Dogs can break your heart

[Mero]

My dog is not very dog friendly but he has one dog who is his best friend in the world. She's an older girl at 12 but we met most mornings over the last year and would walk round the fields together, and my dog would be so excited to see her and her owner. Then in November this dog was diagnosed with lymphoma and is now basically on palliative care. We haven't seen her for at least a month since her diagnosis and my dog looks for her and her owner every morning and would sit an wait for hours if you let him. Today we arranged to meet for a very short walk to feed the birds like we always used to do. I have to admit i found it really upsetting. He was so excited to see them both and spent 10 mins just bouncing around doing his usual happy dog thing. I thought he might sense she was ill and be more gentle and calm around her, but he was just his normal self, great I thought. And then all of a sudden he started to get super interested in her, sniffing her all over especially her mouth, his eyes started rolling, his panting got really hard and stressy and he started to get completely obsessed over her. He started getting really humpy, which is something he never does, and stressed to the point where I had to separate him from her in case he showed any aggression.

The upside is that the old girl was happy as larry, cantering around the field and ignoring my dogs strange behaviour. But it made me really sad that she is clearly giving off strong indications that she is very unwell and that it made my dog so stressed. I think that will be the last time they ever see each other as I don't think there is any benefit to them meeting again, which feels a bit heartbreaking as they were so happy together before.

No point to this, but I feel really sad and don't have any dog loving friends who would get it. Fortunately the other dogs owner is incredibly experienced and understands my dogs actions way better than I do.

 

[CorvusCorax]

It must have been unsettling to watch, at the end of the day they are animals and he was just reacting to whatever smells and signals her body was giving off, it will come to us all as things start to fail and break down, not nice to contemplate but it's nature/the way of the world. Try and remember the good times, put the last few moments out of your head or put it down to nature doing its' thing, the other dog wasn't upset by it and they had a lovely time otherwise x

 

[Mero]

You’re absolutely right of course, and it’s the same thing the owner said. I suppose part of my sadness is that to me the old girl visually looks fabulous, she’s bright eyed and romping about like normal, so him picking up that she isn’t right sort of brings it home. That and feeling her weight difference when I put my hands on her for a cuddle, her coat hides it so well.

 

[pistolpete]

Bless you. That’s tough. I’ve just been watching some stuff about medical detection dogs. The cancer ‘smell’ must have triggered the behaviour. They can smell the equivalent of half a teaspoon of sugar in an Olympic size swimming pool.

 

[Kat_Bath]

This would make me sad too. Harvey used to get quite upset when he saw our neighbour's lovely dog before he was PTS - he was riddled with cancer. He showed very similar behaviour with a dog on a walk not long after and I always wondered if the dog was poorly.

If it was me, I'd try really hard to override any feelings of sadness with ones of happiness, knowing both dogs have had the pleasure of being friends all this time and that they obviously love each other very much - they've been very lucky, as have you. And your dog will always have you ?

 

[Bellasophia]

Mero..
the older you get and the longer you have dogs the more the “cycle of life “phrase makes sense.
Your dog is showing he feels his best friend is off kilter..he’s not being aggressive,just really concerned.They are so intuitive,have senses so much more developed than us that we have to respect that ,even marvel at their abilities.
My own two dogs are now shifting apart in health ..my little dog has bladder cancer,phase three..my hyper aware poodle boy is reacting in ways some would say odd..the last few weeks he howls even when I or she leaves the room..he sniffs and licks her wees,he seems very agitated.He seems to know her time is limited.
Ive advised my hub to give him every support,lots of love and attention and he’s reassured by this.( both the dog and my hub who is not dog savvy)
My heart is also breaking knowing that the next month will likely be the crescendo,the decision time.
But it’s the cycle of life..it has no agenda known to us and it will have its own momentum.
We have to accept it and make our own plans to adapt.
Mero if you are young,my words will maybe not make sense..but as you go through your dog experiences you will see they give you everything and time is condensed into precious memories.Treasure them and your heart will swell and this will help the sufferance.

 

[I'm Dun]

I lost my dog 2 days ago. My heart is absolutely broken over it. I wasn't sure it was time but the night before my other dogs told me it was. They were fussing over him and being really concerned and careful and that's when I knew for certain. For a while now they have been distancing themselves from him which was hard to see, but I guess they knew.

I didn't take them in with me as I wanted it to just be me and him for the last moments, but I have no doubt whatsoever that when I came out they knew. They sniffed me all over and then just went and laid down quietly.

Everytime I've lost an animal I think I cant possibly do this again, and this time has been harder than most. But I cant bear to be without a dog in my life, so I just have to muddle through the grief as best I can. Right now my knees buckle everytime I think of him and I feel physical pain, but it will ease over time and I'll be able to remember the happy times rather than just the heartbreak of losing him, or at least thats what I keep telling myself

 

[Clodagh]

I lost my dog 2 days ago. My heart is absolutely broken over it. I wasn't sure it was time but the night before my other dogs told me it was. They were fussing over him and being really concerned and careful and that's when I knew for certain. For a while now they have been distancing themselves from him which was hard to see, but I guess they knew.

I didn't take them in with me as I wanted it to just be me and him for the last moments, but I have no doubt whatsoever that when I came out they knew. They sniffed me all over and then just went and laid down quietly.

Everytime I've lost an animal I think I cant possibly do this again, and this time has been harder than most. But I cant bear to be without a dog in my life, so I just have to muddle through the grief as best I can. Right now my knees buckle everytime I think of him and I feel physical pain, but it will ease over time and I'll be able to remember the happy times rather than just the heartbreak of losing him, or at least thats what I keep telling myself

I’m so sorry.

 

[Kat_Bath]

I lost my dog 2 days ago. My heart is absolutely broken over it. I wasn't sure it was time but the night before my other dogs told me it was. They were fussing over him and being really concerned and careful and that's when I knew for certain. For a while now they have been distancing themselves from him which was hard to see, but I guess they knew.

I didn't take them in with me as I wanted it to just be me and him for the last moments, but I have no doubt whatsoever that when I came out they knew. They sniffed me all over and then just went and laid down quietly.

Everytime I've lost an animal I think I cant possibly do this again, and this time has been harder than most. But I cant bear to be without a dog in my life, so I just have to muddle through the grief as best I can. Right now my knees buckle everytime I think of him and I feel physical pain, but it will ease over time and I'll be able to remember the happy times rather than just the heartbreak of losing him, or at least thats what I keep telling myself

Take care of yourself and be kind to yourself. He was a lucky dog

 

[Mero]

I lost my dog 2 days ago. My heart is absolutely broken over it. I wasn't sure it was time but the night before my other dogs told me it was. They were fussing over him and being really concerned and careful and that's when I knew for certain. For a while now they have been distancing themselves from him which was hard to see, but I guess they knew.

I didn't take them in with me as I wanted it to just be me and him for the last moments, but I have no doubt whatsoever that when I came out they knew. They sniffed me all over and then just went and laid down quietly.

Everytime I've lost an animal I think I cant possibly do this again, and this time has been harder than most. But I cant bear to be without a dog in my life, so I just have to muddle through the grief as best I can. Right now my knees buckle everytime I think of him and I feel physical pain, but it will ease over time and I'll be able to remember the happy times rather than just the heartbreak of losing him, or at least thats what I keep telling myself

I’m so sorry to hear that. I always have to ask myself if I would rather not have had them at all than go through the heartache of losing them, and of course the answer is always no. But it doesn’t make it much easier.

 

[Bellasophia]

I’mdun..I’m so sorry for your loss.

 

[Gusbear]

I’m done, please do take care of yourself. Sending lots of virtual hugs your way xxx

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

I lost my dog 2 days ago. My heart is absolutely broken over it. I wasn't sure it was time but the night before my other dogs told me it was. They were fussing over him and being really concerned and careful and that's when I knew for certain. For a while now they have been distancing themselves from him which was hard to see, but I guess they knew.

I didn't take them in with me as I wanted it to just be me and him for the last moments, but I have no doubt whatsoever that when I came out they knew. They sniffed me all over and then just went and laid down quietly.

Everytime I've lost an animal I think I cant possibly do this again, and this time has been harder than most. But I cant bear to be without a dog in my life, so I just have to muddle through the grief as best I can. Right now my knees buckle everytime I think of him and I feel physical pain, but it will ease over time and I'll be able to remember the happy times rather than just the heartbreak of losing him, or at least thats what I keep telling myself

I am so very sorry to read this, it never gets easier does it. Take care of yourself and let your other dogs help you to move forward. ?

 

[Quigleyandme]

@I’m Dun so very sorry for your grief