Did you see the turnout for Walnut?

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poiuytrewq

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So bitter sweet. So many people and dogs turned out for little Walnut the whippets final walk on the beach.
What a lovely send off for a beautiful little chap.

RIP Walnut and thoughts with his owner tonight :(
 
I usually like to tell Mum about these stories, but I can't even begin to put it into words :(

It makes me happy and sad at the same time, mostly because I was unable to do anything like than for my old girl, Annie. As she was the family dog, my parents arranged it all, and I wasn't able to do anything for her, except to say goodbye. I feel guilty for not making her feel special on her last day.
I won't make the same mistake for Tamriel, in any aspect of her life.
 
I tried to tell my daughter in the car earlier but kept starting to cry!
Chan, your old dog wouldn't have known any different. I'm sure Annie was happy and loved throughout her life and that's what really matters!
I think my dogs would have actually been a bit freaked out by the situation tbh!
I know what you mean though, you loose one and are more determined to make the others or future dogs have the best :)
 
Ok I think I may be the only person who feels like this but although the footage on the news made me well up a bit it also made me uncomfortable. I just wonder if it was fair to put an obviously very poorly old dog through that Having sadly dealt with quite a few dogs as they come to the end of their days , as they age they become quite vulnerable and I think that letting all those strange dogs come and sniff at him was possibly a bit too much and maybe stressful for him. It was wonderful so many people turned out but was it perhaps more for the owner than Walnut ?
 
Personally, I would not want my dog's last hours to be spent dealing with strange people and strange dogs. A nice walk with a few doggie friends that he knew, would have been fine for me. I understand the guy only put it on his local FB page and it snowballed.

Run free lovely Walnut, you were much loved by your family x
 
MurphysMinder said:
Ok I think I may be the only person who feels like this but although the footage on the news made me well up a bit it also made me uncomfortable. I just wonder if it was fair to put an obviously very poorly old dog through that Having sadly dealt with quite a few dogs as they come to the end of their days , as they age they become quite vulnerable and I think that letting all those strange dogs come and sniff at him was possibly a bit too much and maybe stressful for him. It was wonderful so many people turned out but was it perhaps more for the owner than Walnut ?
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I agree. The owner was lovely, Walnut was a beautiful old dog and they clearly had a wonderful, close bond and Walnut's owner loved him to bits, but the video footage made me feel a little uncomfortable seeing all the people stroking at him, dogs sniffing him etc.
 
MurphysMinder said:
Ok I think I may be the only person who feels like this but although the footage on the news made me well up a bit it also made me uncomfortable. I just wonder if it was fair to put an obviously very poorly old dog through that Having sadly dealt with quite a few dogs as they come to the end of their days , as they age they become quite vulnerable and I think that letting all those strange dogs come and sniff at him was possibly a bit too much and maybe stressful for him. It was wonderful so many people turned out but was it perhaps more for the owner than Walnut ?
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Don't think you are the only person thinking this. Done with the very best of intentions I'm sure but probably not the best thing for the old dog.
 
MurphysMinder said:
Ok I think I may be the only person who feels like this but although the footage on the news made me well up a bit it also made me uncomfortable. I just wonder if it was fair to put an obviously very poorly old dog through that Having sadly dealt with quite a few dogs as they come to the end of their days , as they age they become quite vulnerable and I think that letting all those strange dogs come and sniff at him was possibly a bit too much and maybe stressful for him. It was wonderful so many people turned out but was it perhaps more for the owner than Walnut ?
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maybe but he was protected by being carried. my old dog that I lost this year, would have loved it fwiw but being a setter, had a joie de vivre that lasted pretty much up to the last day.
 
As someone who never tells anyone when I am having an animal pts until about a month after it has happened, I'm afraid this made me feel very sad and uncomfortable. Personally (and it's just the way I am) I would rather those last moments were just between me and the animal I love.
 
Rowreach said:
As someone who never tells anyone when I am having an animal pts until about a month after it has happened, I'm afraid this made me feel very sad and uncomfortable. Personally (and it's just the way I am) I would rather those last moments were just between me and the animal I love.
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That's exactly how I felt about it and I really don't know why he did it.

R.I.P. Walnut..
 
As I said my dogs would all have been totally freaked by this and so it's not something I'd do personally
I would imagine Walnuts owners knew him and what his personality is like, he must have been a very sociable little dog else they wouldn't have done it surely?
Years ago I had a little dog who would have been thrilled to be fussed and meet hundreds of people and dogs- it would have been heaven for her so I think it's down to the personality of the dog as to wether this was a good idea or not.
 
I did feel a bit uncomfortable as well, then I thought about my big dog, also a whippet. Hes incredibly gregarious and outgoing. Thats his whole attitude to life, he loves going to the vets no matter what they do as its all about him. He loves everyone and everything he meets. He would have loved it and assumed, rightly, that everyone was there to worship him, so I'm going to work on the basis that Walnut was the same :)
 
MurphysMinder said:
Ok I think I may be the only person who feels like this but although the footage on the news made me well up a bit it also made me uncomfortable. I just wonder if it was fair to put an obviously very poorly old dog through that Having sadly dealt with quite a few dogs as they come to the end of their days , as they age they become quite vulnerable and I think that letting all those strange dogs come and sniff at him was possibly a bit too much and maybe stressful for him. It was wonderful so many people turned out but was it perhaps more for the owner than Walnut ?
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I found it very moving. But do agree with you entirely.
 
FrankieCob said:
I did feel a bit uncomfortable as well, then I thought about my big dog, also a whippet. Hes incredibly gregarious and outgoing. Thats his whole attitude to life, he loves going to the vets no matter what they do as its all about him. He loves everyone and everything he meets. He would have loved it and assumed, rightly, that everyone was there to worship him, so I'm going to work on the basis that Walnut was the same :)
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Thank you for that, you've eased my own doubts about this. I also know a whippet who thinks it's all about him.
 
The owner has admitted on national TV that he kept the dog alive for the past EIGHT months when it was incontinent and unable to walk because he could not bear to lose his dog. He then subjects the dog to this media circus on it's last day on earth, and cannot even be bothered to carry to the dog sensitively, simply tucking it under his arm. The dog looked bewildered and confused on every single picture I have seen.

There is NO EXCUSE, this is totally and utterly unforgivable......
 
FrankieCob said:
I did feel a bit uncomfortable as well, then I thought about my big dog, also a whippet. Hes incredibly gregarious and outgoing. Thats his whole attitude to life, he loves going to the vets no matter what they do as its all about him. He loves everyone and everything he meets. He would have loved it and assumed, rightly, that everyone was there to worship him, so I'm going to work on the basis that Walnut was the same :)
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I watched a clip of this on our local news. It was very sad. The dog looked distressed and unhappy, he looked cold and miserable and from the part I saw he was just being carried like a handbag. He certainly didn't look as if he loved it. He simply looked distant and lost. To me it was just an ego trip for his owner. If I had a dog that was in that state I would not have delayed PTS until he could become a celebrity on the beach. I also would have kept him at home in the warm and with some blankets. I agree with Levrier. The owner should have had the balls to do what was needed rather than turning his dog into a media circus.
 
Lévrier;13413096 said:
The owner has admitted on national TV that he kept the dog alive for the past EIGHT months when it was incontinent and unable to walk because he could not bear to lose his dog. He then subjects the dog to this media circus on it's last day on earth, and cannot even be bothered to carry to the dog sensitively, simply tucking it under his arm. The dog looked bewildered and confused on every single picture I have seen.

There is NO EXCUSE, this is totally and utterly unforgivable......
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I didn't realise this. Regret my original opinion on it all now.
 
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