Had to put one of my Labs down

[lovemylabs]

hello everyone

This is my first post on this newly discovered site. Unfortunately I had to put my beloved female black labrador mix Josephine to sleep 2 days ago. I'm having a very difficult time dealing with her loss. It's one of the toughest things i've ever had to do. She would have turned 10 yrs old this december but she didn't quite make it. Recently she was having problems with her stomach bloating up. It became twisted and she had to have surgury in june of this year. I thought things were fine but unfortunately her stomach bloat re-occured a couple times soon after, most recently on Oct 11. And this latest one really took it's toll on her. She suffered internal organ damage and bleeding as a result. Seeing her really struggling the last time was absolutely heart-wrenching. I feel horrible about it and all that she went thru.
Josephine was an incredible dog. but fortunately i still have her brother dog Napoleone with me, who misses her as much as i do.

[Pam]

I am so sorry to meet you under such sad circumstances. Believe me, everyone here knows the love that you had for your beautiful Josephine and most of us have felt the devastation of such a loss when our beloved pets leave us. She lived a good life with you although with our pets it is never long enough. Their lives are way too short. That is their only fault. I had a standard poodle several years ago who we believe died of bloat. I left a healthy dog in the morning and came home to a dead dog on my sofa after work. I was rocked to my core and still grieve over her and think *what if* all the time. What if I hadn't been working that day, etc.? My daughter lost a two year old Greater Swiss Mountain Dog to bloat also. She left in the morning for a trip to another state to attend a funeral. She was gone maybe 8 hours and came home and Dale was gone. I have heard that once a dog bloats they will probably bloat again. You did all that you could do. That is all that anyone can do. Please feel free to come here and share your feelings and talk. It won't bring Josephine back but it will help as we are a caring community. Maybe in time you might want to introduce us to Napoleon. For now take comfort in his presence in your home. ((((hugs))))

[trayi52]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss of Josephine. I know you will miss her very much. Hopefully Napoleone will help you through this very difficult time, by comforting you, and you can also comfort him.

I had a Doberman die of the same thing, she died almost instantly the morning I discoverd she had it. She had threw up all night long. When I got up that morning, I thought she was just being sick, the vet said her stomack turned over.

Anyway, I am really sorry for the loss of your beautiful Josephine, I will pray for you, that God will give you comfort at this time of need.

Rest in Peace, sweet Josephine, and play hard at the bridge.

Hugs,
Willie

[Curiousdish]

My heart goes out to you. I lost my two poochies this past year, Casey in March at 13 yrs and Digby this past September at 17 yrs.... Life's just not the same.....If you would like to chat sometime drop me a line.....

[pitc9]

I'm so sorry for the great loss you've suffered, everyone here at Pet Talk feels the same about our animals, they are our lives so we understand the pain you are going through. Please know that she is free of pain now and is running free!
RIP Josephine you will be missed.

[lovemylabs]

thanks for the thoughts. really appreciate it. dealing with Josephine's loss is still pretty rough. wed night when i got the follow-up call from the vet saying that she wasn't going to make it, i knew driving back in to see her would be the last time. and then seeing her lying there really struggling was extremely difficult. she looked up at me a couple times and her ears went back when she recognized me. but i think she knew it was almost over. her breathing was difficult and she was very weak.

according to the vet surgeon, even with some type of plasma-treatment to help with blood clotting her chances would have been less than 20%. i didn't want to put Josephine thru any more suffering. she had already been thru enough already so i decided to have her put to sleep.

right now dealing with all kinds of emotions-- grief, sadness, guilt, anger.

in addition to the tremedous grief, i still am having a difficult time understanding WHY this bloat happened. i never could get a comprehensive explanation from any vet. Josephine went 9+ years w/o any bloating problems. and then it came out of nowhere.

[Dorothy39]

Your story of Josephine is so sad for me to read.

And, I am so sorry too, that I can't welcome you to Pet Talk under happy circumstances.

So many of us here are griving the loss of a Pet~ So Please stay awhile and tell us more about Josephine and Napoleone.






Rest in Peace Dear Josephine~ {{HUGS}}} for You lovemylabs

[lovemylabs]

Your story of Josephine is so sad for me to read.

And, I am so sorry too, that I can't welcome you to Pet Talk under happy circumstances.

So many of us here are griving the loss of a Pet~ So Please stay awhile and tell us more about Josephine and Napoleone.






Rest in Peace Dear Josephine~ {{HUGS}}} for You lovemylabs

thanks. Josephine was indeed a very special dog. Loyal, very friendly and obedient--i could not have asked for a better dog, despite her unfortunate illness. sometimes she did have a problem with digging(esp. when younger) and separation anxiety when i was away. maybe that contributed to her condition and stomach problem. Being a lab-mix, she was slightly smaller in size(55 lbs), but still looked like a pure bred. all black with some white on her chest. i always felt she could have been on the box for milk bone dog biscuits..lol. a perfect lab face.

Luckily, i have some really great pictures of her over the years w/Napoleone but they're not stored in my computer... just actual photos. i have an old scanner, but i need to figure out how to get them uploaded and posted. not really sure how to do that. i would like to get them posted sometime.

[Pam]

I am glad you have stopped by again. It is a pain that is hard to describe, isn't it? Some people who don't have pets think there is something wrong with those of us who grieve like a member of the family has just died. Well they are a member of the family. When my Whitney died I dragged myself into work the next day because I knew that no one would understand if I took a day off just to have some down time to cry. It was so hard.

in addition to the tremedous grief, i still am having a difficult time understanding WHY this bloat happened. i never could get a comprehensive explanation from any vet. Josephine went 9+ years w/o any bloating problems. and then it came out of nowhere.

At the time that I lost Whitney and, years later, when my daughter lost Dale I searched for information on bloat. There is a wealth of it out there on the internet, so when you feel up to it you might want to read a little. No one can predict which dog will succumb to bloat although certain breeds are more at risk. One of the breeders where I bought one of my dogs (not the one who died) said that there may be a hereditary component to it although who really knows. My Whitney was 8 years old and Dale was 2 so I don't think there is a hard and fast rule about age, although I have read that as a dog grows older they are more at risk. Some breeders of dogs at risk prefer that prospective buyers of their dogs feed a raw diet while some don't. Please don't feel guilty. It was Josephine's time. She knew you loved her and you were there at the very end. She felt that love. Whitney and Dale have surely met up with her at the Bridge.

[lovemylabs]

I have heard also about the hereditary factor concerning bloat. Strangely though, the mother dog of Josephine(whose name was Joker, a friend of mine's dog) never had bloat. Back in '96 when Joker had a litter of pups, Napoleon and Josephine were the 2 that i picked out and named. Joker was more of a salt-and-pepper sheperd-type dog and looked somewhat different from the black lab features of her offspring. Unfortunately, Joker developed her own health problems- a cancerous tumor near her hind leg that eventually had to be amputated. Soon after, around 2003 she had to be put down. I can't help but conclude there was most likely some bad-gene connection between Josephine and her mother, Joker. But both dogs had incredible playful energy and a unique personality. You would never suspect that health problems were on the horizon for either dog. But now they are re-united and running free together, anxiously awaiting Napoleone to re-join them.