We were planning a short little trip to the beach before the kids head back to school, but that plan was foiled on Friday.

I got off work early and came home to find one of our dogs very ill. She was almost lifeless. I took her to the Vet, but they transferred her to the animal hospital to be kept overnight. They did a series of tests, but eventually concluded that she had gotten into some anti-freeze. Both of my dogs got out earlier last week and went on a small adventure. Our other dog is fine. They tried all of the tricks they knew to reverse the damage of the anti-freeze, but she started having seizures on Saturday and we decided to have her put to sleep. The kids were so heartbroken, as was I.

The kids have been keeping our other dog in the house for the past few days. He used to be a house dog, but a couple of years ago, he peed on our Christmas tree and got banished to the yard full time. He never gave us any trouble staying outside until recently he decided to dig holes under the fence and get out. I don't know what brought on the change.

I hope he will continue to behave inside so we can keep him in. I will post a picture in the photo sharing section.

By Bellajoe on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - 04:04 pm:

Aww, that's so sad. I'm sorry you had to put your dog to sleep, and with such short notice. I'm glad both dogs didn't get sick. That would have been really really hard.

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - 05:35 pm:

{{{HUGS}}} I'm so sorry. Losing a beloved pet is never easy.

By Amy~moderator on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - 06:53 pm:

(((hugs))) Thank goodness one dog is okay. It must be terrible to deal with the loss of your other though.

By Trisa on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - 07:07 pm:

I am so very sorry. Such sad news.
It is so hard to lose a pet.

By Emily7 on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - 07:13 pm:

It is a hard thing when you lose a pet.
I am very sorry.

By Ginny~moderator on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - 09:29 pm:

I am so sorry. After the agony we have been through with Scott's dog the past two weeks, I feel heart-break for you. (This year, treat the Christmas tree with something to repel the dog - it may be the combination of tree and smell and excitement and maybe a repellant would keep him an inside dog.) For digging under the fence, drive metal rods into the ground so that he can't dig through - easier than digging a trench and running fence down 2-3 feet into the ground.

By Sue3 on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - 10:50 pm:

Sorry about your dog.Our dogs are like family members and we to would be devastated if we lost one.
Maybe you could plant a tree or make a stepping stone for the garden in remembrance of him or her?
We did that for one of our dogs that we lost 3 years ago ,the kids helped with it and it seemed to ease their grievance a little.
Sorry for your loss

By Dawnk777 on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - 11:48 pm:

I'm sorry you lost your dog. It is never easy.

By Angellew on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 09:25 am:

I am so very sorry for you and your family. We are going through the same thing right now with our cat, Cosmo, and will be putting him down very soon. It's never easy.

By Cheerio on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 10:14 am:

So sorry to hear about your loss. We just got back from vacation and had to put one of our cats, Shady, to sleep while we were away long distance. When we left, we and the vet thought she had just a sprained leg or torn ligament as she was limping around a bit. We thought it best to leave her at our house with our other cat so she could heal without the stress of being left at the vet. The neighbors watching her said she got worse after the third day we were gone and couldn't stand anymore and started soiling herself. By the time they brought her to the vet she couldn't hold her head up straight. The vet surmised she had something neurological going on or perhaps a cancer that was very fast growing. He did feel a lump on the base of her neck. We weren't scheduled to be home for another week and I thought it way too cruel to keep her alive for that amount of time just so we could say goodbye in person. We've been home for 4 days now and it just seems so strange without her around. I also feel so guilty for not being there for her. I know time will make it easier. My 3 and 5 year old took the news much better than I thought they would. We waited until we got home to tell them. I completely sympathize with what you are going through and hope it gets easier for your family.

By Amecmom on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 10:23 am:

It's never easy to lose a pet, but it's especially hard when something like this happens. I'm sorry. I'll keep my fingers crossed that your other dog is on his best behavior.

Can you think of where he might have gotten into anit-freeze in the middle of summer?
Ame

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 02:34 pm:

I'm so sorry.

By Pamt on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 02:41 pm:

So sorry--it's always hard to lose a furry family member. I will be a basketcase when we lose my 13 y/o cat. He is my firstborn child. I understand your grief.

P.S. I read something the other day where they are trying to add a bitter taste to antifreeze so there will not be so many deaths of animals and children. There have apparently also been some cases of spouse poisoning with antifreeze because it has a good taste and can be tasted in drinks.

By Katherine on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 03:32 pm:

Thanks everyone for your kind words. The kids have been doing pretty well with the loss. They have been watching Blue like a hawk and so far, he has been very good inside the house. I am looking into installing one of those underground fences as a back up so that we don't have to watch him every second.

I can't imagine where Angel got into anti-freeze because mostly everyone knows how lethal it is. I don't want to think that it could have been left out on purpose, but, it is a possibility. There are more unleashed dogs than one would like to see around our neighborhood. I live in a subdivision, but we are on the border of being in the country.

I am sorry about all your sick kitties. We have a cat too, and I worry about her all the time because she is overweight and 7 years old. I tried to put her on a diet, but she was so miserable. I don't really over feed her, but she isn't very active and never has been.


Gabe wants to put a headstone in our yard, but I told him that we should plant a tree to remember her by. I think we will do that this weekend.

By Eve on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 03:44 pm:

I'm late posting, but I'm so sorry about your dog.