Dogs

[Anakonda69]

well after surrendering our dogs to the humane society on monday we found out nothing but bad news. they were both terminally ill at only 5 1/2 yrs old and 5 yrs. old. madison our lab/beagle mix was diagnosed with cushings disease and brutus our bloodhound german shepard heart disease and murmur along with arthritis and hip dysplasia. with great regret we had both of them put down. cushings disease is untreatable and we were told we are lucky we had not found her dead already. brutus' heart disease would likely kill him within the next year. being that he has not known life without madison he would have been worse off once she was taken from him. needless to say there are no real symptoms to cushings so we never knew she even had any issues. our vet had never checked for it because it does not become a normal blood test till after 6 years old. i'm still not sure how our vet missed the issues with brutus' heart but i don't know exactly the difference in a normal vet visit testing vs a humane society pre-adoption test. i would assume the humane society is more thorough from the start. this definitely did not help our already unhappy situation but now i guess we have some closure. no need to ponder where they ended up or if they were being treated right by some new owners. even if my daughter overcomes her allergy to dogs it will be a long time before i will ever be able to own a dog again. they were my best friends and like children to me. so all you dog owners be sure to cherish the time you have with them, never know when it will come to a screeching hault.

[Irish]

well after surrendering our dogs to the humane society on monday we found out nothing but bad news. they were both terminally ill at only 5 1/2 yrs old and 5 yrs. old. madison our lab/beagle mix was diagnosed with cushings disease and brutus our bloodhound german shepard heart disease and murmur along with arthritis and hip dysplasia. with great regret we had both of them put down. cushings disease is untreatable and we were told we are lucky we had not found her dead already. brutus' heart disease would likely kill him within the next year. being that he has not known life without madison he would have been worse off once she was taken from him. needless to say there are no real symptoms to cushings so we never knew she even had any issues. our vet had never checked for it because it does not become a normal blood test till after 6 years old. i'm still not sure how our vet missed the issues with brutus' heart but i don't know exactly the difference in a normal vet visit testing vs a humane society pre-adoption test. i would assume the humane society is more thorough from the start. this definitely did not help our already unhappy situation but now i guess we have some closure. no need to ponder where they ended up or if they were being treated right by some new owners. even if my daughter overcomes her allergy to dogs it will be a long time before i will ever be able to own a dog again. they were my best friends and like children to me. so all you dog owners be sure to cherish the time you have with them, never know when it will come to a screeching hault.

Bro, I had a lab for 13 years from age 13-26. I feel your pain!

My heart goes out to you!

[Prince Valiant]

Condolences on your loss...

Not trying to make you feel worse, contradict, or pile on...but just for the sake of education for others who may one day get a cushings dx: cushing's syndrome isn't always fatal...and in dogs, not horribly uncommon, especially in older dogs. My 14y/o Pug had cushings, and we DID put him down, it was for an unrelated tumor that was causing a palsy. But in cushings for dogs, there are several different types, etc.

This is also a human disease...but is extremely rare to encounter, by contrast.

But it sucks to lose a pet for any reason...hope the pain passes and is replaced soon by good, if bittersweet memories.

[JC70SS]

Sorry for your loss. Just lost one of our GSD last sept at 9 yrs due to hemangiosarcoma. Still think about her everyday. As one guy I know said "The more people I meet, the more I love dogs."

[michelle]

Very sorry to hear, but as you said at least you and your family have a bit of closure now.

[Silver350]

Sorry for you loss. I can only imagine how difficult it is to lose a dog. I am dreading the day that I lose mine.

[Haulin' Oates]

Really sorry to hear of your loss. Dogs are some of the best friends we will ever have the pleasure of knowing.

[noeggs4u]

Sorry for your loss.

[WhatsADSM]

Very sad to hear! I spend a lot of time with my now 9 year old GSD. She is a real joy to have around and stories like this remind you to never take that for granted.

[Yooformula]

Sorry to hear that.

[spooln30]

Sorry about your does man. I too lost my best friend last Nov. his stomach twisted and I had to put him down. I miss him everyday. The best looking, acting and behaving German Shepard I've ever had or met. He had a great personality that matched mine. He was 13 years old and I knew time was running out. His hips were going and he had a few tumors. If I had the money I wouldve like to clone him cuz I don't think ill ever find a GS like him. I'm afraid to get another dog because losing one is very difficult. Sorry for ranting on.

[Anakonda69]

thanks everyone for all the well wishes. it's been rough the past week. house seems "empty" without them.

michelle - i said the same thing. at least i have some closure and am not worrying about them having been adopted by someone who would have mis treated them.

valiant - i had never heard of this disease. my wife knew of it because she had seen it at the hospital. she said it is very painful in the later stages. they did tell us it is not always fatal but it was in this case.