My Dog Tucker
 

He's 10 years old, a black cocker spaniel who used to have orange brown eyebrows, paws and butt as a puppy, but are now fading to grey black. That's a pretty good life for a dog, 10 years but I think he can live to be 17 or so; he's really muscular, healthy and active.

That is until last month. Tucker has had seizure attacks in the past that required medication. So a month ago when he started limping my family thought it might be that. So the doctor reactivated his old meds but for the last 2 weeks he still has been limping really bad; it was getting worse. My mom took him into the vet again to be rechecked because the medication wasn't working and now they tell us he has a torn ligament. He will need medication for a long while and surgery. My family has to decide what to do----put him to sleep or go through the healing process. Of course we'd like to revive him, but personally and financially this complication comes at bad time for us, my sister almost died due to a horrible incident of Montezuma's revenge last Christmas break, my uncle won't stop smoking and his diabetes is beating him, and worse last week my grandmother has fallen on her hip and is recovering in the hospital. But this thread is on my dog Tucker.

It might be cheaper to put him down than keep up with his health problems for the remainder of his life. See, in Filipino families the animal is part of the family, sort of. Kind of. But not too much. The outlook on animals is that they were put on earth for our use, such as food and work, i.e. eat chickens and use carabaugh (like a Filipino water buffalo) for farming. I myself, call Tucker rarely by his name and mostly by "Dog." It's a very different perspective on animals that animal rights activists would probably be disgusted with. But that's how we see animals, put on earth by God to be man's utility.

But I don't want Tucker to go. I'm torn in what decision should be made. The thing is, we named him Tucker because when we visited his litter to pick out a pet he tucked himself right under my legs whre I was sitting.

That's tough, fresh. I wish I could say something to help, but everyone feels differently on these kinds of things. I am one of those crazies who would do just about anything to keep my pets with me. If he doesn't get surgery, what will happen? What will his quality of life be, either way?

Hang in there.

No, I completely understand. I have mixed feelings myself as to the appropriateness and practicality of spending thousands of dollars on animal care when there are millions of unwanted animals in shelters.

but then I think of my beloved kitty bois, and don't know what I'd do in such a situation.

I come from farm people so the friend v food or pet v tool thing is alive in me as well. Good luck man, it's okay to be attached to critters. Consider his pain when making the decision.

Shawnee if he doesn't get surgery his leg will never heal correctly and he'll just have to limp around, possibly forever.

Cloud I know what you mean, the surgery is already costing $1.5K not costing the medications for x amount of years.

Griff you probably know my dilemma well, ever had to decide on putting a horse down?

My parents brought us up to love and care for our animals, but not to view them with any real sentimentality. This is probably because they both grew up in families who kept animals for food, and also lived through London during WWII. With arbitrary death and destruction as close as the house next door you got along as well as you could, and you fed your family. Those attitudes definitely filtered down.

For example:
Our dog stopped eating and appeared listless and constantly tired - she was about 6. They took her to the vet and paid a lot of money for a full battery of tests only to find she was diabetic and had a serious heart complaint. Now this was a very easily spooked dog. She'd been the runt of the litter and although she was fine with us she was terrified of other dogs, strangers, the vet - just about everything. My parents weighed up the cost of her daily medication and the fact that visits to the vet (which made her shiver in fear and wet herself) could only become more frequent. They could have kept her alive if the whole family made sacrifices but they felt a quiet end was best for her and for us. The vet agreed incidentally.

I don't want to come across as callous, but if it's financially and emotionally difficult for your family to handle the complication of a sick pet I think their welfare should come first.

I see what you're saying, but I wonder if it will be painful, as well. Animals are incredibly adaptive, and a painless limp probably really wouldn't bother him. It's hard to know, though.

We never had horses but I've had to kill a lot of different animals. It seems like a horse would be really tough to do. Just try to figure out what's best for Tucker. Usually the vet is a good resource for advice.

Horses aren't hard to kill, it's what comes before and after that's difficult.

Time to get the backhoe.

When my kitty Pern broke his leg last month(THeres a post about it here) I wasn't sure what to do. I really could not afford the surgery that he needed. Two things thankfully came up. One: we found a vet that would take payments, and 2: my former roommate who lived with me when Pern was little paid part of the cost. Okay most of it.

On the other hand I don't know what I would have had he not helped. Ofcourse I have put down a wide assortment of pets and animals over the years. Sometimes it is just a quality of life issue.

Fresh, did Tucker get the torn ligament from one of his seizures?

I've not the faintest clue. Just started limping suddenly.

Good luck with your furbuddy, fresh.

Well...hopefully your vet can give you a good idea of what Tucker needs. If it does end up that it's too overwhelming for him, it might be the best thing to put him down.

But if it's just a matter of fixing his leg, and your family is not able to bear the emotional strain and cost, it's possible that someone might be found who could. Maybe there's a local, independent pet store in your area that could take him in, and adopt him out to someone with more resources...I know in my neighborhood, this sort of thing comes up, and with good results.

Best wishes to you, fresh.

That sucks. My puppydog is getting fairly old now. I'll be facing similar decisions soon.

Go with what your heart tells you in my opinion. You are the one/s that really knows what's best.

Good luck with it all.

Thanks all. Will update next week when the time comes.

Ill be in a similar position with one of my dogs soon, too. The one thing that gives me some relief is that I know my dogs (like most pets) have lived charmed lives.

I'll be sad for their passing, but happy that they've been safe and warm and well fed and loved for as long as I've known them.

Our neighbours have always had spaniels - either springers or cockers - they do seem prone to problems both physical and medical. Having said that they seem to weather their predicaments reasonably well, but are not given to living to ripe old ages - I think their last two dogs gave out at the age of 12 or 13 or thereabouts.

It's always a difficult decision to end a pet's life. The option of finding another owner may not be so easy, but it could be a worth pursuing. Taking opinion from the vet at the likely remaining lifespan is worthwhile (although some vets tend to hedge their point of view). At the end of the day, whatever decision you do take it will be the best that suits the overall situation I am sure, and you will always be able to carry with you memories that you gave your pet a good life when so many animals suffer or are abandoned.

Tucker went through with the surgery.
They put him on anesthesia (sp?) and opened his leg, washed it because it had started to mineralize because I guess it had been torn for a while. They put a stainless steel plate and stitches to replace the ligament, my mom described it as a pulley or something. But yeah, he's just very slow and tired. He can only lay down on his right leg and by mistake he got his left leg caught underneath him and he shreaked very loud in pain :( . We have to constantly watch out for him for a month then look out for his safety for 5 months until the rehab is about over. But he's good and we're happy. Pictures attatched.

Looks like a cool dog. I don't think you'll regret the surgery.

The poor little guy. For the record, I was secretly pulling for the surgery and not the other option.

Take good care of him and he'll repay you tenfold!

Brian

He's a bonny dog.

It's a horrible decision to have to make. My brother and his family just had a similar decision to make about their Rhodesian Ridgeback, Amber. She had to have a tumour removed and the cost was about £600. Quite a lot if you are having financial problems anyway. They managed to find the money (just) and took the risk. Fifty-fifty whether she'll develop another, or if future ones may be cancerous. But that gives her a fifty-fifty chance of none of that happening. She's almost nine, so she may get a few years yet.

Good luck with Tucker, hope he's back and bouncy soon.

Neil suffered longer than he had to and worse than we knew until the end.
I'm not you, Tucker is not Neil... but if I could help it again, I would.
Sometimes dignity and less suffering is a gift beyond measure. One we cannot give our human loves. In a way a blessing for our pets.
Just some thoughts of mine. I often wonder, did Neil suffer because I was selfish... the thought harms me. He had lymphoma, more advanced than we knew.
*loving and healing energy to Tucker, you and all who love both of you*

<<sigh>>
I pray for you, Lawrence Tucker.
He is in the ER right now, heavily sedated with low blood pressure levels, but they are going up which is a good thing.
Hang in there buddy....will update his status if I need to.

Hang in there fresh.

Poor fella. He will get better over time.

Please do, I've been wondering how it all came out.

If nothing else, you've given him another year to enjoy being with his humans.

Hi Cellar.

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Well, I just have arrived home from the ER. He passed.
Lawrence Tucker has moved on.

At the beginning of this thread I posted that he had surgery almost exactly a year ago. Who'da thunk that. It was on his hind leg because he seemed to be weak in muscle mass and he had been starting to develop benign tumors on his body. Well, he has continued to have hind leg troubles in both of them, and since I arrived home from college my family told me it was his other leg that was slowing him down. He couldn't really run, and struggled and fell a lot going up/down steps.

So last week was the cruise I mentioned, and we gave Tucker to my aunt and uncle to take care of. They are pet lovers as well, having two Schnauzers of their own. Well Tucker has been on medication for arthritis and whatnot for a couple of years now, has had seizures in the past but still has endured and always has been mischievous, stealing food all the time, lil' bastard.

So my aunt and uncle have a campsite they visit often and took the dogs with them. Apparently Tucker and AJ, my aunt and uncle's male dog, had a tussle over some food and AJ bit Tucker's floppy ears. What we didn't know when we got back from the cruise that he had also puncture wounds in his chest and upper front leg, he's very shaggy. Those we didn't discover until yesterday when we took him to the vet.

Tucker's leg had swollen up and had to have been infected by AJ's saliva or just the campsite pathogens, or something. 3 days ago he could not walk and we just thought it was his bad hind leg, but it was also the infection. Tucker did not sleep at all last nite, just kept crying and whimpering as it was impossible for him to find a comfortable laying position. My parents took him in to the animal ER this morning at 7am or so and he's been there ever since.

They injected some I-have-no-idea-what-it's-called to do something to his low blood pressure which helped mildly. They gave him something else to evaluate his kidneys, which were hydrated, but even though they were hydrated he was not excreting the proper amount. I guess these were signs that he wasn't going to get better.

We put him down just under an hour ago, my mom, dad, sister and aunt and uncle. My uncle feels very responsible because he was the one watching them and had to break up the fight. But it's no one's fault, these things just happen. My sister is taking it the worst. :(

I always thought I'd be out of college and in the work force, when it was supposed to happen in my mind. I'm 20 and have been through two cocker spaniels passing. My first dog, Lady, was hit by a car when I was 7. I just feel dogs lives' can be so much longer, both she and Tucker were 10.

I take for granted what it was like with him around, having to close the pantry door so he wouldn't stick his nose in, kicking his stuffed animals around the floor for him and walking him around the block.

I'm glad he's not suffering or hurting, but I wish he was with me.

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http://photos-f.ak.facebook.com/phot...3809261_74.jpg

Rest in peace, Lawrence Tucker.
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I'm so sorry to hear that he passed. At least he is no longer in pain and can rest peacefully.

Shit.



No more pain for Tucker, helps some, but can't fill the void of a lost buddy. :(

Aw, man. I have been through what you are going through. It's never easy to lose a member of your family.

I had a hand-raised baby kitty (my favorite) get run over by a car. And I held her little body in my hands, and I wondered "What is life, anyway?" I was unable to deal with the concept of death, at that moment.

I also had a male chow (also hand-raised) that I found dead, in the yard, next to a dead snake. He passed away in EPIC BATTLE, and he took the life of his enemy as well, protecting the territory he was sworn to protect.

Looking back on these events now, it makes me think how caring for these little things is a prerequisite to eventually having little human babies of your own. Just imagine... you'll have that experience someday. And you'll say "This is the love of my life. This is the reason I exist."

This is life. You love, you lose. But there is more and greater love for you to experience. We all share these things. We are all the same.

I'm sorry for your loss.

Damn, I'm sorry man. I've lost more than one member of my family and I feel your pain.

Mourn all you want, until the mourning's done. Then go get a new dog to love. No one will ever replace Tucker, or any other lost pet, but they somehow find their own place in your heart to inhabit.

I'm sorry for your loss, fresh. It'll hurt like hell for quite a while.

As someone going through a very confused grieving period myself, I really feel for you.

As others have said here, it does hurt - it's supposed to. Let yourself mourn him, he was a big part of your life and was around longer than some of your human relationships.

Love to you and your family.

Sorry for your Loss Freash , he lived a good life , rember the good times

Thanks all.

bummer......sorry, man

feel the pain, then let it go and fill your mind with all the good memories.

So sorry Fresh :(

Let's get real here folks. If fresh really considered Tucker to be his "utility", maybe Tucker is better off in doggy heaven.

shaddap

Drax, go jack off to the Disney channel. . . . Some more.

...again

Sorry to hear about your loss. He looks like a wonderful dog. I have had cockers in the past and loved them.

I know it is like losing a child. They become such a special part of our lives but their life spans are so very short. At least he was loved while he was here. and after in your memories

Don't be such a prick Draxxie

:sniff: :sniff: :sniff: :sniff: :sniff: :sniff: :sniff: :sniff:

Well, do you consider your pet to be your utility (a.k.a. slave)?

I consider that I own him, does that count?

All of which is besides the point. Fresh lost his beloved dog and has shared his grief on here. Now would be a good time for you to stfu and show a little sensitivity.

What a sweetheart!!! Oh sweetheart! Lil tucker will be there for you again someday. I think they go to heaven. (they may be the only ones allowed in)

I bet this isn't the last that you have seen of the tuckster. :)

Drax did you actually read the thread, or just cherry pick an insult for the fun of it. Fresh was explaining the traditional view of his family's country on pets.

Please note that despite the issues his family was facing at the time of the original post, they chose to pay for surgery. Also note that the dog was being kept purely as a pet and had no working role within the family, completely negating the idea that he was in fact being kept as a utility.

Ya' know what? Scratch that. I AM PISSED! I guess you can join me in hell too!

Hell wouldn't have you, you insensitive little prick.

fresh, I'm sorry. I feel shitty enough about sending my kittens to be spayed/neutered tomorrow, but that's got nothing on what you're feeling :(