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The Sew What’s New Archive
This archived content is from Mary Wilkins’ sewing and
quilting message board “Sew What’s New,” which was
retired in August 2007. It is being provided by
“Sew What’s Up,”
which serves as the new home for many members of “Sew What’s New.”
From: Bama
Date: 08-11-2005, 07:40 PM (1 of 26)
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Our 13 yo lab mix has a tumor on her leg. It's more than doubled in size in a week. The vet said it's a rapidly spreading type of cancer and she probably has it in some of her organs as well. In the past few days days I've also noticed little marble sized tumors under her skin. He suggests putting her down within the next couple of weeks, before she gets so bad she can't stand up. We set the day for a week from saturday. My daughter is heartbroken. So are the rest of us, but she's been so upset we're trying to deal with her right now. She cries 4 or 5 times a day. She was a baby when we got the dog. Our dog has a sister from the same litter. They stay together most of the time. I wonder how she'll get along without her. Hubby is going to build her a box this weekend so we can bury her at home. It's going to be hard driving her back to the vet for the last time. |
User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116 
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From: LeapFrog Libby
Date: 08-11-2005, 08:31 PM (2 of 26)
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Bama, I am so sorry for your family's sadness at this time.. I know what you are going through, and it is not easy.. Hugs to all of you (((((Bama's Family ))))).. Remember all the joy the pet frought to your family.. No wonder Dog is called "man's best friend". 
Sew With Love
Libby |
User: LeapFrog Libby
Member since: 05-01-2002 Total posts: 2022 
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From: Chrysantha
Date: 08-11-2005, 09:11 PM (3 of 26)
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I'm so very sorry....having done this very thing 5 times in 19, 1/2 mnths. I know how you feel. www.petloss.com www.ivillage.com pet bereavement Have helped me a lot. Please accept my sympathy on what you're going through. If you wanna talk, leave me e-mail in my private box. I check it every day. I don't know how you feel about this...but if your daughter can go with you to the vet, to see how it's done, it might help her. She can say goodbye, before you bring the dog back home. I also think it's a good idea to let your other dog either go with you, or show her, her friend is gone. I KNOW animals mourn others, but they don't LOOK for them, if they know they're deceased. It keeps them calmer to KNOW. Extra loves for the dog left, will be needed. (along with all of you... [[[ ]]]) I wish I could do or say something to help you, but I'm sorry...it's a terrible thing to deal with...and it never gets easier.... Kath (Mom to Monster, Scooter, Girl, Harry, Bob, Zoey all deceased....Sam, Mikey, Piper and new baby Jack happy and healthy, so far.) Chrys
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User: Chrysantha
Member since: 09-06-2002 Total posts: 2414 
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From: SummersEchos
Date: 08-11-2005, 10:01 PM (4 of 26)
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Bama, So sorry to hear of your dog. It will be hard for all of you. Know you and your family are in my thoughts and nightly candle lighting. Summer
FREE FALLIN |
User: SummersEchos
Member since: 09-29-2004 Total posts: 884 |
From: esrun3
Date: 08-11-2005, 11:33 PM (5 of 26)
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Bama, I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. They definitely are family, aren't they? I hope your daughter, as well as the rest of the family can find some peace in the midst of this crisis. I'll keep you and your family in my heart and prayers during this difficult time (and it is a difficult time).
Lyn
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User: esrun3
Member since: 12-02-2004 Total posts: 2345 |
From: Sewhappie
Date: 08-12-2005, 01:11 AM (6 of 26)
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Bama, I had to have my Siamese Barkley put down this past May, I know what you are feeling right now. I will be keeping you and your family in my Prayers, and your four-legged family members. I know it helped me that the Vet let me stay with my baby while he did the injection, I was the last person that he saw and heard while going to sleep. And I was able to see just how peaceful it was for him, plus I was able to stay as long as I wanted with him afterwards. Letting your daughter be with your dog might help her, she will see that your "baby" is not suffering anymore and she will be the last one that your dog sees and hears while going to sleep. Plus the Vet can answer her questions that she has and reasure her about this being the right thing to do for the dogs sake. But yes, it wil be hard on all of you. Maybe you and she could make a memory book this next week and fill it with pictures from happier times you shared with your dog. Make sure that you get pictures from this week to add to the book. I wish I could make the pain just go away for all of you. As an adult you and I both know that what you are doing is for the best interest of the dog, but it still hurts.
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User: Sewhappie
Member since: 10-27-2001 Total posts: 1427 |
From: MaryW
Date: 08-12-2005, 06:16 AM (7 of 26)
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Sorry Bama.
MaryW
owner/editor of Sew Whats New |
User: MaryW
Member since: 06-23-2005 Total posts: 2542 
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From: Longblades
Date: 08-12-2005, 09:31 AM (8 of 26)
| So sorry, Bama. Its a sad thing to have go through. |
User: Longblades
Member since: 07-14-2005 Total posts: 182 |
From: grandmasue
Date: 08-12-2005, 11:27 AM (9 of 26)
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My heart breaks for you and your family. 8 years ago our Rusty-Dog was diagnosed with the same cancer and we thought we would be able to take care of him until the end, but 2 weeks after the diagnosis we knew we had made the wrong deciscion. He had lost so much of his dignity because of our selfishness. You are doing the right thing. Hugs to all of you. Grandma Sue
------------ At the end I am not showing up at my grave all pretty and well preserved...I am coming in sliding, yelling "What a ride!" |
User: grandmasue
Member since: 10-26-2004 Total posts: 138 
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From: bridesmom
Date: 08-12-2005, 05:15 PM (10 of 26)
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Oh Bama, I'm so sorry. It's like losing a baby. When one of our huskies died in my husbands lap, he bawled like a baby. I'm in tears just thinking about you and your family. Hugs!
Laura
Tickled pink with my Innovis 4000D |
User: bridesmom
Member since: 01-21-2004 Total posts: 2026 |
From: Bama
Date: 08-13-2005, 12:24 PM (11 of 26)
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thank you everyone for listening. Chrys, I thought of you and your pets when the vet said it's cancer. Tippy is getting worse every day. Now I wonder if she'll make it til next saturday. Hubby thinks she will. We can't move the date up. My daughter won't hear of it. Tippy just lies around most of the time, but a couple of times when she thought my MIL's cats were too close to our house, she took off like lightening after them. Then she limped back to her place in hubby's workshop. Poor thing is still trying to do her job.  Hubby's workshop is separate from our house and the big dogs sleep out there. The past few days every time we open the garage door to the house, she tries to get inside. When she does, she hides under the staircase. I wonder if she's trying to find a place to die. She'll walk back and forth between the workshop and the house. We've been feeding her all the shredded meat and chicken that she wants. I have to hide her prednizone in it. She can't chew her dog food anymore. I told dd that we'd make Tippy an ice cream and peanut butter sundae this afternoon. |
User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116
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From: carman
Date: 08-13-2005, 02:07 PM (12 of 26)
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my little pug went down hill fast and we had to move up the date that we were going to take him in, it was the hardest thing i had to do, as i had nursed him for months and then it came down to " what am i doing to this dog?" i was holding him as we put him down, i was a blubbering idiot, i still cry when i think about it, but what makes me cry is when he relaxed, those last few seconds i could see that he had NO pain and that i had done the right thing for HIM and not me. you may have to explain to your daughter that she is only being kind to take his pain and suffering away and that her memories are what she will have forever. |
User: carman
Member since: 04-17-2000 Total posts: 692 
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From: MaryW
Date: 08-13-2005, 02:25 PM (13 of 26)
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I was with both our dog and cat when they had to be put down. It's the worst thing at the time but after I knew I had done the right thing. They need their dignity just as we do.
MaryW
owner/editor of Sew Whats New |
User: MaryW
Member since: 06-23-2005 Total posts: 2542
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From: Bama
Date: 08-13-2005, 05:52 PM (14 of 26)
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I want to stay with her when they put her down. Hubby thinks I should just leave her and go home. He plans to pick up her body on his way home from work that day. ( about 30 minutes after our appointment) He can't get off in time to be there while they do it and they close early saturdays. I think it would be harder to just walk away than to stay with her. My 17 year old is going with me, but I'm not sure he can take it to stay in the room. My daughter probably won't go at all. I'll leave it up to her. |
User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116
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From: carman
Date: 08-13-2005, 06:44 PM (15 of 26)
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STAY, it is actually very healing in the long run. i didn't think i could stay with ours (put 2 down in 6 months, both nearly 16 years old) but in the end i just had to hold her and it takes SECONDS once that needle is in, and then a few more minutes for the heart to stop completely. i know the vets at our clinic would have held her as well if i could not have, but i am his/her mom and i wanted to be the comfort and in a small way that was my comfort as well. just take LOTS of tissue, we were able to stay with our dogs as long as we wanted to in the room, they didn't rush at all, which was nice. now we have a new joys in our lives, Winston, who is 4 months old now, and very much a spoiled rotton black pug and for 2 weeks now we have rescued and American Eskimo dog who is 7 years and THE MOST enjoyable dog to have, Winston and her get along wonderfully. i think we were with out a dog for 2 weeks (even had the deposit down on the pug before the last one was put down) and boy was that a quiet 2 weeks. do what your heart tells you to do 
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User: carman
Member since: 04-17-2000 Total posts: 692
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From: bridesmom
Date: 08-13-2005, 08:00 PM (16 of 26)
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STAY! I know that sometimes animals get really freaked out going to the vets and if you are there then it will be calming for them. Plus, like Carmen said, its healing for you. If you have a vet worth anything at all, they will be wonderful and comforting and supportive. When we lost our dog at home, I called the vet cause I didn't know what to do and he was absolutely fantastic on the phone with me, they called later on to see how we were doing. When we took his body to the vet so they could take him to the crematorium place, the vet came out and hugged me, we got a wonderful card from them and from the lady that cremated him and a note from her as we had asked that his ashes be spread out somewhere so he could be free to run cause he loved to run (oh crap here come the tears) Sometimes I miss them so much. We had 11 huskies at one time and used to dogsled with them, but we had three very special ones. Keema was hit by a snowmobiler and had her pelvis crushed, she had to be put down. Kiyuk was the one who died in my husbands lap, he was a 75 lb lapdog, and Arctic was full of cancer and my son was the one who took him to the vet to have him put to sleep.
Laura
Tickled pink with my Innovis 4000D |
User: bridesmom
Member since: 01-21-2004 Total posts: 2026 |
From: toadusew
Date: 08-13-2005, 10:41 PM (17 of 26)
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Bama, I am so sorry that you are dealing with this! I am a dog lover myself and my own dog is getting on in years, so I know that I'll face this same issue in the future. She is ok now, but her kidney functions have been up and the vet is concerned. This dog also had cancerous growths removed several months ago (doggy breast cancer) and the vet is concerned that she didn't get it all. Right now the dog is doing well--she is 12 and the vet thinks that she still has a few years left in her. Her age and her arthritis have slowed her down, but otherwise, she's ok for now. When I was 17, my mom decided to put down our little chihuahua (sp?) and it was the hardest thing I ever had to because I handed the little thing to my mom as I was leaving to go to work for the evening. My mom said she almost didn't go through with it, but she did. That dog was 13 and had some kind of large growth on her tummy. These furbabies really are part of our families, aren't they? |
User: toadusew
Member since: 01-08-2005 Total posts: 369 |
From: SummersEchos
Date: 08-14-2005, 12:11 AM (18 of 26)
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I too was with my Jake (a mutt) when we had to let him go. My kids all went with me but at the last minute left the room crying . It hurt, hurt really bad. Jake was huge, as big as a great dane, he was pure black and had the face of a Shepard. Yet he was the gentlest dog and he loved his tennis balls. He could no longer stand up, and his eyes told it all. I came home from work and found him this way. Of course at 6 at night you are thinking what do I do. My vet is closed, but a phone call sent me to the ER vet. All my kids, but my youngest son, came with Jake and me. They explained everything and told us what to expect. All I could do was hug Jake and let him go with his tennis ball in his mouth. I have Jakes ashes in an urn in my house, wich my OD wanted. My OD had a gardern statue made of Jake which sits in my faery/angel garden. It is hard very hard to let go of your pet, they do become part of your family.
Summer
FREE FALLIN |
User: SummersEchos
Member since: 09-29-2004 Total posts: 884 |
From: Bama
Date: 08-18-2005, 05:43 PM (19 of 26)
| I just spoke on the phone with the vet. He's being so nice to us about it, but I'm not sure I can do it. I know I need to. |
User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116
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From: kkoberle
Date: 08-18-2005, 07:48 PM (20 of 26)
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Remembering you and your family daily...
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User: kkoberle
Member since: 02-02-2000 Total posts: 218 
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From: Bama
Date: 08-22-2005, 07:07 AM (21 of 26)
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Sweet Tippy passed peacefully. The vet said the cancer had spread to her lungs. He thought we had chosen the right time. My daughter and I both stayed with her. I'm glad we did. I think it helped my daughter to see how peaceful she was. I'm so proud of my daughter. We buried Tippy in our back yard. We still have Tippy's sister, Sally. Yesterday she followed us around everywhere. They were almost always together. |
User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116
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From: DorothyL
Date: 08-22-2005, 07:31 AM (22 of 26)
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Bama -- I'm so sorry your dog died. Dorothy |
User: DorothyL
Member since: 12-09-2002 Total posts: 3883 |
From: carman
Date: 08-22-2005, 10:40 AM (23 of 26)
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http://rainbowsbridge.com/Poem.htm this poem was passed on to me when i had to put my dogs down last year, it still makes me cry when i read it. |
User: carman
Member since: 04-17-2000 Total posts: 692
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From: Bama
Date: 08-22-2005, 04:54 PM (24 of 26)
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I love the Rainbow Bridge story. When we decided to put Tippy down, Allie asked me if I would make a small quilt to bury the dog with. I talked her into using one I made 7 or 8 years ago that the whole family had snuggled under at one time or another. It was about to fall apart, but I told her it had the whole family's scent on it and Tippy would like it. We wrapped it around her before they put her to sleep. She relaxed and layed her head down. This was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I think my daughter learned alot from the experience. It's strange, Allie was having the hardest time dealing with the idea of putting her dog to sleep, but she's the one who decided to go with me. My son didn't want to go. Now we're drawing patterns for a Rainbow Bridge quilt with Tippy on it. |
User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116
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From: Chrysantha
Date: 08-22-2005, 09:21 PM (25 of 26)
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You're a good Mom....with many hard jobs and that was probably only one of many you do every day. Thank you. All of us 'fur' Moms out here want to tell you how much we respect you and your daughter for doing a good thing for a treasured friend. All of 'our' furries will be waiting at the Bridge to welcome Tippy. [[[ ]]] Kath Chrys
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User: Chrysantha
Member since: 09-06-2002 Total posts: 2414
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From: Bama
Date: 08-24-2005, 06:24 AM (26 of 26)
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Thank you Chrys. It means alot to have other "fur" moms to talk to about it. My daughter and I both LOVE our furbabies. I think we got that from my mother. Some of my friends think I'm crazy. Only a couple of them are the same way about their pets. We got a very nice card from the vet's office yesterday. He just opened his practice a couple of months ago. I decided to start using them because they're closer to our house and I thought it would be easier on our animals. Only one of them likes to ride in the car. We used to drive over 30 miles to a vet. I'm glad we changed. He's much nicer and was so good to Tippy the few times that he saw her. All of our animals will use him from now on. |
User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116
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