fat_fleet
Swollen Member
Oh man, sorry.. that sucks, dogs don't live near long enough.
Third Eye Opened...wow!
- Thread starter TAE
- Start date
Oh man, sorry.. that sucks, dogs don't live near long enough.
I know. I love my dogs but I didn't think it'd hit me as hard as it did. She wasn't even that old. She was about 12 or 13 which isn't crazy old for a wiener dog. She got diabetes and cancer and went blind and never even whimpered. That dog toughed it out as much as she could. Blind as a bat she learned every nook and cranny of the house just by smell or feel. Her third eye! She walked around like she could actually see. She didn't run though. That would be disastrous. Lol. She learned that the hard way. When it got to the point where we couldn't control her diseases anymore and she couldn't keep her weight up, we just had to put her to sleep. This was about two months ago. She was a sweet sweet dog. A great dog that didn't deserve her ending.
My other wiener dog is fucking 18 years old and she just keeps on trucking.
I'm done though. After this older wiener kicks the bucket, no more animals for me. I love em, but I just don't want that emotional attachment to something so temporary.
fat_fleet
Swollen Member
Sheesh yeah, you hear about those little yap dogs living for 20+ years. My last couple dogs died youngish too. And both very suddenly.. no long degenerative process. Snugs was about 10, but still in great shape. I really thought he had a few years left. We had gotten to where we took him with us everywhere so he was almost like a second child. The day before he died we took our kid to his playground buddy's birthday party and left him alone in the house for the first time in ages. He knew I was leaving and didn't want me to go.. came over and did a little "Don't forget me!" yelp and jump right in front of me. Totally kills me thinking back on it. By the time I took him out later that night he was already having problems walking. Called a few vets, they all said "Give it a few days, these dogs all have problems in the middle of the summer." A day later he's dead. I've lost a few and it always sucks, but I'm pretty sure we'll get another one down the road when we're ready and find the right one.
Steenamaroo
...
It's tough man, huh?
I had a cat from I was about 10 to 28 or so. When she got ill I thought I was the big man. Ah well...shit happens..we'll just have to deal with it.
When we actually got her put down I broke. Didn't even almost see it coming!
My brother's dog got put down last week. 12 year old scruffy idiot, I think that's the breed.
They were on hols so I was minding her and the house for a week.
All the more important this time because she had a 'bit of a cough'.....
Yeah, full blown bad ass lung cuncer as it turns out.
Fucked up. The vet had ruled that, and many other things, out because the symptoms were so mild and came about so quickly.
My bros about 35 and that's the first pet he's lost. Tough guy, for sure, but I've no doubt that broke him.
Pinky
and The Brain...
I've unfortunately had to bury a lot of people close to me, as well as pets. It feels like I'm reliving past loss every time I have to bury someone/thing. But I'd rather be sad for days/weeks than miss out on the privileged of spending time on this horrible planet with such beautiful beings.
Fwiw, regarding the rampant cancer that seems to afflict our pets - there's several possible sources. One being over medication and vaccination, the other is the source/quality of their food. Something to look up if you think perhaps one or more of those factors could play a role in the health of your pets. You have to figure they need good health care and nutrition just like us, or shits starts to fail. Junk in, junk out as they say. I'd also be curious to investigate environmental stuff, like the crap people put on their lawns, might play a role.
Good food is probably the biggest benefit, but giving heart/ring worm meds too often or vaccinating every year for diseases that may only need a single lifetime vaccination could offset any benefit from purely improving their diet. Our dog and cat get the bare minimum vaccines and never otherwise go to the vet [indoor cats especially have zero need for vet care after 18 months]. Cat is a super healthy 14+ and dog (smaller poodle, likely a puppy mill/pet shop dog we rescued later on) is now pushing 8 and has every bit of puppy still left in him. We feed them Prairie dog/cat food, and have been for the last 5+ years. The cat's coat went from dull to shiny almost immediately, and her playfulness has gone through the roof. She's acts like a kitten when she should be thinking about naps. A lot of the cheaper and more commonly found food brands have very low nutritional and safety standards. There's a lot of brands that have their own, self imposed higher standards and there's even some websites out there that verify through chemical testing that the food is legitimately 'good'. We picked Prairie because it was on these good food lists and available in more than one shop locally. Cats and small dogs don't eat much so the premium price doesn't really hurt the wallet when you consider what a vet visit costs for a sick animal. If only our own health care system worked on more of a preventative approach.
Fwiw, regarding the rampant cancer that seems to afflict our pets - there's several possible sources. One being over medication and vaccination, the other is the source/quality of their food. Something to look up if you think perhaps one or more of those factors could play a role in the health of your pets. You have to figure they need good health care and nutrition just like us, or shits starts to fail. Junk in, junk out as they say. I'd also be curious to investigate environmental stuff, like the crap people put on their lawns, might play a role.
Good food is probably the biggest benefit, but giving heart/ring worm meds too often or vaccinating every year for diseases that may only need a single lifetime vaccination could offset any benefit from purely improving their diet. Our dog and cat get the bare minimum vaccines and never otherwise go to the vet [indoor cats especially have zero need for vet care after 18 months]. Cat is a super healthy 14+ and dog (smaller poodle, likely a puppy mill/pet shop dog we rescued later on) is now pushing 8 and has every bit of puppy still left in him. We feed them Prairie dog/cat food, and have been for the last 5+ years. The cat's coat went from dull to shiny almost immediately, and her playfulness has gone through the roof. She's acts like a kitten when she should be thinking about naps. A lot of the cheaper and more commonly found food brands have very low nutritional and safety standards. There's a lot of brands that have their own, self imposed higher standards and there's even some websites out there that verify through chemical testing that the food is legitimately 'good'. We picked Prairie because it was on these good food lists and available in more than one shop locally. Cats and small dogs don't eat much so the premium price doesn't really hurt the wallet when you consider what a vet visit costs for a sick animal. If only our own health care system worked on more of a preventative approach.
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fat_fleet
Swollen Member
Exactly.. be thankful it happened.
Or it might just be shit happens. Some people live unhealthy lives and make it to 90. Some people die jogging at 30. My dogs received equal care and equal food. They lived in the same house and shit in the same yard. They ate the same frogs and snakes and the same scrap food that fell on the floor. One got very sick and had to be put to sleep, the other is still going at 18. Shit happens to everything. It's a crapshoot.
TAE
All you have is now
You mentioned several things and I am sure the pesticides and weed killers sprayed in yards contribute to this problem.. You can be as natural as you want but you have no control over what your neighbors pest control or gardeners spray and the shit travels....
Something so IMO obvious and serious is the water we let them drink...Most people with half a brain today "don't drink the tap water". But most pet owners don't think twice about letting their animals drink it. Even if you only provide purified water to your pets it is likely they will drink contaminated water when they come upon it...If you have a pool they'll drink out of it..I have always been concerned with Chlorine and the other chemicals that they use to purify water and suspect it is a big part of cancer in our modern society... like lead in plumbing of Rome we as a society just blindly allow it, go with it... 30 years ago we dropped bottled water for reverse osmosis and that's all we drink and cook with.. as does our rabbit of 12 years ...."Leon" eats like a king ....90% fresh vegetables and 10% certain parts of the rabbit feed we get from the feed store...picky bastard...
He's on track to set a world record life span for a rabbit....just a couple more years..
Pinky
and The Brain...
Bigger picture - there are trends and correlations. Otherwise, why not just huff the end of the exhaust on your car? There are causes and outcomes to things. Maybe not in YOUR case (anecdotal), but I wasn't just speaking about your dogs.
I don't think my case is purely anecdotal. The bigger picture is that my scenario applies across all life everywhere. Some living things are just fitter and more sturdy than others. Trends and correlations are true for sure, like huffing exhaust is bad for you, duh. But things also don't follow trends and correlations. You don't always have to blame something on something else. Shit just happens sometimes. Some people, plants, and animals are just born to die sooner than others.
Pinky
and The Brain...
Cancer is known to be one of the leading causes fo death in cats and dogs (pets). It's also increasingly affecting humans, with studies now linking many environmental agents to the cancer incidents. So it stands to reason there is a correlation if it exists already for us.
You don't have to buy into it. Keep doing what you're doing. The rest of us will figure it out for you. Just let us know when you're ready.
Pinky
and The Brain...
While certainly possible, there's many other possible causes. And if anything the larger cancer epidemic (human and pet) could be a combination of various things. There's no shortage of possible causes and that leading cause will be different based on each geographic area. In other words - there's probably no one-thing that's common to all, but rather a general poisoning of our planet/living space giving us plenty of opportunities and sources to be exposed to.