My dog is on his way out

[Jersey]

He's just a little over thirteen years old now, and over 60 pounds so that makes him around 82 years old in dog years, which is beyond a senior. He's considered a geriatric, an old, old man.

It's not very hard to tell when your dog is dying; he or she becomes very unresponsive. He stopped eating well yesterday, and it was only after he was lying down on his pillow that I finally got him to eat a bowl of food. He has to be hauled outside because he won't get up by himself. I can tell that these two days weren't just bad days; I know they're his last. I'm up at school now, so if my dad takes him in to the vet I most likely won't be able to be there. I want to more than anything, since I remember the day my dad brought him home.

I remember it clear as day; it was during the winter of my second grade year. My dad is a cop, and it's not too uncommon for him to run into the occasional stray cat or dog, but something was different about this one. The puppy was abandoned, or dumped I should say, in between the two sets of automatic doors of a supermarket. He just sat there, and my father picked him up, put him in the car, and brought him home to us. My father felt that he deserved a second chance at life, and it became his name. Chance.

I'll see if I can post a picture I took of him, about a week ago, when he was still doing well.

Here he is lying down.



And here he is standing up. His ears usually stick up, but in these pictures they're lying down flat.



Anyone notice the heart shape in his back fur? My sister noticed that one day when he was still a puppy. He's had it ever since.

He's been with us for so long I really can't imagine life at home without him. This is going to be tough...

[Blastgirl]

He's a beautiful Dog, Jersey.

He looks very friendly too. I'm sorry he seems ill but you never know. I see the Valentine shape. He's pretty he has a cute face and he is colored very well. What breed of Dog is he?

Classic will have to post about this he had his Beagle named Ranger for about thirteen years. We have a Beagle now named Pirate.

Well he is a pretty Dog. I'll say a little prayer that he gets well and you can keep him a little while longer.

When you have a Dog this long he becomes a member of the Family.

[Beangirl]

Awe Jersey, That is a tough thing. Sometimes when you love something you must let them go free. You are right, they become our family. You are in my thoughts.

[Phil]

He is a very good looking dog.

I know how attached we all can become to pets. I worry about Jason if one of his birds passes away.

Keep us updated on your dog. I do want to know.

[aido179]

sorry to hear he isn't doing very well. sucks to have a pet die. my cat died a while ago. its tough, but you can get over it. good luck chance!

[Blastgirl]

Still crossing fingers for you Jersey.

[Jersey]

I texted my sister today and asked how he was and she said that he's doing better but his hips are still going out. My dad is going to put him down if his hips go completely. My dad will never allow any of our animals to suffer while they're dying.

I'll see how the next few days go. If I'm lucky he'll be better until I can get home and see him on Friday and Saturday.

[farti1]

The way a dog lights up when they see you after you have been away for a while....They are family!
Wishing the best for Chance.

[Classicblast]

Chance looks like a very nice dog Jersey Life.

Over the phone Blastgirl mentioned that your dog was ill.
This hits home with me. I got my dog Ranger when I was 7 years old. I had him just over 13 years.

He was my little buddy.

When I was training for baseball he would get up and run with me. Everyday.
If it was bad weather sometimes I would decide not to run or once in a while I just took a day off. He would bite my covers and growl as if to tell me to hurry up it's time.

Sometimes I had planned on not going but his persistence caused me to get up and go for a run maybe deciding that the rain wasn't that bad lets go.

It would not be unusual for him to lay on the lawn. I'd come home from school or whatever and he would jump up and run right to me.

That never failed whenever I would get home even if he was deep alseep he could jjust come running.

When I would do some other workouts in the basement he would pace around me. So during my training he was a companion. And I took him a lot of places too.

One day I was heading for home and I saw him laying on the grass like he often did. My parents were home and all but when I pulled in the driveway he didn't run up to me. So I figured that was strange. I went over to him and he had died. He was still warm though so it must have not been too long. My father heard me shout an explotive and came out.
He touched Ranger's forehead and said "I'm So sorry Classic."

I was not willing to accept that answer so I put him on the seat of my truck and rushed to the vet. (I knew it was hopeless but I did it anyway.)

I have lots of pictures of him throughout my house.

We have a beagle now named Pirate but he's more close to Blastgirl and our older son since they're home more than me.

But he is similar to Ranger.

All I can say Jersey is savor him as long as you can. Maybe you can keep him a while longer. But I hope you have lots of pictures and go ahead and take even more of them. While you still can.

[Phil]

Chance seems to like having his picture taken he looked right at the camera.

[Demona]

A friend of mine said his grandpa's dog was killed by a car a couple days ago. It was the favorite one too. Bummer about that. Adam said he gave it a 21 gun salute with a shotgun when they buried it in the yard. Never heard of a pet funeral like that!

[fartinggurl]

I feel your pain, Jersey. We do become attached to our pets.

Last November my parents and I made the hard decision to have our oldest cat, Madison, put to sleep. It started in October, when she would just lay down and not do anything. We took her to the vet and discovered that she had kidney failure. For a few weeks she seemed back to her normal self because the vet had hydrated her, and then she began getting worse. Then the day after Thanksgiving, we decided to have her put to sleep because we could not stand to see her suffer anymore. The following Monday we took Madison to the vet, where she was put to sleep. I actually didn't think I would cry, but as I held her for the last time, I couldn't stop crying. What made it so hard was that she was my first cat.

Anyway he's a very cute dog, Jersey. Please keep us updated on him.

[Jersey]

phil said:

Chance seems to like having his picture taken he looked right at the camera.

Actually his deal is one picture with him looking at the camera, and that's it. After the one he won't let me take any more pictures, at least of his face. It's like he says one is enough.

[Blastgirl]

It's cute that he has a policy one picture at a time. ;D

[Jersey]

Here's an update. My mom sent me a text message saying she bought him soft food and that he loves it to no end. Now that he has more food in him, all he needs in the morning is someone to help him up so he can go outside and get stretched out. After that, he's almost normal, just more tuckered out than he usually is.

I'm going to see him when I come home tomorrow so I'll see if I can take more pictures or post a video messing around and playing with all three dogs.

[fartinggurl]

I'm glad to hear that your dog is doing better, Jersey. I can't wait to see more pictures of Chance. Hopefully he let's you take more than one photo of him.

[Phil]

We shall look forward to the new pictures and the videos. And I am pleased to know he is doing better.

[Kimm]

He is an adorable dog. Pet him for me Jersey Life. Im glad he is responding well to the new food.