Today was a sad day for my family. We had to have Dante, our black, nine year old Portuguese Water Dog, put down. My Dad (on his way to the U.S.) brought him down to Edmonton last night, because his health had taken a turn for the worse. According to the doctor, Dante had a degenerative joint disease and possibly also some sort of endocrine disease. He was in a lot of pain when he moved around too much, and had lost a lot of weight recently. He was on pain medication over night so that he could have some tests done. Today, the doctor thought that euthansia would be best for him, as there was nothing to be done for him and he was in a lot of pain. We didn’t want him to suffer anymore, so we made the decision.
Dante was such a good dog, if a little funny at times! He was a water dog, yet he was a big chicken when it came to lakes or rivers or even large puddles! He had this habit of running into things wherever he went – he’d always bang his head on something. Whenever there was food in his dish, he pretty much vaccumed it down, and he always came running the moment he heard the snap of banana being opened. Dante didn’t drink water, he tanked up like a camel, and always came over to get your legs wet from his dripping beard when he was done. And funniest of all, he definitely had the “lap dog” complex. He thought he was a lap dog, just like Bijou, even though he was a pretty big dog!
So now Dante is gone. It will take some getting used to for all of us, even Bijou and Cisko (our other two dogs) who have been wandering around looking for Dante. They could tell right away that something was up! Dante is the third dog our family has lost over the years, and it never gets any easier. We decided to have him cremated.
Goodbye Dante!
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Awww! Thanks for making me cry and ruining my Saturday night….:(
Dear Dante, we all miss you dearly, especially Bijou and Cisko, they are still looking for you. We are very sorry you were in such pain, you never complained and you always did your best to get your poor body up when we asked you to move out of the way, go in your kennel or to go outside. Thank you Dante for being so strong for us and such a loveable big lap dog all the time! I’m sure we could have done without the water baths every time you would drink like a camel or the unique "crotch" HELLO but that just made us love you more D! You remember running the yard with Sheba and Baron? …you can do that now, your joints don’t hurt any more and you can do it on green grass too, no more snow. You can also eat cantaloupe year round no more “when the road opens!" And Dante, you don’t have go up stairs backwards any more! You will indeed be missed greatly in the MALE household, WE LOVE YOU Dante-Ray! HUGs, Mom xoxo
I am sorry. You are right, it never gets easier.
Aww Dante, I’m so glad that you are not in any pain anymore. I think that we made the right decision for you. Seeing you come into the room yesterday broke my heart because you were crying and really couldn’t handle the pain anymore. I still remember when you used to sit in my lap on the floor and would get as close as you could, you old softy. I will miss you greatly Dante, you’ll always be in my heart. Love you Tons!
I’m sorry for your loss. I, myself, have buried pets. My friend had his dog cremated, I think it’s a good idea, I just don’t know where or how you get it done.
Thanks everyone.
Jason, I would ask your vet. The emergency hospital that we took Dante to took care of everything for us, but at the very least, the vet should be able to point you in the right direction.
I’m sorry to hear what happen but I’m sure it was for the better.