texted and asked my buddy if I could spread some of OTTO's ashes up on his 40 in Wisconsin where we hunt...he replied back of course, that's where he spread his bird dog's ashes a couple years back (didn't know that) and it made him happy to know that Bear's old buddy OTTO would be there to run around with forever... Never had a grown man tell me something that made me cry before.
Sorry dnoodles. The wife and I feel your pain. Today we had to have Taz put down. Wife took it pretty hard and must say I am going to miss Taz too. She was the most annoying barking, finger biting pipsqueak of a dog but we got 13.5 years of enjoyment out of her. She had an attitude of a big tough dog with no concept of her actual size. The house will be a lot quieter now without her.
Cheers, bow brother. Sorry for your family's loss as well. To honor my boy, I only had one drink tonight. A tribute, not a trashing. I want to remember him and how I feel, not numb it.
TJF, I'm sorry to hear of your loss as well. I hope that is all that pass for a while. I'm really dreading the day that mine pass. My big guy is the same age as dnoodles was. I've been retired for going on 6 years and have spent almost every hour of every day with my dogs. I wouldn't have it any other way. They go everywhere with me. I have a special bond with my older male dog Jones. Never had a dog like him before. My other dog, the female is 4 years old. She is a real lover and a kind gentle dog. Spending my time with them has made them even more enjoyable to be with. They have become very obedient and listen well to me. The best thing of all is that they make me smile and laugh every day. Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk
Our other little dog is 11. She was never as playful as Taz but is more relaxed and doesn't bite your fingers for the shear fun of it. When she goes, I don't know if we will get another dog. Would love to get a big dog but just don't have the time to spend with them so they can have an active/fun life. With the small house dogs, they mostly sleep during the day even when we are at home. They just aren't as active as a big dog. That has worked out great for Barb and I. We can fuss with them when we get home from work. An hour later they are taking another nap or just chilling with us. Our son has two big dogs. We get to see them a lot. We enjoy the heck out of them when they are here. We watch them for him when he has to go places. We are very content with that. We have gotten the best of both worlds with little and big dogs. It just gets really rough for Barb when her small dogs die. It will be up to her if we get another small one. House cats... well they just never die. Got one that is 19 years old. He probably will not survive the year but then we have been saying that for the last couple years. He is a tough old fart. Was mauled by a big dog or coyote 3 years ago so we brought him in the house. Been spoiled ever since. Blind in one eye, skinny but eats like a horse. Back in the day, he was a big boy in his prime. 2010...
Sorry for your loss. Geez I understand before we got A. J. We went through 4 years of losses ,all 3 dogs and the cat. All older. From 13 to 18 yrs old. It's been a rough few years for many of us here. For the joy they give their light flickers out so fast. I believe so their spirits can run forever.
dnoodles and tjf and your families, prayers and condolences. In 29 days it will be 3 years since we had to put Molson down, still think her every day, but know she and your loved ones are in a better place and not in pain.
First of all, that is a huge cat. It does seem like they live forever. Probably because they each have 9 lives. Secondly ....... Time. Time is very important with most dogs. The more you put into them the more you get out of them. I made that mistake with a female German Shepherd. I didn't have the time needed for that dog and I under estimated how much help I'd get from the rest of the family (son and wife). She was a good dog but deserved better. After she passed, I vowed to wait until I had the time for a new dog before getting one. The wait was almost 10 years. Two years before I retired we got another dog. I liked the way he looked with the reddish blonde hair and the black mask. He was a rescue dog and his description said he was a shepherd/mastiff mix. A couch potato. We thought perfect! Boy were we wrong. So were the people we got him from. It turns out he is a Black Mouth Cur. Old Yeller was a BMC. They are the extreme opposite of a couch potato. This guy needed a job and living in the city about the only job there was for him was guarding and protecting. He went way overboard on that detail. He didn't want anyone or anything near us. He must have been super grateful for us rescuing him. He was adopted 2 other times but returned. The next step for him was to be put down. He immediately bonded with my wife and her to him. I can't tell you how much help my wife was before I retired. I was up and gone to work before her and the dog got up in the morning so she fed him and walked him more than I did. The BMC excels as a farm/estate dog or like me living in the sticks. They were bred for herding, hunting and guarding the settlement. I can see those traits in my dog but in order his priorities are guarding, hunting then a little herding. He tries to herd me when I'm driving the Rhino. When I'm backing up he thinks I'm going the wrong way and barks at the rear tires. By spending the time I was able to socialize him by taking him to the bar with me when I was working on things there. Not in the bar itself but in one of the 4 outbuilding that I have on the property. Property is 3 acres. I'm not going to lie, he was a ruffian and more than a handful. More than once, we thought we made a huge mistake. Thankfully we stuck with it and he turned into the best dog we ever had. We got him at 10 months old and wonder if it would have been any easier if we had gotten him as a younger puppy. He's perfect for where we live. He'd fight a bear to protect us. Our female Pitbull ..... not so much. She'd out run you escaping danger and let you fend for yourself while barking on the sidelines, and she's 70lbs! Anyway, time and breed is important for what you want your dog to be. Right now, since my BMC is getting on in years we are contemplating getting another BMC puppy so my older dog can show him the ropes and help train him. It worked when we rescued the female Pitbull, Zeva. She went off property acouple times in the first 2 weeks we had her but then she started sticking around our property with Jones, her big brother. I am convinced that dogs learn from each other. Good luck if you do get another dog.
I love my son so I have to love his dog, granted he is under two and a hound but I can not wait till Larry goes home on Wednesday. Granted weekend watching grandkids and grand dogs is trying but serenity now.
I can’t speak on grandkids cuz I ain’t even got kids yet, but I can say that having a good ass dog makes your life better. I am partial to boxers because they’re basically comedians (technically they’re working dogs, but I don’t consider sleeping on the sofa work). Regardless, when a propane tank gone rouge up and melted the skin off my face last year, he was the only one who could put a (incredibly painful) smile on my face.
After my divorce and while I was selling my house, my (retired) parents took OTTO in for almost 3 months. He was about 9mos when they got him, so at the peek of his adolescence (and assholery). I owe them for that more than I ever knew b/c w/o them I may have had to get rid of him, but since he passed they have been sending me pics of him while they had him on their farmette... he was so damn funny. Digging up chipmunks, dragging fallen down branches across the yard, stealing moms socks. Dude was a freaking character.
My sincerest condolences, life is cruel in it's being and having to end is the cruelest of it all. Enjoy the memories and remember that big galoot for the loving member of family that he was.
He's home now, and forever. Will spread some at deer camps in WI and MI, a little bit in our backyard, and the rest will stay with me till I die.
Make sure your pets are treated for ticks if you live in an area where they are. I treat my dogs from March through November. This year I was a week late in treating them because of the cold weather. I treated them on Monday in anticipation of the coming warm spell. We took a walk in the woods looking for sheds and all we got was ticks. I didn't get any on me but my dogs each had 6 that I pulled off and killed. The ticks were trying to get off the dogs because they were treated. Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk
