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Terry Coombs

On 4/18/2019 2:25 PM, wrote:
> On Thu, 18 Apr 2019 14:37:26 -0400, Dave Smith
> > wrote:
>
>> I just came in form burying Sonny, our Malinois rescue. His time was up
>> and we took him to the vet to be euthanized. We had actually done that
>> 6 months ago when we thought that he had lost control of his bowels, but
>> that turned out to be colitis and was easily fixed up with some
>> antibiotics and steroids. However, he was deteriorating with age and
>> the vet said that it was time to put him down when he could no longer
>> stand up on his own. He had been getting steadily worse but yesteday
>> the back end gave out and he could no longer get up or stand up on his own.
>>
>> Sonny was a Katrina rescue (from Florida) who came to us 9 years ago at
>> the age of 5, after he had been evicted from the trailer park where his
>> owners spent their winters. The woman dropped him off on the way to a
>> conference in Toronto and said she would check on the way back in three
>> days and if things weren't working out she would take him back. She did
>> not check in. Nor did she return phone calls or emails. He was so bad I
>> was going to send him back. He is the only dog I was never able to
>> train to heel off leash and to come when called. He never really ran
>> away. He would always come back eventually.
>>
>> He used to scare the hell of visitors, barking and growling as if he was
>> going to rip them apart if they tried to come in. He was even worse when
>> they were leaving. The second day he had him my brother came by with
>> his Lab to walk with the digs. Sonny was acting so vicious that my
>> brother would never bring his dog back. I know that he would have been
>> fine off the leash, but given the way he had been acting I can't blame
>> him for not wanting to risk a repeat.
>>
>> He was a high energy dog who needed to run. If he had been out for the
>> daily two mile walk (5 mile run for him) he burned up enough energy to
>> behave. He finally started to settle down at age 10 and turned into a
>> really nice dog.
> A four year old child's wisdom.
>
> Why dogs do not live as long as people?
>
> Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old
> Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa,
> and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they
> were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of
> cancer. I told the family there were no miracles left for Belker, and
> offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their
> home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it
> would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure.
> They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.
> The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's
> family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for
> the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.
> Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy
> seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or
> confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering
> aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human
> lives.
>
> Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."
> Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next
> stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. He said,
> "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life --
> like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The
> four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so
> they don't have to stay as long."

Â* Out of the mouths of babes ...

--
Snag
Yes , I'm old
and crochety - and armed .
Get outta my woods !