Sad Day...

[Okie Boarder]

Today the vet took our dachshund to put her down. :cry:

Long story short, we have been having issues for a while now with her being aggressive with our other dog and with the kids. It has escalated into several fights with the other dog causing harm, breaking skin, drawing blood.

We discussed the behavior with the vet, after the 2nd visit for our other dog to be stitched up, and he feels the behavior was headed in a dangerous direction.

After quit a bit of discussion, my wife and I decided it was the best thing to do to put her down. We sat down and talked to the kids about it last night. Our oldest is taking it the hardest. We told them to be sure to spend some time with her loving on her. My oldest would just hold her, sobbing uncontrollably and telling her he was going to miss her.

Such a sad day. I think this is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks!

[dusty2221]

Damn Okie, I hate to hear it. Just find comfort in knowing it was all for the safety of the other pup and your family.

[jet]

Sorry Okie..just remember him as he was. Jet

[Salty87]

hang in there okie, that's tough. these guys, as usual, are right. you've got the whole 'pack' to be responsible for. and, remember the good times.

[Kip]

Sorry to hear about your loss. It is a hard thing to deal with, I know from experience. As said before remember the good times and that is what your kids will remember too.

[ifly]

Sorry about the loss. That put a lump in my throat. Sorry.

[RanceOU]

Sorry to hear about the loss, the right thing to do never seems to be the easiest. Best wishes.

[cmtaylor777]

Damn Man... I am so sorry to hear that. We talked a little bit about your situation before but I didn't know it was that bad. I wish you and yours the best.

[tg0824SSVGG]

Sorry man,

I have a dog we likely have to make this same decision on in the next month. She's about 15 - had her since a pup.

[Okie Boarder]

Thanks guys. It was really tough. I felt like a jerk putting her down. Overall she ius a good dog with a sweet heart, but the aggressive pattern seriously concerned us. She left 5-6 puncture wounds in Missy's neck. Between that and how she was treating us, we were worried what was gonna happen.

[Gravity08]

Sorry to hear about the loss. She is in a better place now with no problems... We lost one of fav dogs the day we were having my grandmothers funeral. Double shock. Our corgi will have to be put down in the next few months. He has cancer. His spleen ruptured 4 months ago. The vet saved him but he didnt know how long he would have.

[mmandley]

Real sorry to hear about the loss. I know for me and my other half our 2 dogs are our kids for now. Ive had to put one of my animals down one time, it was hard, i cried like a baby i loved him so much and i feel your pain man. Best wishes to you and the family.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Very sorry to hear your loss. My friends springer spaniel was very nervous and one day 2yrs ago lunged at my face and tore my nose wide open. Needed 14 stitches. He also showed agressiveness towards young kids in the family so he had to be put down. Very sad for all.

If you feel it's appropriate, we would love to see a pic in tribute. (edit I see the pic now in the pups thread)

[Razzman]

Sorry to hear that Okie, it's never fun having to do that. Had to have our Ridgeback put down a few years ago due to cancer and it hurts. We have a doxie too, a mini, and yeah they can get aggresive. It's in their blood unfortunately and they just can't help it sometimes. Again sorry for the loss.

[Okie Boarder]

Well...this happened rather suddenly. We've made a list of several breeds and had it a bit narrowed down, so the search would begin. I went by Petsmart after Home Depot earlier, and just fell in love with this guy. He is a Poodle and Terrier mix about 1.5 years old. Awesome personality and seems very loving and well behaved. I took the wife and kids to see him and there really wasn't any question. He is a rescue dog that was discovered in someone's barn in a small town nearby. It was with a family for a while, but seemed to try to "go after" their cats a little too much for their liking so he just went back to the rescue last week.

Say hello to Alvin.

We're looking forward to him being a special part of our family. Missy isn't too sure about him yet, but I'm sure she will grow to love him.

http://i642.photobucket.com/albums/uu144/OkieBoarder/IMG_8081_resized.jpg

http://i642.photobucket.com/albums/uu144/OkieBoarder/IMG_8083_resized.jpg

http://i642.photobucket.com/albums/uu144/OkieBoarder/IMG_8084_resized.jpg

http://i642.photobucket.com/albums/uu144/OkieBoarder/IMG_8085_resized.jpg

[Okie Boarder]

Well, "Alvin" seems to be fitting in well and seems like a very well behaved dog. He seems to have gotten quickly attached to my wife and gets upset when she isn't around...LOL!

We're throwing around the idea of changing his name. He's only been "Alvin" since the previous family had him so it probably wouldn't be too hard to get him to adapt.

We'll see what happens.

Bath time went well the other day so we're thinking he doesn't appear to really be "afraid" of the water. We're interested to see how he would do on te boat and being on the water.

Also, as far as the cat thing...I'm not real sure what the issue was. We have an outside cat and we took him out to meet her. He didn't seem real interested in pursuing her. Maybe it would be a little different if they were in the same house.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

boy cat or girl cat? girls are kinda queen-B's (hehe) and boys are mostly indifferent. At least IMO

Cute pupp

[scotthons]

Sorry to hear about your loss. That is a major bummer, but ultimately you made the right decision.

[Okie Boarder]

The cat we have is a girl. She was a stray that adopted us. She is an outside cat though. That could play into the personality difference, I'm sure.

[Razzman]

Sorry for the crappy iphone pics ... When my doxie isn't dragging her around by the neck the dog & cat actually get along real well.

[Okie Boarder]

Isn't it funny how doxie's like to burrow under blankets and stuff?

[Razzman]

Isn't it funny how doxie's like to burrow under blankets and stuff?

It really is, they're like tunnel rats i swear! Gotta sleep in the big bed and will have none of sleeping in his own blasted bed!

[Okie Boarder]

Well, we've been adjusting to Schatzi being gone and loving Alvin (we're pretty much calling him Alvi). Our older dog, Missy, got another growth on her neck that is swelling, then oozing, then subsiding. We talked to the vet and we would have to cut that one out too. He fears Missy has cancer and that is what these growths are. He feels we would just keep cutting them off her and putting her through surgeries with a couple weeks of recoveries each time and he fears it's just going to get worse. As long as they don't break open we don't "have" to put her through that. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, so we're just "treating" this growth for now trying to decide what we're going to do.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We have some tough decisions ahead of us.

[brack]

Just found this thread today ,sorry about your loss . I went through the same type issue with my two yo St Bernard .had him since he was a pup ...then we had my youngest son , dog became aggitated. and aggressive towards strangers . Tried to sell , then give him away , no takers cuz of a male and that age......ex had to take him and put him down , could not take any more chances with the baby . Tuff day for me ,he was s BDay present to me fromfamily , he was my running buddy...remember the good times , amen

[autocraft]

ive had dashhounds all my life had to put one down 7 years ago he blew out his back i have one at the vet now with the same problem dont know if they can save him. its a hard to deside how long to wait to see if he gets better 2days with no improvment the vet says his pain is comforatible for now i dont want him to suffer or have poor qualty of life

[Okie Boarder]

Thanks guys for the words of encouragement and stories. Like I said, I don't want to keep cutting her up. She seemed so miserable following the last surgery. For now, she's in good spirits and seems to feel good. I'd just as soon keep it that way and when the vet says to cut her open or put her down, we'll probably pick the latter.