Will Rogers Drafted Our Dog Today

[NVcurmudgeon]

Will Rogers famously said that if dogs didn't go to Heaven, he preferred to go where the dogs went. Bo, our old Cockapoo, went home today. He was over 15 years old and had survived serious medical conditions too numerous to mention. We often called him "the world's toughest small dog." A month ago he began having digestive troubles and spent a week at the vet's being re-hydrated. We brought him home, but he continued to decline, and ominously for an aggressive 17 pound dog, never barked again. He just seemed to be worn out all over, so today we took him in for the final act of kindness we could give him. Bo was nominally my wife's dog, but became my retirement companion eight years ago. He will be much missed.

[Urny]

LINDA and I extend our condolences to you and Fran both, Bill. Bo was a delight, even in his latter days, and it was pretty obvious that he brought light to your lives. He may be barking at Will Rogers right now. We will be thinking of you both and Bo.

[onceabull]

With Will Rogers, Abner & The RedApe Onceabull... Best of Memories...Bill & Joy Onceabull

[MT Gianni]

Sorry to hear of it Bill, but I hope it's a long time before you see him again. Gianni.

[Bigjohn]

So sad to hear of the passing of BO.

I tend to agree, If dogs do not go to heaven then send me to where they go.

Kindest regards to your wife and you.

from John & Belle.

[Buckshot]

................That's the problem with dogs. They don't live long enough. Just long enough to become a beloved member of the family. They own your heart and leave all too soon and then you have a big hole there.

............Buckshot

[Nardoo]

You will go through a tough time now without the little guy. We have been there a few times. After my best bird dog, an old Brit died some years ago, I swore I'd never have another dog. Just didn't feel I could.

Well the boys got together and the upshot was a Lab pup came home. That was more than seven years ago and while she is not Gus, she is the best damned dog I have ever had.

My advice, do it all again. Amazing how a new pup brightens things up.

Nardoo

[Four Fingers of Death]

Sad to lose such a companion. Did Willl Rogers ever say anything that wasn't real smart or real funny? It doesn't seem so to me. Mick.

[SharpsShooter]

Sorry to hear it NV. I have been there and it just isn't any fun at all. The empty space they leave is sure tough to fill.

SS

[trooperdan]

Condolences Bill, I don't have words to express my feelings but most all of us here know the pain of loosing our companion. They all have personalities and it is amazing since they can't "talk", how we get to know them and communicate with them. Happy trails Bo!

[Poygan]

There is a catch-22 with dogs. Back around 2000 we acquried a third dog, a female yellow lab in addition to the golden retriever and the black lab/golden mix we had. Owner didn't want her but we thought three full sized dogs was a bit over the top, even for us. Then in 2001 the black lab mix came down with a nasty type of cancer where there was no cure. Lasted about six weeks and we had to put her down. Then the golden got sick with another type of cancer - again the same story, no chance for a cure. Having the yellow lab certainly helped through this time but it still was a very painful period. So, I can appreciate the hurt and void the passing of a good friend leaves....

BTW, I do believe they will be there!

[BruceB]

Bill;

I'm sure you know much we regret hearing this news. Being the shorter-lived members of a family, dogs bless us with their presence for only a part of a normal human lifetime.

Perhaps that's why they inveigle themselves into our hearts so quickly and so deeply.

"We give our dogs time we can spare, food we can spare, love we can spare. In return, our dogs give us ..........their EVERYTHING."

[cobbmtmac]

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Bill & Fran,

Marlene, Marjorie & I wish there were even more words of comfort beyond those offered today. Please know that we are thinking of you. We feel being with "Will" is a great honor!

Love, MM&M

[Char-Gar]

I am truly sorry. I am a critter guy and know the depth of your loss.

"Heaven is based on favor. If it were based on merit, your dog would go in and you would stay out." Mark Twain

[ron brooks]

I haven't had a dog since my last one died back in 1986. Just can't do it anymore. :-(

Rudyard Kipling said it best go here to read what he had to say:

http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/words/authors/K/KiplingRudyard/verse/p3/powerdog.html

Ron

[NVcurmudgeon]

We felt very comforted in our loss by numerous cards, E-mails, and posts here. Some of the most moving sentiments came from this board. It seems that gun nuts are some of the most dedicated dog nuts. Thank you very much.
Bill and Fran

[versifier]

Of course we are. Nobody else can put up with us. :mrgreen: Dogs are born knowing most of the stuff we have to learn the hard way, if we learn it at all. Time for a puppy. Nothing's seemed right since I lost my Springer. This summer I will at long last be living where I can have another and I can be whole again.The new puppy won't make you miss the old one any less, but it'll sure take a good bit of the sting out of the memories.

[Bigjohn]

Bill & Fran,
I would not label ourselves as "Dognuts" rather "Dog family" as that is what they become, 'Family'.

As Sundog say in his signature line, "I wish I was half the man my dog thinks I am."

They show in their own way intelligence, fear, curiosity, disinterest, love, etc. all of which we have ourselves.

If dogs are not premitted in Heaven, then it is not heaven and I want to go where they go.

Best wishes,
John.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Of course we are. Nobody else can put up with us. :mrgreen: Dogs are born knowing most of the stuff we have to learn the hard way, if we learn it at all. Time for a puppy. Nothing's seemed right since I lost my Springer. This summer I will at long last be living where I can have another and I can be whole again.The new puppy won't make you miss the old one any less, but it'll sure take a good bit of the sting out of the memories.

Versifier, you don't have to worry about us getting another dog, we are addicted. Between looking around for Bo and remembering that it is NOT time to feed him, etc. we are telling each other we need a dog. OTOH we believe in honoring Bo by waiting until the pain dulls a little bit. No doubt we will then make our way to the local shelter, so that we can save a life as well as making ours complete again.
My wife's sister had their dog die suddenly a couple of days after Bo. They live in rural CA and their description sounds suspiciously like poison. Without attempting to determine what killed their dog, they got another within 12 hours! Guess they are a lot tougher than we are.

[Black Prince]

Been there and done that several times. You love them and help them in life and you love them and help them in death. It's never easy to put down a faithful companion, but I hope and pray when I get old and decrepit that somebody will show me the same mercy I have had to show to several Gordon setters. My thoughts and prayers are with you tonight pardner. Dang shore are.

[Blackwater]

My Brittany, Bill, is 16 years old now, maybe 17. Arthritis in his hips now has him barely able to get up, or to walk, and once around our large back yard, and he's ready to come in and lie back down. There doesn't appear to be much pain except when he tries to move, and puts pressure on the hip joints, but he sure does get frustrated with it sometimes. The years and all the bouncy, crazy antics Brittanys are known for have taken their toll. Sometimes, he'll try to get up, falters, and then looks up at me forlornly, as if to say "Why can't I do this? I always USED to be able to do that!" It's enough to bring a lump to the biggest curmudgeon's throat.

And yet, amidst all that, all he asks is a simple small place to lay that's as close to me as he can comfortably get. He's been my veritable shadow for a long time, and through many, many adventures and outings, great and small. THIS, my friends, is what's so darned humbling and endearing about dogs. Preachers talk about "agape love" from the pulpit, but if you want to actually SEE it in action, just get yourself a really good dog, and its effect will become quite apparent. It's unmissable, even by the dull.

There's nothing like the love of a good dog, and I've been lucky enough to have had a number of really great ones. You do nothing to DESERVE all the love and concern they have for you, and yet they give it so freely and naturally that you just can't help but wonder how humans get so darn contrary in comparison.

I know Bill's time with me now is pretty limited. As long as his eyes show that he's content with his lot, as much as he can be, he'll always have a spot at my feet and some handouts from the kitchen table, and whatever little things I can do for him. A single good petting session with a neck massage, which he dotes on, keeps him good for another 24-48 hours. Precious time when it's a dog like this. However, I know the time's coming when he'll just finally "give up," and that's a day I'm really dreading, even if it's inevitable in the end.

Last night, he looked at me for the first time, as if to say "This burden I'm bearing is just too heavy for me." I was dumbstruck. I sat humbly on the floor, and gave him a good petting, and he just luxuriated in it, and all thoughts of life not being worth it seemed to vanish. So far, then, so good - or at least as good as it's destined to be for a while.

The love of a good dog is one of the most humbling things a man can experience in this mortal plane, and love like this, under these conditions, is the most heart rending thing I know of. They trust us implicitly and totally, and they just KNOW that we can make anything and everything better. At this stage, I think Bill's finally realized there's nothing I can do about his condition, or I'd have already done it. Brittanys are enthusiastic, but they just don't think in terms of resignation to ANYTHING, so this has been a milestone for him.

I once had a Boykin named Sadie that couldn't leave a snake alone, including if not especially rattlers. She got bit once, and her head swelled up twice its normal size. At the vet's, I was told the best thing to do was put her to sleep. With a lump in my throat, I considered it. One MUST do whatever is best for his Best Friend, always, without regard for the difficulty or angst. Uncertain, I looked into her eyes, and saw a fire and determination that seemed clearly unquenchable. I looked at her dew claws, remembering the old wives' tale about that, and, uncertain though I was, I knew I just HAD to at least give her a chance, unless her condition worsened or the pain and suffering became too great and extinguished that look in her eye. She made it, but several years later, got bit again, and this time, she died before we could even kill the snake. A fang may have gotten her juglar, or maybe she became sensitized due to that first bite. Either way, the result was the same, and at least her death was very quick. She's buried in the back yard under the summer shade of a huge oak - a place she'd have picked herself, I think, if she'd had a choice.

I know my time's coming with Bill, too, and there's not a thing I can do to stop it. When the time comes, if I have to do my best for Bill one last time, I'll do it. Until then, I'll continue to treat him with the respect and affection that he's more than earned, and one day, maybe if I'm good, I'll get to go wherever the really great dogs go when they pass this vale. I ain't gonna' go where my dog can't be.

Dogs are proof that there's a God, and that love CAN be unmitigated and devotion complete. How could THEY be, if there weren't a God? They're proof enough for me, and, I think, for anyone who's ever had a really great one, and simply bothered to notice them, and consider their worth and the lessons we can learn from them.

Thank you God, for our dogs. We couldn't possibly deserve them, and yet, You give them to us anyway, to humble and teach us, if we'll just pay attention. Thank you. Amen!

[Boz330]

Blackwater, It is probably a little late to help Bill, but a remedy that I found that helped one of my dogs get a few more quality years is Glucosamine, Chondroiton with MSM. My Rot was really having problems with her hips and I was taking the stuff for my knees and having good luck with it so I thought why not. After a couple weeks there was a noticeable difference and even other folks noticed that she was doing better. Sams Club has about the best price on the stuff. Also a buffered aspirin might help a little as well.

Bob

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Dang, there were about eight black mixed blood lab pups from the pound at the local pet shop the other day. Beautiful young dogs, not far from heading into adolescence and ready to be trained as well as friendly as all get out. I about cried, as I am not in a position to take one, but wanted one badly.


Reading this made me miss my best friend of my youth, a dog my Dad named Joker and the "everything" reminded me of the time in my childhood years when a HUGE collie charged straight at my bike when Joker and I were going for a ride/run.

Joker immediately positioned himself 20 feet away from me and directly in that HUGE dog's path. I thought for sure he'd be hurt bad. At the last minute, he stepped aside, threw a shoulder into the other dog's shoulder, rolled the other dog and slashed a wide swath from shoulder to hip. The other dog went running and I was left with a much great appreciation of my dog.

5 years after that, he developed heartworms and before we realized he had them, he was to the point he had to be put down. I think I kept his collar for the better part of 20 years and may still have it, if my wife didn't finally throw it out during a move.

Hard to type, the old man has a tear in his silly old eye.

Regards,

Dave

[NVcurmudgeon]

Glucosamine? You bet! Five years ago, on his tenth birthday, Bo had a laminectomy, or disc removal. He came through the operation just fine, but ever since his RR leg couldn't take hardly any weight, and the LR foot pointed to the port beam rather than straight ahead. He could still run OK, and our then house had no stairs, so he had no trouble getting around. We moved here almost three years ago and there are stairs from the back deck to the yard, about three feet down. At first, Bo had a little trouble with the stairs but glucosamine seemed to help a lot. He was able to handle the stairs quite well until about the last two months, but I didn't mind packing him up and down. When he got done with business, he would walk over to the foot of the stairs, turn and look at me, and say, "well...." with his eyes.

[Jim]

NV,
Man, I know you're a hurtin puppy right now, no pun intended. I been there and it ain't no fun. I swear, I'd rather take a beatin from a grown man than to have to do what you did, although I have had to do it myself.
The fact that your bride had proprietary rights to ownership is irrelevant. Rest assured, there ain't a man on this planet that measures half of you in ol' Bo's eyes.
I'm sorry, bud, I really am.

[Boz330]

Pretty amazing how well they can express themselves with their eyes and body language. Each one is a little different but they manage to get the idea across.
My Rot is obsessed with a laser pointer and she knows were the dot comes from. She gives me a couple minutes to rest when I get home and then she points to the laser pen and if I pick it up she tenses up ready to pounce on it. If I don't get the idea right away she harasses the hell out of me till I do. Funny thing is she never even tries to get my wife to operate it, it is either me or nothing.
One thing for sure, they sure make life better than without them. Except for the time I was in the Army and Africa I've had a dog around since I was 4.


Bob