A sad goodbye.

willis

xsive compulsive disorder
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Today has been a real struggle for me. My little buddy Oscar, my English Bulldog who turned 8 just last week, has been having breathing issues for a couple of weeks. After a couple trips to the vet, we found through X-ray on Monday that his little lungs were riddled with cancer. That explained his short and labored breathing. I was hoping to get through one last weekend to spend some quality time with the family before putting him down. But after sitting with him through much of last night watching him struggle to breathe I knew that I couldn’t make him struggle like that for 3 more days just for my own selfish needs. So I called off work today and spent the morning sitting with him before taking him to the vet after lunch to be put down. I sat with him through the very end and said my goodbyes. It’s amazing how quiet the house is with him gone. Before I could hear his snores, snorts, farts and pacing from anywhere in the house. I will miss him very dearly as he’s been a huge part of our family. Rest In Peace Oscar!
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That sucks Willis. Knowing when you're trying to help 'em and just dragging it out for your own good is a hard call to make. Sounds like you made the right one.... and that don't help, I know.
 
Sad Day Willis, My heart goes out to you.

I'v seen to many people hold onto their pets for selfish reasons and the animal is suffering, when they should be given the help they need. Done the right thing and knowing it was about love is what you hang onto.

Bought a tear to my eye.
 
You have my heartfelt condolences.

In 50 years of pets, I've been there much too often. Very similar situation with a Rottie. Sweetest dog you'd ever meet and only 6 years old, but just couldn't put him through the misery of cancer treatment that only had a slim chance of working anyway.

Don't mind admitting I cried like a baby when I took him to the vet.
 
I have been through similar situations way to many times over the years. Don't mind saying that there are a couple who when I think of them I do tear up like right now!

I can only hope they understood how important they were to us while they were here!

In a way it is sometimes easier to loose a human friend than a pet. As you can in some ways know that you have told them you love them and they could have said the same to you. Not sure I worded that right but hope the meaning comes through.
 
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They really are part of the family. They bring so much joy and laughter to our lives and we take for granted all they give to us. They are a small part of our lives while we are everything to theirs. Not ashamed to admit I cried like a baby all day too. Thanks for listening to me grieve. It was the end of a really long , sad, shitty day.
 
They really are part of the family. They bring so much joy and laughter to our lives and we take for granted all they give to us. They are a small part of our lives while we are everything to theirs. Not ashamed to admit I cried like a baby all day too. Thanks for listening to me grieve. It was the end of a really long , sad, shitty day.

Tell us something stupid he would do to make you laugh....
 
Where to start? His human sounding farts? How he was more stubborn than any human or animal I’ve known? In his failing health he had this thing where he would kind of cough & dry heave and then at the end sounded almost like a human voice yelling YAAAACK. You felt sorry for him but it was the funniest sounding thing to come out of a fat little bulldog that you couldn’t help but laugh.

Most bulldogs tails look like a cinnamon roll sitting on their butts. Oscar had an inverted tail. So he had a “tail pocket” right above his butthole that his tail corkscrewed into. For the untrained eye it just looked like a nub. It would sometimes get a little “itchy” for him. It wasn’t unusual for our neighbors to drive by and see him sitting on the front porch dry humping the air. It was so embarrassing but it was the only way he could scratch that itch. Since Mrs Willis is a nurse, it was naturally her job to clean that tail pocket when it would get yucky. You know, being medical and all. Anyway, Oscar enjoyed that process so much that when he saw the latex gloves come out he would charge right up and assume the position between her legs. It felt so good his legs would buckle underneath him. Did I ever mention how gross of a dog he was????
 
Having to say goodbye to a pet is always difficult to say the least, I'm so sorry for your loss. But it sounds like you made the right decision not dragging it out for your own benefit.
 
My sympathies, Willis. With us, it's cats. Last summer, we lost our beloved Finnigan. He was 12, and expired right in front of us, in the living room (ironic). I said "he died at home, he'll rest in peace, here at the home he loved." and proceeded to dig his burial plot in our backyard, during the worst heat of the summer. Little did I realize, beneath the turf, I'd find hard-pack clay, so dense, I wound up using a stone chisel and hand sledge to dig. We laid him to rest the next day, in a box, with his favorite blanket and toy. Sometimes, I think how cruel it is that their lives are so short, and ours so long. And they take a piece of our hearts with them. My hope is, we'll see our beloved pets again someday....
 
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