Long live the memory of Gizmo.
17 excellent years!He did so well.
That is a lot of good memories.
I know there are tears today and many more to come in the days ahead but you have handled it the best way possible and I promise it will get better.Today was the hardest part .Seeing it coming might have made it even tougher but I am sure you gave all the love possible knowing that. My deepest condolences to you and your family.

I am deeply saddened to hear this. My condolences to you, family, and friends of your beloved pet.

Sincerely

Russ

So sorry.

Everyone mourns differently. Some decide to get another dog while some don't.

After our Maggie passed, my wife was really hurting for about a month. She made a tribute video by combing through all the videos/pics we had of Maggie & our other dog (a dutch shepherd named Diesel.) That was how she seemed to cope with the loss and it made her think about the past & all the great times we had with Maggie.

The only regret I had was not bringing Diesel to the vet with us that day to say his final goodbye. (I didn't think we we're losing her THAT day to be honest) When we got home from the vet, Diesel seemed to know something was amiss but was fine for about 3 days and then went into a slight depression for 2 weeks or so. Eventually, with each passing day things got better for everyone and we got another puppy. A black lab named Matilda from the same lineage as Maggie.

The picture is Matilda and Diesel in August 2017.

Here's the tribute video the wife made if anyone is interested.

While losing a best friend isn't easy, we love raising two dogs together and being able to provide them with a quality of life other dogs around the world can only dream of. And from what I've read in this thread, there are some great dog owners out there.

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Very very sorry for your loss. I can honestly say I know how you feel. I hope the good memories help ease the pain. At least Gizmo was lucky to find a good loving family, not all pets are that lucky.

Rip Gizmo and peace to you Superbee.my heart is heavy for you as I still feel the pain of my last lose and fear the pain of the next.take solace in knowing you did everything a friend could.

Very sorry for your loss, I don't look forward to this day with our little guy. Hang in there.

SUPERBEE... so sorry to hear about the loss of Gizmo. It's very tough, I know.

this is sad news. It's easy for people to say if you should put a pet down or not by his condition at the time. But it's one of those things that's easier said than done. Personally I can never do it. I'm one of those that strings on to the very end like some miraculous recovery is just around the corner. But so far that hasn't happened. I hope I don't have to go through it again for at least another 6 years or so.

Sorry for your loss Superbee. You are a great pet owner and Gizmo was very lucky to have you. .....as you were very lucky to have such a great dog like him as well. I would love to be able to tell you that it gets better but unfortunately it doesnt, not for me it didn't anyway.

Take a little time to let all of this soak in and search for a new friend. Please consider adoption also, there are so many animals out there just like Gizmo that need a good home.

RIP Gizmo

I'm so sorry for your loss.

So sorry to hear the bad news but Gizmo was suffering so it's for the best I guess. I've never had an pet so I don't fully understand what your going through but I have lost family members and friends so it must feel the same I guess. Are you going to have him buried at a pet cemetary?

I’m so sorry for your loss; but rest easy knowing that you gave Gizmo the best life a dog can have. That goes for everyone here. Think of how much love and care you’ve given your animals and how happy you’ve been able to make them for their entire lives, and how lucky we were to have been so unconditionally loved by our pets.

The human experience is fickle, but what a time to be alive to experience it.

I’m not crying, my eyes are just a little sweaty, and I have some onions in my pocket!

Believe it or not, losing a pet is usually worse than losing a family member for some reason. Not always of course but it is alot of times. It's a very different experience and it's awful. Losing a child would obviously be worse but losing a pet that you are crazy about is no walk in the park, I can tell you that much. I never had a dog until I was 40 and now I don't ever want to be without one after experiencing how much happiness they give you.

Just came across this and cried through the whole read. Sorry for your loss

We'll carry some of that grief for you Superbee. Condolences to you and the family.

My condolences, Superbee. No one loves you like your dog. Or vice versa.

Been reading through this the last week and it has helped me tremendously.

At the same time Gizmo started to not feel well, our Sidney, a chocolate lab of 14 years and 5 months, started to have seizures.

She already stopped eating a few days before and wouldn’t take her pills.

She had an incident in the spring where she woke up crying unable to move her rear legs. After around ten minutes of laying on the floor she was back to normal. Not sure if it was a stroke but it never happened before.

Over Labor Day while we were out she must’ve fallen or slipped and her right hip was just in the wrong place. We brought her to the vet and he said the stress of tests and so on would be a lot for her and that’s when we started the meds to make her more comfortable.

She would hop and was able to go down stairs but not up so we’d help her.

This past Friday I text my wife about coming to some sort of decision about Sidney’s last days. I told my wife I didn’t think she had another week In her. So Friday night I planned a fire outside with Sidney and our family. She loved to sit outside on the lawn and just take it all in. She couldn’t see well but would still look around and sniff the air.

But that never happened. She had a horrible seizure in front of all of us. It seemed to last forever. My younger daughter was afraid and backed off but my older daughter totally broke down. She ran off crying and terrified.

It took Sidney around 15 minutes to come out of it after the grand mal was over. We all slept with her that night in the family room. The next morning she had a less severe seizure as my wife was on the phone with the vet. We knew it was time.

The kids said their goodbyes and my wife decided she wanted to be with Sidney when she would pass. Sidney ran up to my wife first as a puppy 14+ years ago when we went up to Vermont to get her from river meadow labs.

So we agreed she would hold Sidney and look into her eyes at the end.

We are getting better day by day but it’s been tough. I try to remember the fun and good times and erase those seizures, the limping, not eating or drinking, from my mind. But i know I’ll never forget.

I think we take the loss of a pet harder because we feel a responsibility towards them. I often thought that the only thing worse would be losing a child. So I pray for the OP, anyone else that has lost a beloved pet, and any parent that lost a child. Stay strong and cherish every moment when they are with you and remember the good times when the can’t be with you anymore.

Here are some pictures of our Sidney girl.

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So sorry to hear that Saveleaningtower. My wife and I will send our prayers for comfort and healing out to you and your family. It is exceedingly difficult losing our loved ones. You know it's hard to see it when the hurt is so fresh in our minds but, I know in my case the passing of my baby (Dinky) did have a positive side; our family unit, our bond was permanently strengthened through the leaning on one another for support and I'm sure yours will be as well.

Sorry for your loss Superbee. I too have lost my long time buddy not so long ago. Just shy of his 21st birthday. He'd been with me over half my life and we were inseparable. Hopefully the great memories shared with Gizmo will keep putting a smile on your face for many years. Pics are at 12 weeks, 2 years and 12 years. My daughter in the pic is 11 now.

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This is where have buried our past pets and will bury our current/future pets:

https://www.abbeyglen.com/PublicPages/Home.aspx

Our past 2 family dogs are buried next to each other.

Theres nothing I can say that has not been said already, I feel your pain...so sorry....I put down my beloved Ashley Belle 3 weeks ago today..

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I totally understand your position. Its been just over 2 years since I lost my best friend Zazoo. I bought him as a gift to my girlfriend at the time, who turned into my wife, 2 kids later, 16 years later, he had a really bad seizure, couldn't walk, was a real big mess. I made the call to put him to peace and it was the hardest thing iv'e ever done. He passed in both my daughters hands, 6-8 at the time, they were destroyed, as was I. I chose to be strong for the family but I think about him everyday, he was truly a special cat, a real "buddy".

I bought him when I was 21, he was a pure bread Persian. I couldn't afford the "best" ones, he was the runt of the litter but he didn't have the "smushed" face they always have. He was perfect and the wife loved the present. She was away alot and we became really close, he was truly a friend. He knew, he understood. He welcomed our first child, our first house, our second child, our failed attempt at a friend (named him simba ) thats a whole different story, as my wife gave him away while I was at work... Never got a chance to say goodbye. He was a rescue kitten and mad at everyone in the world except me. He bit, scratched, hissed at everyone, but would snuggle with me all the time. The two cats hated each other, fought almost to the death, vet bills, crazy amounts but we loved them both.

I will never forget both of them, I suspect Simba is still alive but I have no idea.

We moved on and let our kids pick new cats but zazoo and simba will always be in our hearts.

Sorry you had to go through this too, rest happy you gave him the best life he could ever have had.

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I can certainly understand how this would make you feel. Did anyone ever ask the veterinarian why? Is there another side to the story? Did something happen to Trixie at the veterinarian's that put him in a position where he felt like the only humane thing was to put Trixie down?

Lots of dog and cat lovers on Pinside. We lost our dear, sweet Jackson two days before Christmas last year. He was diagnosed with Cancer on a Monday and we had to put him down on Friday. So quick, but he digressed so rapidly. We knew it was the right thing but was heartbreaking for us. We could tell his quality of life had changed in those few days and after consulting with two different vets knew what we had to do. Cried like a baby. He was MY dog...my wife and both loved him so much, but you could tell he was MY dog. So sad.

Just take solace in the fact that Gizmo won the lottery when he went home with a loving family. He has had a great life. Thoughts and prayers are with you.

Hogey

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This is Scooter. He was a good boy. Today we had to put him to rest. For the lest 3 days he’s been getting sick, didn’t drink or eat. Today the vet said that his kidney had stopped and his heart was enlarged. Nothing could be done.

I will miss him.

Sorry to hear you've lost your buddy.

I'm also very sorry to hear about Scooter. It seems when animals get sick they decline very quick. I hope the good memories overpower the sorrow you're going through.

I held him in my arms and scratched him behind his ear as the vet put him down. I think it helped me a lot. Originally I didn’t want to, but now I’m glad that I was there.

Man this is a depressing thread. I’m out!

OP, I am sorry I understand it's never easy.

My beloved best friend Maximus, (Golden Retriever) past away 4 days shy of 16th birthday in my home Sat around 9:45am, Oct 25,2001 to Oct 21,2017. I named him after the character Russell Crowe played in movie Gladiator in 2000 , I always name my best friends after Greek/Roman/GODs/old legends. I can tell you I am feel horrible, I miss him more than my limited vocabulary can type here, but I am grateful for my time with him, truly bro/kid watched him grow from young to old, extremely intelligent as well. Good bye old friend.

Last birthday pic, I had to cancel his cake this year.

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Beautiful dog! RIP Maximus

This thread is one of the toughest to read on this whole site for those who've had to go through something like this! Superbee I PMed you when you started the thread but want to make a post now about something, since this was something my wife (and I) went through - when and if you decide to get another pet, don't ever think that it is a "replacement" of some sort for Gizmo. My wife and I get our pets from the humane society, and it was really tough to not think that it was "too soon" to adopt no matter how long we waited after losing the last one. We went about a month before getting some new little goofballs to destroy our furniture and keep us up at night. If you decide to get another pet some day, remember that you're adding a family member and giving him/her a good life like Gizmo had

It's been 4-5 months since we lost our dog and I wish that I could say it gets better but it hasn't so far at all. We even got another beautiful Basset Hound a couple weeks ago and it still hasn't made things any better yet. Getting another dog will help you cope with the loss though a little bit I guess but damn it still sucks.

I lost my Jack Russell "Rocky" in July 2015 after 15 years together. It still hurts and at this point in my life I can't even consider another dog. I can't go thru that loss again. I held him in my arms as his heart quit. Even seeing all the pet food ads on TV still hurts.

I understand that but look at it this way, the good times outweigh the bad times by a million miles. When I have a dog I am a much happier person.

Wouldn't trade a minute with mine may they rest in peace.

Yes I agree. Losing Buddy 4-5 months ago changed my life but there's one thing that can't be taken away from me and that's all of the great memories that me and him had together. I get to keep those forever and take those to my grave with me.

Yeah its truly one of the worst things a person can ever go through. I would like to tell you it gets better but it doesnt. Its been 7 or 8 months i believe since i lost my Basset Hound and im still messed up over it, it has actually changed my life. We rescued another Basset Hound and hes a wonderful dog and we love the shit out of him but i still miss the one we lost badly. Sorry you are having a rough time, hang in there man.

I had to put down my Basset Hound, Louie, almost a year and a half ago and I still miss him terribly and cry often. Losing him truly changed my life. These dogs bring you so much joy while they are here but leave such a hole in your heart when they have to go...

Agree 100% and well said.