It's just a dog.

[carpathian]

Thanks for advice everyone. That is good to know on the two shots. Yeah, I didn't know of any specific symptoms that will arise that are indicative of the end. It is like he is aging by the day. Still loves laying in the snow but hardly lifts head to look when i check on him. Very low energy...

[AK47bp]

The movie "Hachiko" is a great true story about a man and his ever faithful Akita. I suggest it highly

[skiJ]

yo , Carp. --

pm Sent .


hang - In ... ( Watch for Powerful grief . )


skiJ
.

[skiJ]

Attachment 106692
...gettin' Ready --

Attachment 106799
Still , getting ready - for Anything . !



... meet ' Blue ' ,

pretty Good dog If you ask me --


Way too important ...


Sunday , we introduced Her to a new pup ...

They played Hard (,) and Great - together...


Monday morning, She was gunnin' - with - the pup(,) when

I saw her ' tip over ' ...

strangest twenty-five seconds i've had in a while . . .

dear diary ...

June 26th -- Six months since ' Blue ' had her seizure --

No complications ( well, If you don't count that close-call / near-miss with the 'End-loader in the parking lot ... ) ;

I try to make sure she gets a good Walk almost daily ;

She likes that .


If you are new to this tread, Please check out the op -- Good stuff , BSS .


Thanks ... skiJ

[tBatt]

this made me tear up a little. (sorry for the tall image)

Hadn't seen this until now. Tearjerker for sure.
My little guy I've had since I was 5 passed away a few days after Christmas.





Whenever I mention something bad about my dog, my buddy always says "any yet another reason I would never own a fucking dog. They're such a pain in the ass." I told him I'd rather had a dog than a son. I'd rather have a dog than a girlfriend half the time. He looks me me like I'm crazy and sincerely says it's because I've had a fucked up childhood/family life. He's the one who has never had a pet.

[liv2ski]

^^^Sorry for your loss. I hope you have the time to invite another dog into your life soon.

[Mazderati]

[liv2ski]

^^^^That is teh funnez. Thanks

[Bobby Stainless]

http://petlossathome.com/

This service can be to your home within a 1-3 hour notice.

The best way IMO.

Just got Marley's ashes back yesterday. I am glad he is back home.

[Mazderati]

Powerful work. The pictures are definitely worth a look. Stoic. Dignified. RIP.


Link to article and photos.

TAOYUAN, Taiwan -- The photographer gingerly places a small, mixed-breed puppy on a platform in his makeshift studio at an animal shelter in northern Taiwan. The dog looks about 2 months old, with alert, trusting eyes and a shiny black coat.

Tou Chih-kang captures expressions, personality. He creates the kind of photos that any pet owner would love to have.

This puppy has no owner and will not get one. Once its photo shoot is over, it will be taken away by vets to be put down.

Tou has been recording the last moments of canines at the Taoyuan Animal Shelter for two years. He has captured the images of some 400 dogs, most of which were pets abandoned by their owners. To him the work is distressing, but he's trying to spread a message of responsibility.

"I believe something should not be told but should be felt," says Tou, a thick-bodied 37-year-old with an air of quiet confidence. "And I hope these images will arouse the viewers to contemplate and feel for these unfortunate lives, and understand the inhumanity we the society are putting them through."

His photographs are redolent of the kind of formal portraits – of people – that were taken 100 years ago, designed to bestow dignity and prestige upon the subject. In many of the dog portraits, the animals are placed at angles that make them look almost human.

This year Taiwanese authorities will euthanize an estimated 80,000 stray dogs. Animal-welfare advocates say the relatively widespread nature of the phenomenon – Taiwan's human population is only 23 million – reflects the still immature nature of the island's dog-owning culture and the belief among some of its majority Buddhist population that dogs are reincarnated humans who behaved badly in a previous life.

It would seem, judging by the many stores in Taiwan that sell fancy dog clothes and other baubles, as if Taiwanese fawn over their animals, and some do. But others abandon pets to the streets once their initial enthusiasm cools.

"Animals are seen just as playthings, not to be taken seriously," says Grace Gabriel, Asia regional director of the Massachusetts-based International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Activists say that some 70 percent of dogs in Taiwanese shelters are killed after a 12-day waiting period, despite government efforts to find them homes. Gabriel says dogs in U.S. shelters are less likely to be euthanized, though millions of cats continue to be put down there each year.

The dogs who wind up in Taoyuan are picked up by roving patrols, funded by local governments, of workers equipped with large nets.

The dogs come in all sizes and shapes. Some are young and active, others grizzled, listless and battered. After Tou photographs them, veterinary workers take them for a brief turn around a grassy courtyard before leading them into a small, clinical-looking room where they are killed by lethal injection.

Tou, who uses the professional name Tou Yun-fei, says he began his project because the Taiwanese media were not paying enough attention to the dogs' plight. He says he doesn't believe in having pets, but the problem had long plagued his conscience.

He says that while some of his friends refuse to even look at his photographs, others say the images taught them to take pet ownership more seriously.

A handful of the some 40,000 dog pictures Tou has taken are due to be exhibited this August in his first full-scale show, at the Fine Arts Museum in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung.

A few photos already are on display at Taoyuan city hall, part of a bid to raise citizens' awareness of the responsibilities that come with raising a pet.

"I am a medium that through my photography, more people will be aware of this issue," he says. "I think that's my role."

[doughboyshredder]

Just a dog, my ass.
Been crying so much my head won't quit pounding.
My next will be a rescue, and I will love him just as much as I love Chase.

[WrongWay]

I'm real sorry about your dog DBS, that really sucks. Your next dog will be lucky to have you.

[ACH]

Bummer, sorry for your loss DBS.

[skiJ]

Back to the top .

might be my all-time favorite post :


[quote]
It's just a dog.



From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a dog," or "That's a lot of money for just a dog."

They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a dog." Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a dog."

Many hours have passed when my only company was "just a dog", but I did not once feel slighted.

Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a dog," and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you, too, think it's "just a dog", then you will probably understand phases like "just a friend", "just a sunrise", or "just a promise".

"Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. "Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person.

Because of "just a dog" I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a dog" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.

"Just a dog" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day. I hope that someday they can understand >that it's not "just a dog" but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a man."

So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog," just smile, because they "just don't understand."
[endquote]

Thanks, BSS --

skiJ

[Bobby Stainless]

Just a dog.

[irul&ublo]

DBS, sorry to hear. I have a rescue shepherd, been with us about a year and a half. Highly recommended.

[skideeppow]

I just fostered a black lab mix who was resuced from Missouri, and he was in rouht shape when I got him.
We found a home for him and he is leaving me tomorrow after 6 weeks. He is so good.
This is a before pix

After, his coat is super shiny and all his infections and bear skin are gone.

[13]

Just adopted a lab/whippet mix myself. Dude is a character!

Starting bottle #2 of Nature's Miracle tomorrow though (sigh).

[Phill]

My aunt and uncle's 13 year old just a dog just underwent brain surgery to remove a begin tumor. She is sad because she just lost her life companion, Alexandra (another just a dog) who passed away this january at 17 years old, but is getting a long great with 8 month nero.

My aunt and uncle chose not to have kids, instead adopting the sweetest dogs you will ever know and raising them from puppies to greying snouts. It was amazing the things I heard being said about their decision to pay for expensive surgery for one of their "just a dog" from people in the family who have spent 100 multiples on their kids.

[Buzzworthy]

Hayley has cancer.

[Mazderati]

Bummer, man. Good luck to her and the fam.

[iceman]

Ginger has cancer too, but she's 14 and it's advancing very slowly.

She hates having her picture taken:


Hook says it will all work out.



Bode is cool with whatever:



Lily doesn't like the camera either, which is odd because she's a total badass. I mean she is tough. Do not fuck with Lily.

[Buzzworthy]

Sucks Ice. Cancer sucks. Hayley is 5.

[liv2ski]

Only a person that has never loved an animal could say it is just a dog. For many of us, they are like our little kids that never ask for $$$, don't steal our cars for a joy ride and we can sell their kids if they get knocked up. What is not to love?

[axebiker]

My sister's Dobie, Piper, had to be put down Monday. Sweetest, most aloof, loving Dobie I've ever seen.

They came home from work; she was excited to see them, jumped, slipped, tumbled on some steps, and broke her leg. They took her in - it was more. Bone cancer.

RIP, Piper. You were ALWAYS more than just a dog. We'll all miss you.