Farewell Deimos

[Guest jettcricket]

I'm so sorry in the loss of your most pecious boy.....

[racindog]

My deepest sympathy. You did the right thing. One of the lessons Aggie taught me before she crossed over last month was that "when the body quits working its time to go"(her words). I am sure your love saved him a great deal of pain and angst. He left with his dignity at the right time honorably and reverently and peacefully. And another thing she told us before she left was that she had already said her goodbyes to the other pack members and they were OK with it-and they were. IMO Deimos probably did the same with Ruby. She knows where he is and she knows she still has his love- as you always will too. Love that strong never dies. God bless all.

[brandimom]

Thank you for sharing your blogs as I just finished reading them. So easy to do the "what if". I am sorry! Godspeed Deimos and may the wind always be at your back. You are one handsome grey and so fortunate to have found your guardian. We will always miss you!

[mychip1]

I am so sorry for your loss. What a difficult decision for you - but do not second guess yourself. You know your boy better than anyone - and even if it had been benign, there are no guarantees that surgery would have been successful (I lost my five year old from anesthesia complications) and even benign tumors can grow back with a vengeance..... And whatever decision you made was out of love.

 

You ask about other animals' responses....My cat got very depressed when Jack died. In our case, we had him home after surgery for the night trying to save him....set up a little medical ward in the bedroom with Sub-Cu fluids, etc. Our Senior grey spent the night watching over him - literally laying on our bed looking down at us on the floor with Jack. The senior boy lives in another state w/my husband (military) and happened to be home during the whole thing. When Jack began convulsing, we rushed him out of the house - and he never came home. EZ was fine that day.....and then left the next with his Dad. When he came home six days later, he searched every room in the house - I think looking for him - but then settled in - like he knew. The cat, on the other hand, sat and cried for weeks - until I got the two new boys at which time he took to hiding - and now coming out and about - but until that "distraction" he was very "mushy".....

 

When my older Beagle died a few years ago, the cat that was so attached to her who was battling early stage kidney disease - but hanging in there - went downhill rapidly. I think his will to live just crashed.....and he passed away within 9 months after huge efforts to keep him alive with fluids, etc. That was heartbreaking because I truly believed that he missed her every day after she died. Like the current cat, but even more dramatically, he did not leave my side until the next hound came into our home (and that was dear Jack).

[fliggie]

[45MPHK9]

[KF_in_Georgia]

I'm so sorry you've lost Deimos.

 

When my Oreo died, Sam didn't blink. I think he enjoyed being the top dog (for all of nine days, when I brought home Jacey). But Sam has never fussed much over either of his sisters. When Sam appears to be cuddling (as in my avatar), he's really just wedging himself into whatever space is available on the sofa. In some ways, Sam's attitude made it easier for me when Oreo died. I cried buckets, but I didn't need to worry about Sam.

[greyhead]

My sincere sympathy to you. You did the right thing.

[Charlies_Dad]

I am so very sorry for your loss of Deimos. You made a very difficult decision based on love. He loved you for all the goofy times you played with him, he really did.

 

Run free Deimos, run free sweetie...

[Guest RobinAZ]

I am so sorry for your loss

[Guest lynne893]

I am really sorry for your loss. You DID act with compassion.

Hugs to you and your family.

[AnneGTS]

I'm so sorry for your loss

[Guest Adrianne]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I know what a heartwrenching choice you faced.

[Guest Mom2Shiloh]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I pray that I will always have the strength to be 'a day too soon, not a day too late'. I've done the day too late a couple of times and for those times, I am deeply sorry.

 

Edited to add: I just read your blog entry and looked at his picture, which took my breath away. Though not related, he was the image of my Shiloh (avatar picture), right down to the curly tail what a beautiful boy!!

 

Animals are all individuals and their relationships with each other are all very unique as well. Frequently, family members know when one is ill or there is "just something wrong", often before I know. Some dogs have obviously grieved while others have shown more subtle signs. When Harley Stardancer died so unexpectedly after shattering a leg (OS), my little German Shepherd lost her will to live and went to join him 3 months later -- their case was special because Joanna had inherited health problems which, I maintain to this day, Harley's bonding and joy and constant support helped her to overcome for the 6 years they were together. Shelley collie-malamute stopped eating when my husband died, she was 14 and I really think her last 4 months or so were because she didn't want to leave him. When APBT Uncle Sammy died at almost 15, Callan, who'd grown up with Uncle Sammy as his 'nurse-maid' so to speak, was very quiet for a few days but I am quite certain they all knew and had communicated about his leaving. There was a sense of peace.

 

Heal gently. My heart hurts for you and I do think that you did the right, and so difficult, thing.

Edited November 19, 2010 by Mom2Shiloh

[greypuppyluv]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[giadog]

Please try not to question yourself....you did what you did out of love, and that's what matters. Deimos knows he was loved right up until the end.

[Guest beezelbarb]

I just wanted to say a big thank you to all who read and responded to my post about Deimos a few weeks ago. Your thoughts and comments helped me to get through the past two weeks more than you will ever know, and I hope to pay it forward.

 

We're all doing OK. Ruby has become the stuffie queen. I don't know if it's because she's bored, is using it as a way to cope, or if it's due to getting extra attention, but she's suddenly playing with toys way more than she ever did before. She now spends the majority of her day moving toys from the upstairs to the downstairs and vice versa. She also squeaks, pounces, tosses, and shakes them. As a result, Bubba the pug is playing with them a little more too. Deimos was top dog, but he was very friendly with the other dogs, I don't think he was discouraging Ruby from playing. Maybe she had slowed down her pace to match his. Who knows. Anyway, I'm glad to see her happy - I was so worried that she wouldn't cope well. She also counter-surfed a half a banana the other day: return of an old bad habit. So, we'll keep an eye on her as she adjusts.

 

 

Luckily, I found a lot of photos of Deimos that I thought we might have lost. Take pictures while you can!

http://beezelbarb.wordpress.com/2010/11/26/old-greybeard/

 

Barb

[Guest moremoney]

So sorry for your loss.