…at 19 years old, Schoep has arthritis and has trouble sleeping…. Unger found that water is therapeutic for his pained buddy, so he takes Schoep into Lake Superior and lulls him to sleep…
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36 Comments!
Beautiful.
Must be dusty in here, my eyes are leaking… What a beautiful shot. I miss my Petey…
133 yrs old in dog years. Bless them both; the dog has lived more than a full life and I expect his owner will too. {…I envy dogs and cats; they get a painless injection from the vet…) BONUS: OBoBoCare doesn`t apply!
… restores my faith, if only for a moment.
Aww.
A superior person with his superior dog in a superior lake.
Nice.
Trouble is, Winter is coming.
Lake Superior gets cold.
(Yeah, an’ it’s deep, too.)
Happy as a puppy…
Got sumpin in my eye here boss.
Dayum, I have seen this pic 5 times at least and it still brings tears…
Lake Superior never really GETS warm.
Took our Blue Heeler to the Lake Michigan beach one brisk winter day. She was still a pup and had no experience with the place. You should have seen her face when she topped the last snow swept dune and saw all of that-
NOTHING!
This picture is beautiful and brings tears to my eyes.
That he is “repaying” his dog for the years of unconditional love and saving his life, just damn near broke me.
I miss my furbabies….
Its hell to get old.
I can’t look at a puppy any longer without thinking about the day I’ll have to let some guy kill him with a needle. Didn’t seem to bother me so bad when I was younger but as my end gets closer things like that stick around more than they should.
I want another dog bad but the last day memories have to fade some first. Maybe the next one will wear out about the same time I do.
Most dogs are way better than most people. Some days I think I’m not worth another good dog myself.
Here I thought I was doing good giving my kitteh two shots a day.
(Though I now have a cool vet who will teach me how to do glucose tests on him myself to save vet trips. )
blindshooter (12): Know what you mean. No words.
mech (13): Been there. If it’s not too extreme, there’s a couple of different diabetic cat foods that can make a world of difference. I was able to discontinue insulin. In more severe cases, it at least makes it a lot better; the doses are less, and the glucose levels are more regular. Not sure what I’d have done without it. The only issue is if the cat’s also in kidney failure since the diet will make that worse. “Fortunately” I had one with each instead of one with both. Luck on that.
My first real dog was named Teddy. He was maybe 20 pounds and loyal as hell. He died of liver cancer. It was tough seeing him suffer so much so I had to go the vet one more time with him to be put down. Yes I held him in my arms as he died. Buried him in the back yard, and yes I cried while doing it.
Now I’m no weenie, bit to the right of Genghis Khan so speak, but that was a tough day. And I suspect the day my mother dies it going to be another tough day.
So I can understand the guy with his dog in the lake. Had many a good times with Teddy and yes 19 is very old in dog years.
Shep is very fortunate to have John through they years and so was John to have Shep.
We have three, largest is Mongo, Big Saint, loves, actually demands, to sleep at the end of our bed. Being about 190# now, he is WAY careful going downstairs in the morning… He slipped when he was younger, and I had to scootch him up bit by bit. He’s better now, but will NOT traverse up or down without mom or dad…….
One…..Step….At …..a…..Time…….
A best and Loyal Friend is worth the trouble.
Thanks Ironic, this new vet also mentioned that he normally starts with diet which scored big points in my book and made me not too happy with the other who never even mentioned it. (same office, new vet is the good guy.) I’m researching current data on the foods and am anxious to get started. As far as I can tell, kidneys, etc are okay, and his sister is quite healthy–both are around 12 years.
mech — oh, good. I think the diet thing is only about 8 years old, so an older vet who’s not keeping up (and yes they should) might not even know.
My vet (well, okay, the vet for my pets) had a office mascot cat that a client couldn’t afford to keep or treat… severely diabetic. They were having trouble even giving him the best care around the clock because he’d become intolerant (or whatever it is) with the current brand of insulin and would have to be switched. It was a real roller coster, always just a little away from the end. Then the diet came out, the cat stabilized, and they were able to use much less insulin without nearly as many problems.
As I mentioned before, mine was less severe and after a few months I was able to discontinue the insulin completely. Well, actually I had to discontinue the insulin because he normalized and to continue it would have sent him the other way. He lasted several years after that, and was over 17 at the end.
Don’t know about now: back then there were two types of diabetic cat food, and my cat tolerated one a lot better than the other. This likely varies with the cat.
If not for dogs I’d have destroyed this place a long time ago
—God
I haven’t told you all lately how much I love you…
I love you you Sondra. It only took me 20 minutes to stop all my blubbering.
My nose is still plugged up.The immediate look and then when I read ‘why’ I lost it completely. THAT is love. Thanks for posting it as well as some of the other cutie animal ones you do.
And to my Porch comrades who have loved with that special spot still in your heart for your little buddy that will never leave you its good to share this feeling. That has got to be the best pic I have seen in my whole 63 years.
And I thought my late dog, Scoobie, at 15 years, 3 months, was old (my brother and his wife had to “put down” their 17-year-old Dalmatian last year; recently, they had to “put down” their remaining 14-year-old Dalmatian). I cried every day for a month after I had Scoobie “put down”. I presently have two black lab mixes who were in foster care together for over 10 months (didn’t want to break ‘em up so I took both of ‘em). A vet told a friend of mind that every year that a dog lives past 11 is a gift. I hope that Schoep can give his master at least one more gift.
Don’t know why you’re all gettin’ so blubbery it’s just a dog.
I’ve known people who would say such a thing.
I think they’re the same ones who believe a fetus is just a glob of tissue.
Look at your pet and how they communicate with you with out even being able to speak your language. How can that be?
Just a dog???
Try that with a cat.
19 – OK, Sir, I’ve been a nice lady to all dogs I’ve met. They’ve been nice to me, ‘xcept two of them that bite me, but it’s OK, I didn’t bite them back … Just to pay back all the unconditional love they’ve given us …
I wasn’t going to show this until it was much nearer to fruition, but the part where he said the dog saved his ass was especially poignant to me, so here’s a rough preview…
I guess you could always pre-order it from Amazon, or somewhere. That could help get a bigger advance from the eventual publisher.
Dogs and cats. They have the magic to bring out the best in humans, if they are basically good humans. Look at our last few presidents and see their attitude toward pets. The Clintons who gave Socks(their prop) away as soon as they left office and let their Lab run out in traffic. ofuckabama. No pet until he got into office and the political winds told him a pet helps his image. So he gets his prop in a PR stunt from Ted the swimmer Kennedy. obama the muslim doesn’t even want the dog on the plane with him. LBJ famous for mistreating his beagles. Dog in crate on top of car is one of many things that make me worry about Romney.
Hate to put furry buddies into a political context. I loves my three cats. Their affection and antics help keep my keel even. When I had to put down a 13yr old cat buddy it tore my insides out for a long time. His ashes will be spread with mine when I cross over. Hope that trip takes me thru Rainbow Bridge where I have a few dogs and cats waiting for me.
When my Schipperke died last month, he had the courtesy to just fall over dead. No taking him to the vet. No decisions to make. Sounds cold, but it was way better that way.
Alan…I can’t believe you didn’t say anything…I’m so sorry. I don’t know if there actually is a “better way”but as long as that was easier for you…
My Mom’s dog took ill and couldn’t use her back legs.She, Missy, was old but had been a very loyal and GOOD dog (Beagle/bassett). I pointed this out to Mom and questioned the quality of life Missy had left and who would benefit from any life prolonging medical care. Mom took her to the Vet the next day and burried her by her favorite tree in the back yard. In 2000 Mom had an Anurism (sic) and was laid low. She could barly talk and when I could get her alone, my sister hovered between us like a vulture intercepting any communication, tried to tell me to help her same as she did with her dog.THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO FOR HER! People need to assess who their helping and to what end.
I struggle with that stuff…on one hand….and then on the other….
I suspect I will come to a conclusion on that when only if/when*I * come to my conclusion…
Yup ^^^ Until your there…
Last March we had to put our tortoiseshell kitty down due to cancer. We found a small lump on her chest Spring of last year. Had a lumpectomy, then some kitty chemo through the summer. Last Fall, we found another lump, so she got a mastectomy in December. Her sutures got infected, then opened up a bit, and we could see into her abdomen. We had to change her bandages and clean the hole three times a day until it closed up — took about a month. Had to spread towels and wee-wee pads all over the house, wherever she might lay, because he wound seeped. Shortly after New year’s, we noticed a large lump in her armpit. It grew FAST. By March, she was really uncomfortable and had trouble getting around, so we finally gave her release. Through all this, she didn’t complain; she had a pretty good attitude. Even the vet and vet techs noticed.
The funny thing is, last October, my wife found a little tuxedo kitten in the back yard. She had an uncomfortable premonition that the Lord sent it as a replacement for one of our three cats. She was right, as we were soon to find out. But the little kitten has filled the hole remarkably well. She has a lot of the same personality traits as our tortie.
She’s a delightful little stinker. Thank you, Lord!
Some of mine have gone in just a day or two, some took a *lot* longer.
For the most part, faster seems to be better, but that depends on a lot of things.
Don’t know if there’s a better or worse, though dragged out pain seems worse to me.
I made the mistake of trying to hang on to one who wanted to just call it quits. In some ways, that was the worst.
But regardless…
In the end… it simply is what it is.
When the time comes we are the only ones who walk in our moccasins. Our son carried his lab out side with a towel in under her back legs because her legs were so weak. He did everything he could possibly do for her until there was nothing else. With in 3 years their 3 oldest kids/pets ( the first lab, her granddaughter and the wife’s best friend cat had to be put to sleep. They are all in their own boxes on the mantel.
The best thing about everyone on the Porch is their love of animals.