It's a sad day - a very sad day!

Approximately 5 years ago, I worked in an assisted living facility.  One of the residents had a shih tzu that was as sweet as he could be.  He was about 5 years old.  Well the resident got sick and had to go to the hospital.  Upon her discharge from the hospital, the social worker recommended to the family that she go to a nursing home instead of back to the assisted living facility and they agreed.  Well, she couldn't have her beloved Alex at the nursing home.  Her son wanted to either leave Alex at the assisted living facility (and he hated living there - he ran away every chance he got) or he was going to have him put to sleep.  I couldn't stand either thought.  We had lost one of our dogs the year before to cancer, so after a week, I finally convinced my husband that we should give Alex a home and we did. For the last five years, Alex has been a big part of our family and we loved him with all our hearts.  Unfortunately, today, we had to make the decision to put Alex to sleep.  In the last 6 months, he had lost about 1/3 of his body weight and we have had him at the vet's almost every month for the last 6 months with them running blood tests and doing chest x-ray (he had a heart murmur for several years), but nothing was showing up.  When we took him to get groomed on Saturday, we discovered he had lost another pound in under a month's time.  Then this weekend, the unthinkable happened, he quit eating altogether.  I tried canned dog food, I fixed a pot roast and tried that, I tried steak, chicken, cheese - his all time favorite, but nothing would tempt him.  He had even just about given up drinking water.  Then this morning my husband fixed his breakfast - a bowl of Lucky Charms (breakfast of Champions according to him).  Alex loved Lucky Charms - only the Charms though.  Not even a milk soaked Charm could tempt him.  He just looked at us with his big brown eyes - so sad - as if to say, "I'm done and I just can't do anymore." I talked to the vet this morning and she indicated that he had given up and there wasn't anything we could do to change that.  I told her we had decided the best thing to do was to have him put to sleep and she agreed.  So, with a heavy heart, I write this to say, my sweet little boy has gone to sleep forever and will be missed for a very long time.  He was a good dog that brought a lot of love and joy to our family and he will be very missed by us as well as our other dog Zoe who can't quite figure out where he is. Thanks for listening.

I am so sorry you lost your sweet dog.  I know how hard it is to lose a pet.  I am so glad that you gave him another chance to have a wonderful life in your home for these past years.  deb

Thank you Deb, I appreciate your comments.

Wendy I know it is hard to lose a furbaby but think of the good home you provided for him. I'm sorry for your loss.

Thanks so much.  I am thinking of how much joy he gave us and what a great little dog he was.

Wendy From one dog lover to another, I am so sorry for your loss...... WENDY #1

Wendy - Thanks for your comments.  Only another dog lover (or animal lover as the case may be) really understands the hurt we experience when we lose one of our beloved furbabies. - Wendy #2

Oh Wendy I am sorry to hear about your loved pet.  I hate that...  two in one week!  Oh I just feel so awful.  i would miss my puppies/babies so much if something happened to them!  I wish I could do something for you to make the pain go away, but nothing that I could do can take it.  One thing, you have all those wonderful memories.  Pets stick by our side no matter what... even when we do not deserve to be loved.  I am so sorry!  {{ hugs }} Poor little Zoe will wonder where Alex went... Zoe will miss Alex greatly too I am sure.

Melinda, Thanks so much.  I know if there was something you could do to take away the hurt I feel right now you would - you are a great friend like that.  We will have some days of adjustment ahead of us, but eventually, we will be ok.  Life won't be the same without our "quirky little man" around, but we have Zoe and she is such a great source of comfort and she just kind of knows something is up.  She knows he left with us but didn't come home with us, so she is on the confused side.  The vet said she would need extra attention over the next few days and she will get it because I will need the extra attention she provides me. Again, thanks so much for your comments and for wanting to take away the hurt - that means a lot and that is what being a friend is all about. Wendy PS - Glad you are feeling better and getting back to "normal" (whatever the heck normal is anymore - LOL).

Normal - yes who in the world knows what Normal is?  Maybe the weird ones are really normal...  and all of us who say we are normal are the weird ones?  hmm something to ponder! lol I am feeling much better today.  Still a little blah but perking up more each day.