My baby (dog) is dying

[muppy]

7 hours ago, TBBills Fan said:

She was my best friend.   I'm gonna miss her so much. I already do.  

I hate cancer

 

you mentioned pittie. I have one near me almost always. Unless she is sunbathing. She is a dog who was rescued from  a life of dog breeding,. She has bite marks all over her legs and a front paw injury that was not cared for and healed badly. she and her son were rescued together. It was obvious by just appearance that they were related. But a DNA test was done on the son. He was a 100% pure breed Staffordshire terrier. 3 generations 

 

so my dog is also purebred. THANK GOD she was rescued. Her temperament is the sweetest  you have ever met. She LOVES people. She was the star at hubby's birthday party last night. Her name is Pumpkin. and twice we have been told she looks like one hahahaa

 

I mention this today because I Love the breed. I sense your dog was bonded to YOU as mine is to me.'

 

What a BLESSING!

 

Tell us about her/he if you want I'd like to hear

 

Best to you

 

Go Bills!

 

muppy

Edited yesterday at 05:07 PM by muppy

[Poleshifter]

On 11/21/2025 at 4:51 PM, TBBills Fan said:

She's 13 and been having issues.  She had surgery last month. And since the surgery it's like her body is just breaking down

 

I've been giving her steak and chicken every day to get her eat.  She's lost so much weight I see her ribs and spine

 

I don't want her to be in pain anymore but she is my best friend. She has always been there for me. 

 

She's not eating, not pooping and now not really moving and having difficulty standing. 

 

I keep telling her how happy she makes me and how much I love her as I lay with her. 

 

I'm gonna have take her to put her down. I don't want to. 

 

I can't stop crying.  This hurts so much. I don't want to lose her but I don't want her in pain. 

 

10 years ago she saved my life. I'm not supposed to have her so I can't share this with anyone or reach out to family 

I’m sorry to hear your dog is very sick.  13 years is pretty long life for a big dog. Small ones can live longer.

 

But one of the sad facts of life is having put down an aging dog, who has been a best friend.

 

Many of us have been there, some multiple times.  That is no consolation, I know.

 

There are no words to help get over such a loss.

 

[gonzo1105]

I had two brother Huskies from the same litter. They lived together almost their entire lives. The first dog, Oreo, passed away very quickly at 12.5. He was a healthy active dog and he lost a ton of weight very quickly and ended up having cancer and it absolutely crushed us as a month before that he was a playful active dog and we put him down seemingly out of nowhere. It made me cry for days and days. 

 

His brother Zorro was 15.5 and a half. He was losing his hair because of his thyroid issues, had weak back legs, and starting having incontinence issues. He never stopped eating though. Its a big misnomer to wait until they stop eating. We knew it was his time and honestly I feel like he was only sticking around because he loved us too much to let go. I was obviously sad but it was so much different than Oreo. He lived honestly about as long as he possibly could and had a good life. I was sad but I didn't ball my eyes out like Oreo because iI knew it was the right thing to do. 

 

Your situation sounds more like Zorro than Oreo 

[Bob Lamb]

We had a 14 year old Beagle. It started suffering (collapsing at random times and losing bowel control). Our vet said they could do "this and that" but with no promises. 

 

My wife would not let her go. I played the hard guy - "You can't keep her alive (and suffering) because you won't let go.

 

This went on several weeks before she allowed the home euthniaze tema to come. There were a lot of tears.

 

My take - it is not fair to the animal. 

 

The beagle we had prior also lived a while. She had surgery. The operation was a sucess - but the friend went over the Rainbow Bridge anyway.

Edited 23 hours ago by Bob Lamb

[Bob Lamb]

21 hours ago, TBBills Fan said:

She passed over the rainbow bridge peacefully at the vet this evening.   The cancer had spread to her kidney and heart and lymph. They said it was lymphoma. 

 

I was with her the entire time. She passed peacefully and her little nub tail was still wagon til the end when she heard my voice. 

 

Thank you guys for giving me an outlet

 There are lots of friends on the other side of the bridge

[Bob Lamb]

21 hours ago, TBBills Fan said:

She passed over the rainbow bridge peacefully at the vet this evening.   The cancer had spread to her kidney and heart and lymph. They said it was lymphoma. 

 

I was with her the entire time. She passed peacefully and her little nub tail was still wagon til the end when she heard my voice. 

 

Thank you guys for giving me an outlet

 

This may sound hokey - but you will get visits. When our last dog passed a good friend (dog guru) said you will get a visit. I thought POOF! One morning laying in bed, the house is quiet - wife is out - I hear the dog shaking chain rattle - nothing in the house. Definitely odd. Easy to question until - a week later - same thing and this time the wife heard it too. Misha came home to say hello . 

 

Signs that a deceased dog may still be with you include feeling a presence, hearing familiar sounds like paws or barking, smelling them, seeing their favorite toys in odd places, or having vivid dreams about them. Other people may notice their other pets acting strangely, staring at an empty corner, or feeling a strong sense of their presence, often interpreted as their spirit still visiting. 

[Walking Tall]

Had to put our boy, Charlie, down this past Monday. Out of the blue he just started losing weight. This is after he had a senior panel bloodwork done the month before that showed all was OK. Long and short of it he developed advanced kidney disease. 
 

It’s been a bad week, obviously. We will be picking up his ashes tomorrow. Those that have had to go through this can attest that you just want your loved one home, even if it is their ashes.

 

And, I’m so sorry TB. Just wanted you to know you aren't alone right now.

 

 

Edited 22 hours ago by Walking Tall

[frostbitmic]

You love and have cared for your best friend, there is no failure in that and I'm sure she knows that. Sounds like she has been lucky to have you. 🙏 for her and for you.

[TBBills Fan]

16 hours ago, Walking Tall said:

Had to put our boy, Charlie, down this past Monday. Out of the blue he just started losing weight. This is after he had a senior panel bloodwork done the month before that showed all was OK. Long and short of it he developed advanced kidney disease. 
 

It’s been a bad week, obviously. We will be picking up his ashes tomorrow. Those that have had to go through this can attest that you just want your loved one home, even if it is their ashes.

 

And, I’m so sorry TB. Just wanted you to know you aren't alone right now.

 

 

I'm sorry to hear this.  I have her ashes coming back Friday. 

16 hours ago, Bob Lamb said:

 

This may sound hokey - but you will get visits. When our last dog passed a good friend (dog guru) said you will get a visit. I thought POOF! One morning laying in bed, the house is quiet - wife is out - I hear the dog shaking chain rattle - nothing in the house. Definitely odd. Easy to question until - a week later - same thing and this time the wife heard it too. Misha came home to say hello . 

 

Signs that a deceased dog may still be with you include feeling a presence, hearing familiar sounds like paws or barking, smelling them, seeing their favorite toys in odd places, or having vivid dreams about them. Other people may notice their other pets acting strangely, staring at an empty corner, or feeling a strong sense of their presence, often interpreted as their spirit still visiting. 

You are absolutely correct.  I had this happen with my cat.  I know at some point she is gonna let me know she is okay and watching from the other side.  Waiting for me, so we can play when I get there 

 

The last two days have been really hard.  Looking for her, grabbing some food and not seeing her wait patiently for hers, coming home and her not there to say hello, not coming up for cuddles and pets. It's just quiet. 

 

I miss her very much

 

I'm going to go to the humane society on Friday after I get her and sign up to volunteer. She would appreciate that and for me, giving some less fortunate pups some attention and time I hope will help me with the pain and emptiness I feel. 

[Sweats]

When i finally had to put my 18-year-old Lab down, i was devastated........the vet said to me, "sometimes, putting a dog down to end the suffering is the last act of kindness we can give them".

 

I felt a little better after hearing that.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

On 11/22/2025 at 8:34 PM, TBBills Fan said:

She passed over the rainbow bridge peacefully at the vet this evening.   The cancer had spread to her kidney and heart and lymph. They said it was lymphoma. 

 

I was with her the entire time. She passed peacefully and her little nub tail was still wagon til the end when she heard my voice. 

 

Thank you guys for giving me an outlet

hang in there, brother! 

[TBBills Fan]

21 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

hang in there, brother! 

Work is tough today man. 

 

I'm sitting here thinking about what I should eat after work because I need to eat

 

Figured I'd grab pizza. 

 

Then I realize I'm not gonna be able to share it with her like I always do and it's hard to hold the tears in

 

Pizza was her favorite 

Edited 1 hour ago by TBBills Fan

[rusty shackleford]

I went through it about a year and a half ago. It's one of the hardest things in life you end up having to do. I had a similar situation where we brought our dog in for surgery to remove a few bad teeth and remove an abscess on his gum. He took a nose dive during recovery a few days after the surgery.

 

Turns out the abscess that the vet dismissed as a concern months earlier and again at the time of surgery as anything to worry about, was indeed cancerous. It triggered a response that fast forwarded other tumors he had internally on his liver and his kidneys shut down. He wouldn't eat, could barely walk, and couldn't make it outside. Even when we brought him back to the vet when his was struggling to eat, it was dismissed as just an older dog being tired from the stress of surgery. 

 

We brought him to the Orchard Park emergency hospital for a second opinion, got a full examination (scans and whatnot) and an overnight stay. Once we learned there was nothing we could do to help him and he would die in a few days anyways, we made the choice to do it right then. The choice to put him down wasn't that hard because we wanted to end his suffering. But I was second guessing our choices and not getting other opinions months back when we might have been able to do more for him.

 

I was deeply depressed over it for weeks, drinking heavily, not sleeping. My other dog who was a rescue and together with him for years was at a complete loss, just pacing the house, not knowing what to do. After awhile it gets easier, but never really goes away. They are family after all. We were fortunate to have another rescue fall into our laps about two months later, which brought a lot of happiness back into the house. The other dog started acting like himself again, so we have that as a silver lining... Also switched vets to the OP clinic and have been happy with them. 

[TBBills Fan]

22 minutes ago, rusty shackleford said:

I went through it about a year and a half ago. It's one of the hardest things in life you end up having to do. I had a similar situation where we brought our dog in for surgery to remove a few bad teeth and remove an abscess on his gum. He took a nose dive during recovery a few days after the surgery.

 

Turns out the abscess that the vet dismissed as a concern months earlier and again at the time of surgery as anything to worry about, was indeed cancerous. It triggered a response that fast forwarded other tumors he had internally on his liver and his kidneys shut down. He wouldn't eat, could barely walk, and couldn't make it outside. Even when we brought him back to the vet when his was struggling to eat, it was dismissed as just an older dog being tired from the stress of surgery. 

 

We brought him to the Orchard Park emergency hospital for a second opinion, got a full examination (scans and whatnot) and an overnight stay. Once we learned there was nothing we could do to help him and he would die in a few days anyways, we made the choice to do it right then. The choice to put him down wasn't that hard because we wanted to end his suffering. But I was second guessing our choices and not getting other opinions months back when we might have been able to do more for him.

 

I was deeply depressed over it for weeks, drinking heavily, not sleeping. My other dog who was a rescue and together with him for years was at a complete loss, just pacing the house, not knowing what to do. After awhile it gets easier, but never really goes away. They are family after all. We were fortunate to have another rescue fall into our laps about two months later, which brought a lot of happiness back into the house. The other dog started acting like himself again, so we have that as a silver lining... Also switched vets to the OP clinic and have been happy with them. 

Saturday night I numbed the pain. Sunday I felt it hard and just laid there trying to watch football. 

 

Today at work it's rough.  Lots of firsts with not taking her out this morning. Not giving her morning pets, coming home is gonna suck

 

The worst part is FB knows and my feed is all posts about losing an animal. I don't know if it's good I keep seeing and hearing them or not 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

38 minutes ago, TBBills Fan said:

Work is tough today man. 

 

I'm sitting here thinking about what I should eat after work because I need to eat

 

Figured I'd grab pizza. 

 

Then I realize I'm not gonna be able to share it with her like I always do and it's hard to hold the tears in

 

Pizza was her favorite 

This is going to be tough to shake! Hang onto those good memories! 

[rusty shackleford]

11 minutes ago, TBBills Fan said:

Saturday night I numbed the pain. Sunday I felt it hard and just laid there trying to watch football. 

 

Today at work it's rough.  Lots of firsts with not taking her out this morning. Not giving her morning pets, coming home is gonna suck

 

The worst part is FB knows and my feed is all posts about losing an animal. I don't know if it's good I keep seeing and hearing them or not 

Yeah that has to be tough coming back home to a quiet house. At least getting out and going to work can keep your mind off it and busy. I have been work from home for many years and my dogs were my administrative assistants. They sat next to me in my office all day every day, so it was hard sitting home alone all day without him. The other dog didn't want to sit in the office afterwards, he would just pace through the house looking for him.

 

I know you said money is tight, but it might help if you could talk to a professional. It can really help, especially if you can't talk about it with your family. We were really struggling with losing the dog and a few other stressful live events that all came together around the same time so we did a one time session with a counselor. It helped us quite a bit.

[TBBills Fan]

4 minutes ago, rusty shackleford said:

Yeah that has to be tough coming back home to a quiet house. At least getting out and going to work can keep your mind off it and busy. I have been work from home for many years and my dogs were my administrative assistants. They sat next to me in my office all day every day, so it was hard sitting home alone all day without him. The other dog didn't want to sit in the office afterwards, he would just pace through the house looking for him.

 

I know you said money is tight, but it might help if you could talk to a professional. It can really help, especially if you can't talk about it with your family. We were really struggling with losing the dog and a few other stressful live events that all came together around the same time so we did a one time session with a counselor. It helped us quite a bit.

I've been considering it.  I do have benefits.  I know it's okay to feel and process this and my hope is that volunteering will help fill my spare time and help me heal.