year-old cat was murdered by some weird neighborhood cult. All we found was the tail and a back leg around a crude ritualistic scene.

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

[ShaggyDirk]

I hate when that happens. Especially, when my breadth smells worse than my cats.

[MavsWiLLHaVeRinGs]

Has this man been questioned?

Kidding, sorry about your dog dude.

[Big Shot Rob]

I am really sorry to hear about this tragic event, Crippler.

Our pets are more than mere animals--they occupy a place in the heart and become part of the family.

I remember my own dog that died several years ago. To this day, I still recall the love that he showed both my and my brothers and sisters.

God bless you and your family as you grieve. My heart goes out to you, buddy.

BSR

[Murphy3]

A good friend of mine just lost his boxer to cancer. She was a great dog... I suppose boxers have more issues than other breeds. He's got a couple of other boxers now that are both mentally retarded. I'll stick with black labs...

[rabbitproof]

I'm sorry to hear. I had a boxer for the shortest time (only a few weeks) before I had to give her up and I still miss her.

Just appreciate what time you had with your dog!

[EricaLubarsky]

I hugged my dog extra long for you. I am so sorry to hear about your loss and I am thinking of you and your friend.

[mqywaaah]

Sorry for your loss man...