Has anyone ever lost a pet?

[Super Scooter]

I'm sorry to hear about that, Zack. And all the rest of you who have lost pets.

I had a similar experience with my dog, Sonic (named after the Hedgehog, because when I first got him, he ran around the room in a figure eight). I had him for... six(?) years. He bit someone in the stomach, which was weird because he'd never bitten anyone before. He didn't even like chew toys! We thought maybe he'd gotten rabies, but that wasn't it. We had to have him put to sleep. The worst part about the whole thing was the person he bit wasn't even a relative. It gets kinda awkward now to talk to him.

 

[Janice & Mokey's Man]

Zack, I forgot to say that I also am thinkin' of your family and your brother Alex, and I hope he has a rully fast complete recovery.

 

[Manda:-D]

.....Can I tell yall about Bella?
Bella was a BEAUTIFUL golden retriever-labrador-German sheperd-Catahoula mix. She looked mostly like a golden retriever, with these beautiful big brown eyes!
John and I had been in Toronto for WYD all week when the family got her, and so we came home to find out we got a puppy! She was a 60-pound lap-dog, as the vet described her! She was an outside dog, but she would ALWAYS try and run in the house!
A few weeks after we got Bella, our cat had babies. Poor Tubbums, (that's her name, and no, I didn't name her), was NONE too happy with her "midwife", Bella! She had four kittens, and Bella absolutely ADORED those cats! She used to come and take a kitten with her to the porch at night, so she wouldn't be lonely!
I was never much of a dog person, (Rowlf excepted), but Bella just stole my heart! She used to drive me crazy, because I liked to work outside sometimes, and she used to come and try to eat my work! But I really loved her SOO dearly! She used to come and sit on the porch swing with me, and try to sit on my lap. (She got to be HUGE!) She would follow me everywhere I went, and I used to sit down on the ground and let her crawl into my lap, and she LOVED to give me "doggy kisses"!!! She TOTALLY won me over!!!
She was scared of all cars but ours. She used to "escort" our cars down the driveway. And that's how it happened. One day, my big sis was heading off to run errands. I heard the van suddenly stop, and the next thing I knew, she came in crying. Bella had been following my sister down the driveway and Bella cut across the feild next door, planning to come out behind the van. She ended up in front of the back tire. Christina never even saw her coming.....When she told me she'd hit Bella, I immediately responded that we should then take her to the vet, and I couldn't believe it when she told me it was too late. I had to help her load Bella into the trailer on the tractor.....I could barely see through my tears.
There was a chair on the porch that Bella loved to sit in; it was definitely HER chair. She used to sit in it and wait for me to come out so we could play...After it happened, I sat in her chair, holding her doggy chew-toy, and just SOBBED. I loved that dog. I STILL miss her. We only had her 8 months....It was SO unfair to lose her that fast!
Another loss happened just a couple weeks ago: I mentioned our four kittens....We named them after the hobbits in LOTR: Frodo, Sam, Merry & Pippin. Frodo was always the weakest out of the four, he was the runt, but VERY sweet. Two weeks ago, I went out to feed the cats and Frodo wasn't there. I called, but he didn't come. I figured he was still asleep, or exploring, so I didn't bother a/b it. Until James went outside and found him dead. We're still not sure how it happened. We think he might've choked himself on some wires that were near our house.....
Now for the bragging Mainly a/b Pippin, our "cog", as I call him! Pippin was Bella's favorite, and I swear that cat thinks he's a dog! He sits in Bella's chair all the time, and sometimes joins me on the porch swing, and also follows me everywhere! It's like Bella had picked herself a successor or something.....
We've been thinking lately a/b getting a new dog. I hope we'll find one that's just
as incredible as Bella, but I doubt it. She was definitely one-of-a-kind.
Thanks for listening, yall.

 

[Skeeter Muppet]

Now for the bragging Mainly a/b Pippin, our "cog", as I call him! Pippin was Bella's favorite, and I swear that cat thinks he's a dog!

*laughs* "Cog." I love it! Toto is the exact same way. We think he thinks that he's either a dog, or a very small, very furry human that just happens to walk on all fours. He'd always try to help Pepper eat her food (helping Ginger was dangerous, because there was always the threat of being inhaled along with her food). We especially had to be careful once we found out that Pepper was hypothyroid (meaning low thyroid activity {it was weird; three members of my family had or have thyroid problems: me, Pepper and the cat!}) so that he didn't get her medication. Toto's other favorite foods include tuna (natch), butter, ice cream, milk, and toast and donut crumbs. If you're eating any of those particular foods at breakfast, he will sit and watch you and wait until you're done; then he'll attack the plate once you push it aside. And sometimes he won't even bother to wait until you're done!

We've been thinking lately a/b getting a new dog. I hope we'll find one that's just as incredible as Bella, but I doubt it. She was definitely one-of-a-kind.

I hope you find another dog that fits your family just as much as Bella fit it, Manda. It helps us to think of Maddie as a new member of our family, and not as a replacement for Pepper or Ginger.

Although we found it interesting that Maddie was born about a month after we had Ginger put to sleep, but so far she hasn't shown any signs that she's Ginger reincarnated

-Kim

 

[Luke]

Hey Zacky,

Really sorry to hear about what happened to Barney and also your brother. I hope things work out ok, and i'm sure Barney will have plenty of fun chasing the duckies in that big ol' Park in the sky.

I've had a few pets - first we had Fallon a cat when i was really little, she actually went mad once and decided to attack my mother so had to be sent to a new home. Wierd thing is - i've had a few girlfriends that have done exactly the same thing so maybe it wasn't the cats fault. We had Gerbils once, we started off with two, they were both supposed to be female but all of a sudden there were 36 ........ i think the pet shop were holding out on a little fact there but hey we made a nice profit selling them back so it was all good (except when the mother ate some of the babies - i mean *sheesh* if she was hungry she could have just ordered takeout). Next up on the 'Pets That Have Croaked' list we have our dog Gemma. She was actually really ill and nearly died when she was a puppy but the vet saved her with a major operation so every day after that was a bonus .... she lasted like 9 years which was quite an achievement and had a fantastic life. Unfortunately she got a form of cancer but it wasn't painful and could be controlled so we were able to keep her, having a completely normal life for a few more years even. Last up is 'Stan The Hamster' - recently departed and now living under our front lawn. He was quite the rascal and well known here at MC - he used to go fast on his wheel whenever i played Rock music, and he used to watch TV ..... he was a big Britney and WWF fan, he liked the ladies too. He actually lived with me so it was like a flatmate gone, we had a lot in common actually - he used to like listening to my girlfriend talking dirty on the phone ...... little fella had all the luck, all I do with her is argue !

My life isn't just one long history of deceased animals and my girlfriend coming onto my pets though - oh no ! We still have Felix, a cat of (get this) at least 22-25 years old. My mother rescued him about 16 years ago when he fell about 40feet from a balcony and we couldn't find his owner. His leg was smashed up so he now has metal bones inside his leg and he's like the bionic cat - he can leap from tall buildings, take on burglars single handed and fix presidential elections ... stuff like that. He's getting very thin and old now but still going strong and ever - he can actually throw dice for you if you play a board game and for some wierd reason before we got him he was trained to eat from a fork. Also we have a new dog, who kinda cam just before our last one died so learn't the tricks of the trade from her - she's called Karmen (my moms choice ! *sigh*) and is like 6 i think. She is almost human - she can tell you when she wants a walk, when she wants to eat, which numbers will win the lottery etc etc. She also has this thing for Plush toys, especially the McDonalds ones - she'll do anything for them and actually collects them, hiding them in her bed - she could probably make a fortune on Ebay and she has her eyes on my 19 inch ALF doll !!!!!

Anyway hope this gave ya a laugh, rarely does anybody get an insight into my kooky little world, otherwise i'd just be a laughing stock ! *looks around* WHAT ??????

 

[Comical_DrBob]

Hi Zack I'm so sorry to hear about your dog I hope you are ok.
on the 26th Jan 03 my family had to put down our male black labrador
Shadow King [named after a race horse in Oz we just called him Shadow] he was seven years old.
Shadow had developed cancer of the jaw [somewhere around that area] it was somthing called a Sorcoma,when we went to the vet the first time to check on a lump they said it was not cancerous.Then late last year my dad took Shadow down to the vets because we thought his breath was really bad,unfortunately he didn't have rotten teeth & the results indicated cancer.
We still have our nine year old male Maltese Schillaci [again named after a race horse in Oz] & he is getting a bit fat & old now he was Shadow's best friend & now Schillaci doesn't seem to be as playful now its like he's waiting for him,so I think he must miss Shadow like the rest of us.
Chantal aka Comical Dr Bob

 

[SuperGrover]

Hi, Zack

Rowlf being you favorite Muppet, I know how much you love dogs. So I'm very sorry to hear about your Barney.

I have a dog named Buddy -- you might have even seen pictures on the Internet of him dressed as Cookie Dog & Kermit the Frog Dog with Halloween Mup-O-lantern pumpkins that I've carved. Buddy lives up to the claim that dog is man's best friend. He truly is mine.

But regardless of what the animal, pets obviously play a special role in our lives, and the wonderful memories comfort and last forever. I've lost a couple of special pets that I know I'll never forget, including my Mitzi dog and a talking parakeet named Fritto.

I remember the first pet I ever lost. She was a goldfish I'd gotten as a present for my 5th birthday. When I woke up that next morning after my birthday, I found her floating upside down in her bowl. As an upset 5 year-old trying to understand what happened, I tried to write letters and flush them down the toilet for her to read. This next part might sound a little far-fetched I know, but it was also part of my 5th birthday and the end result reminds me a little of what happened with Barney and your brother.

For my 5th birthday, I had a chimpanzee that came to my party and entertained all my cousins & friends. It was quite a thrill for me to be the only kid in the whole neighborhood that had an actual chimp come over to his house for a birthday party. The chimp's name was Chip, and he could do lots of tricks. He was young, but his trainer demonstrated how strong he was, describing how a chimpanzee could rip a person's arms off if they wanted to. That's when the birthday boy was invited to come sit right next to Chip so he could give me hugs and a big ol' chimpanzee birthday smooch while we posed for pictures and home movies (which I still have). Gentle and sweet as Chip was, I remember being terrified with that knowledge that he could rip my arms off if he wanted to. Lucky for me he didn't, and I'm here today with both of my arms to type this story.

Chip however, didn't live so happily ever after. After retiring from the birthday party business, he went to our local Hogle Zoo. In the year 2000 he was a big news story here. Apparently he attacked his caretaker while he was feeding him, biting his nose off. Chip had to be destroyed. Because of this, our zoo's great ape exhibit is no more.

The veterinarian that I used to take my parakeet to was also Chip's vet. He always said the two animal species he feared most working in the zoo were the polar bears and the chimpanzees, even moreso than the lions or tigers.

It's strange when animals you know behave like this when you're taking care of them, feeding them. Thankfully it sounds like your brother Alex wasn't injured nearly as severely. So I am very glad for that. Hopefully he's ok, and I wish him a complete and very speedy recovery. Please let us know how everything goes.

 

[Zack the Dog]

Hello again eveyone, Thanks for all of your consurn and prayers.

I have good news about my brother Alex, he is doing very well, and his mouth looks so much better! He's not in a lot of pain either, he has to take some drugs for it but he's doing fine. He also is the same old Alex, I know i've heard some people if they are bit by dogs and it is really bad, they become tromatized and never want to get near another dog ever again. Not the case with Al, he still loves and respect's Barney and misses him dearly.

Thanks to everyone for sharing all their stories, they all were happy, sad, and funny. I hope you are all doing well too.


I've felt a lot of signs of Barney latey...Heres one that i'm in shock from, Thurday, the day after we took Barney, My older Brother picked me up from college and we both went to our Grandparents house for a vist. A few of my younger cosins were there and they were watching....Old Yeller....Oh my gosh, I could not belive it. They were watching a tape of it and had no idea that Banrey had bit Alex and we had to get rid of the dog. Neither did my grandparents, we still have not told them yet because my mom as well as the rest of my family know that they will worrie themself's sick about Alex when he is really fine.

Alex also said he dosen't want grandma to say"I hate that dog!" My brother nor I would like to hear that, we love that pig, and still do.

I still can't belive the kids were watching old yeller, I, of coures have thought of that movie when we had to get rid of Barney. I watched the rest of the movie and I was kinda tearing up but was hidding my tears. After Old Yeller was shot my Grandfather said "no more Yeller". In my mind he was saying no more Barney, only he didn't know it yet. We are going to wait a little longer to tell our Grandparents so Alex's lips can heal a little more, he gets his stiches out next Thursday. So i feel that my cousins watching old yeller is a sign from God telling me everything will be okay.


And it will be, I feel like i'm one of the Luckest people in the world, I have no problems, after seeing all those horrible disasters on the news the pass few days. The only terrible things that have happedn to me was that I lost my Father when i ws younger but it was a blessing because he was really very sick with alcoholicisum. My mom found a great new guy who is now my stepdad Sal, in which Sal was the reason we even got Barney back in 1997. So having to get rid of Barney is very said,but was the right thing to do, i feel diffrent emotions about it all the time, but in the end it's what needed to be done. I'm still very Lucky and live a great life. I like to think that My dad and my Barney are now together watching over my family.

It's kinda hard to tell people about a dog that we knew bites but we still love him so much, he wasn't a mean big old bad dog, he was a very sweet, smart, beautful dog. There was a lot of personality in that Pig. Pig, that was a nickname i called him, Barney had A LOT of nicknames! My favorite nickname was "groomp", he was just a big groomp, groomp!

and thank you all for sharing, I do rememer some of you desribing your pets before like Luke's Hamster and the photo's of Travis's cute dog.

Zachary,

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Hey, Zack.

Hope your brother is okay. Sorry about your dog. My pets just died from natural causes, except my hamster which fell in his cage from the third tier and cut his eye open.

Sorry about your losses.

Kev

 

[Comical_DrBob]

Is you hamster all right now.