Forumites and their Dogs

[bimmer84]

Another good one!

[-Deborah-]

Wow they get big!!!

[nhwbrooklyn]

25 lbs about full grown - so not that big - that fence must be really low. They are famously tenacious/stubborn so a little difficult to train. Teddy Roosevelt famously used them to hunt lions in Africa. They would probably relentlessly pester a lion but be too quick for the lions to consistently get I would guess. Hard scenario to picture really. One of those things that could only happen in "olden times".

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Terrier"]Irish Terrier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

[Islair]

Can you imagine the reaction PETA would have if they found out you were using Irish Terriers to hunt lions? LOL, the tops of their heads would spin right off.

Francie looks great Brooklyn, good luck with the training.

[SeattleLionsFan]

She is adorable Brook.

FWIW, I've lost two dogs to cancer in the past 5 years, a corgi and a lab/chow mix. So it's not a golden specific thing at all.

[nhwbrooklyn]

I lost a cat to cancer recently :(

Here is her in her last days with the new puppy. Taking her to the vet to put her down after she got worse and worse brought back childhood feelings of putting down our family dog Mavis (an Airdale). It was some seriously sad shit.

[Islair]

When I lost my childhood pet, I was sobbing like a little kid. I was 22 at the time.

[bimmer84]

Sorry to hear about your loss Brook. She looks like a platinum colored Burmese. We had one that looked a lot like her. I am somewhat detached from our cats, usually referring to them as "my wife's cats". One got real sick and the vet said there was no recovery, only suffering ahead. He recommended putting her down, so we held on to her while he administered the shot. For whatever reason he missed the vein and had to do it again, then the second time didn't work. She was scared silly, and squirming to get away. He finally said he had to take her in the back and get a shot right into the artery near her heart. She was trying to survive. It was an awful experience. None of that just fall asleep peacefully thing we had anticipated. I will never forget it.

[Malto Marko]

25 lbs about full grown - so not that big - that fence must be really low. They are famously tenacious/stubborn so a little difficult to train. Teddy Roosevelt famously used them to hunt lions in Africa. They would probably relentlessly pester a lion but be too quick for the lions to consistently get I would guess. Hard scenario to picture really. One of those things that could only happen in "olden times".

Irish Terrier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Olden times" might also meant raising the dogs to chase out the prey and if they got killed doing it, oh well. The cost of a trophy.

.......if it was your favorite dog, then some kind of tribute was made for the warrior.

When I lost my childhood pet, I was sobbing like a little kid. I was 22 at the time.

I had to put two down within 20 months and I still sob when I think about taking them to their end.

I really took my yellow lab (Odie) hard. She was rescued from the Humane Society back when they used to put the dogs that were there too long and were going to be euthanized in a certain spot. I knew this and this was the first place I went to look. She did not deserve to be on death row and I took her home.

She was trained to walk on a leash and was house trained but discarded from her owner because she was no longer a puppy and the apartment lifestyle didn't work out.

We walked up the driveway and her tail was wagging like she was a very happy dog. I took her into the back yard, took her off the leash and she immediately sniffed the parameters of the yard.

After sniffing the yard, she walked out of the yard, plopped down in the middle of the driveway as if saying, this is my home.

She was the best voice command dog I ever had and never tried to escape just to run.

.......we did have an issue with digging holes in the back yard, however, which was not handled well by me from advice on how to make it stop when resourced but, she forgave me, and had a bond with me that I was reluctant to replace after I had to do what was really right for her.

[Tony G]

My take on owning a dog is this. Owning a dog can be many things. It's an exercise in patience. It's a guarantee there will be someone at your house that will be ecstatic you came home no matter what. It's many years of totally unconditional love that warms even a cold heart. It may have costs along the way, higher if you got a large breed that snarfs most of a bag of dog food a week.
But the biggest part of owning a dog is that you make a contract. You get entertainment, love, a mobile alarm system, and friendship all up front with no money down but at the end of the contract there's a huge balloon payment. You have to pay the terrible price of letting go. It hurts tremendously but you realize they taught you the last lesson you need. How to let friends and loved ones move on and still keep our hearts intact and open.

[Malto Marko]

How to let friends and loved ones move on and still keep our hearts intact and open.

I am still trying to learn this. I get too attached and am not willing to replace with something that I have had love for many years.

I do however, acknowledge that my current pooch, albeit 9 years later and a most different dog than I ever had (scratch that, it is really Tailgunners dog), has made me laugh every day she has been in our house and has become another beloved part of the household.

[Tony G]

It's been 5 dogs for me over the last 30 years. The first two were the hardest

[Malto Marko]

I am not sure which were my hardest. Taking them to be euthanized, or getting hit by a car.

I have had too much experience with both.

[SeattleLionsFan]

Has it been nine years with the current pooch Mark? Man does time fly. I think I remember when TG got her and you were potty training her.

[Malto Marko]

No, SLF. It was 9 years from the time I had to put the last one down until we got another.