Still probably the saddest day of my life
Fairly good article about the history of K9 Veterans Day that I found:
A lot of things changed after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Oil, leather and rubber were rationed. Men were drafted. Women rolled up their sleeves and built war supplies.
And dogs were called to duty. During the first world war, the United States took notice of the European use of canines as sentries, message carriers and several other functions.Dogs for Defense was a program initiated by a private citizen by the name of Mrs. Alene Erlanger. Along with the American Kennel Club and a handful of breeders, the group aimed to train the dogs for military use.
By November of 1942, the first Dogs for Defense were prepared for duty in North Africa. While at first they were gun shy, they proved to be well trained.
As the war progressed, Dogs for Defense was unable to keep up with the demand and the Remount Branch, Service Installations Divisions took over training of the dogs.
Over the years the military, police and rescue have developed a variety of training methods for K9 units. Their training is tailored to meet the demands of the job and each animal and handler carries out his or her duties to the fullest.
When I was a soldier in Afghanistan I didn’t have a wife or kids. I carried two pictures in my wallet, 1 was of the barstool I “lived” at at Murphy’s in Old Town Alexandria Virginia, and the other was my mutt, Forrest, who was the light of my life. When I can home, Forrest was sick and the doctors were worried that the trauma of seeing me might kill her, so I spent 2 weeks in a hotal before I went home. I’ve never cried half as hard as when I saw her. She meant everything to me.
I think that’s common with military guys. You don’t have to explain your moods to dogs, they just don’t care. Good mood, bad mood, all they care is that you are home, and then never want to be apart. Until a few days ago, this was the saddest story I ever heard:
These tear-jerking pictures show the moment an Air Force dog handler cradled his dead cannine partner draped in the US flag.
Sergeant Kyle Smith, from North Carolina, bid an emotional farewell to four-legged companion Bodza after the German Shepherd was put down.
A picture showed Kyle’s giving his partner a tender hug as the dead dog was draped in the US flag.Thousands have shared the picture since it emerged on social media.
Kyle said the decision to put down Bodza was one of the hardest he has ever had to make.
Man. I’ve been that guy. I wanted one last weekend with Forrest as I knew she was dying. It was Thanksgiving and I intended to do all the things she wanted to do. But it wasn’t meant to be. She faded quickly and couldn’t walk. So I took her in.
I will say this, the vet couldn’t have been more kind. She game me time with my little girl, and then she injected her. To my dying day I’ll never forgot how she picked up her snoot and gave me a little kiss on the nose, and then she was gone. I sat there sobbing for a few monutes, and then they took her away. I didn’t get out of bed for about a week.
To Bodza, thank you for your service. For Kyle, you’ve been in my prayers. The pain never goes away, but may you find the strength to remember the happy moments. I wish dogs had the life expectancy of people, it’s so unbelievably hard to say good bye to an animal you loved with all your heart, and knew that the feeling was recipirocated.
Category: Politics
Not a day goes by that I don’t ponder why people cannot be as true as dogs. I have had a dog much of my life, and non-stop since December 16th, 1995. One is all I need at a time, but things take place that cause me to have two, or even, (as now), three of them. They go where I go, and people know my dogs as well as they know me. I am fortunate in living very near a military facility, (several actually), and my dogs are expected at the post. It gives me pleasure to use them in my troop support effort
Because when people try to be as true as a dog, they get walked on like an old piece of carpet.
TSO
Thanks for nothing. We just embarked on a journey with a German Shepherd puppy now 10 months old. And you just brought back the memories of my first one he was 13-1/2 and I was 15 when we put him down and my second one he was 10 and I was 26 when his time came. He was at home with my folks while I was off in the Air Force. I’ve had a couple cats who thought they were dogs the last 20 years, but we’re back on the dog adventure. I’ll probably out last him as well so you’ve reminded me what I have to look forward to. Talk about bittersweet memories. At 10 months ans 86 pounds he’s double my 7 year olds weight and there isn’t any fat on either of them.
Bandit. 13 years. Best dog ever.
Been through having a pet euthanized 4 times during my lifetime – two dogs, and two cats.
It always hurts like hell.
Being poor, I’ve had to euthanize my own dogs. That sucks.
Be careful now, some of you pet parents are starting to sound a lot like Lars.
Pets are People too!!!!
Might want to rewrite them unless you want to sound like a total “whatsamatta, cying cuz you r little puppy died?” jerkoff. Extremely insensitive as written.
No, just pointing out that they are sounding like those dreaded libitards.
Pets are people too!!!!
PETA would love this thread.
I have more respect, and love for my dogs than I do for over 99% of the people in this world.
Any dog for that matter.
Pets are better than people and I say that as a father and husband. 😛
“Some Guy” that statement has Troll the fuck out of me written all over it.
Pass
It is easy to be better when so little is expected.
Well, thank you for clarification of your original statement. My original assessment stands.
Still love ya brother.
And you as well. I am married to a loonietunes who would stock every room of the house with critters given a chance, so I am familiar with the crazy cat lady up close and personal. But snarking over dead pups… dude, ya went over on that one. JMHO.
I am not that cold hearted, but this whole thread screamed troll me. Some peoples animal worship is well over the top.
If critters aren’t people, how come they know when it’s dinner time, even when the clock changes to DST?
Some pets are better than people.
Murphy. 16 years. Never forget how you would roll on my jungle boots after I would come home out of the field in the Kuhukus.
My current dog, Mosby, every time he seems me pack up my Army gear he’ll sit with his ass to me and ignore me until I leave, and then he rips apart every pillow I own. Every single time. It’s a pain in the ass, but I love him for it.
Probably the worst dog story I remember was the time I had to put down an Irish Setter, and the veterinarian was enough of a jerk about it to make me want to punch his stupid face. Which was odd because I’ve found animal docs to be good people as a general rule.
One of the best dog episodes was the time my ex-wife and I took 11 Golden Retriever puppies, and their mom, in for first puppy shots. It was chaos. It was pandemonium. It was one of the coolest things ever.
Its no accident that Dog is God spelled backwards.
Not sure what is going on, but it looks like the dude is rubbing one out while patting his puppy.
We fostered greyhounds for several years, getting them directly from the track and getting them accustomed to being around people, teaching them how to act, etc. Well, the Russian made us stop b/c I kept most of them. I couldn’t let them go. Presently have a cat, Kitty, whose a prick but I love him. Keep daughter’s mutt when she does her 3 day tour of the hospital. The Russian won’t let me go to humane society or pound b/c she knows I’d come home with several. I love me some mutts and cats.
Most dogs I have known have been ‘better’ than some/many people I know.
Quincy, Fat Boy, Lullaby and others. We tend to keep them past their time, hoping for a recovery which never materializes. Every animal we have had to put down, we had to take to the Emergency Pet Clinic at night. Don’t know what it is, but all but one I think we took at night. First thing I do is tell the duty doc to him them a shot to ease all pain and take the fear from their mind. I’m always told by them, and rightly so, that costs extra. I kindly tell them I don’t care about the cost. Then we spend a few more minutes with them, get a few more kisses, maybe give them a cookie and hold them as they are administered the euthanasia shot. I’ve learned not to allow them to suffer, hoping for a recovery. I know enough about medicine to realize when death is near. I won’t have my animals suffer. I love my animals.
Yup, been there. Our first dog lasted almost 18 years until he had a stroke and we knew it was time to put him down. Our next dog was the other end of the spectrum: a year old when we adopted him, he lasted only 6 months before he died of a sudden illness (went from fine to dead in about a day and a half). Our current girl is 10 and still plenty lively, but we know the time will come when we have to make that hard decision. Louis CK said that bringing a puppy home initiates a countdown to sorrow. We know it’s true, but for everything dogs do for us, it’s worth it.
Yup Bill, the two most remembered days of owning a dog – the day you pick the puppy up and the last trip to the vet.
Been there too many times, will be there again.
Had a 1/2 Great Pyrenees, 1/2 black Lab pup I’d found as a dumped 3-mo-old pup. He looked like a fluff ball at the time, hence his moniker “Fluff.” An excellent guard dog, too.
At 13, blind and nearly lame, he would follow me around with his nose touching my calf to keep in contact.
He fell off the dock and drowned trying to get a drink after dark, and I didn’t find him until morning. But that night, a screech owl was hanging around in the back yard and was not afraid of me.
Some cultures see the owl as the spirit of the departed. I don’t believe that, but still one has to wonder.
I can’t even begin to tell you the number of pets that I have had to bury over the years, I loved them all with all my heart. Many dogs and many cats, I loved them all the same. It is like losing one of your children when they go, and I have felt that pain as well. There is so much sorrow in the world, but my pets give me unconditional love all the time. I wish I knew how to attach a picture, I have three of my babies laying on my laptop right now!
Scout…..that was his name.
German Shepherd & Wolf….raised him from a pup.
Was a one person dog…..me.
We would get into a playful wrestling match every now & then….he probably could have done some serious damage if he wanted to, but he seemed to know his limits, never once drawing blood or biting too hard.
He never bit or snapped at anyone, but if you came over to visit, he would park himself between you & me while keeping an eye on you the entire time.
And if you got up? He would get up & slowly walk over to my side and then turn around, still watching you. Never trained him to do this, just did it by his ownself.
Yeah, he never really liked most people…..well, the exception being some women.
He never did like my ex-wife.
Great dog.
He never did like my ex-wife.
Great dog.
Bwhaaaa
I had to put Phuzzz the cat down a couple of years ago.
I had her since she was 6 weeks old and nursed her through several scrapes over her lifetime.
The last one fortunately only lasted about a month and I cried like a baby for 3 days when I put her to sleep after 18 years of her being a life partner.
She traveled the country with me in a big diesel truck and my RV for quite a few years and had been to 45 states and a couple of Canadian Provinces…
I still miss my Phuzzz…
When I was 15, we got a Chocolate Lab pup named Yukon. Not the most hyperactive of dogs, as his favorite thing to do was lay on the porch and soak up the sun, but he didn’t have a mean bone in him. He’d run with me when I went jogging or hiking and lay his head on my lap whenever I sat down.
And he adopted a cat. Seriously. When he was about 6, my little sister brought home a stray kitten that had been abandoned before weaning. Yukon adopted it. He cleaned the cat, shared his food with it, slept with it, hardly ever let it out of his sight. And when I’d refuse to pet the damned cat (I hate cats), he would give me a “Come on, dude, don’t be a dick” look until I relented–which never took long, because nobody with half a soul can withstand a good dog’s disapproval.
Even after I moved out, I still came over every day off I had to hang out with Yukon. And one day when he was 12, he couldn’t get up off his pad anymore. I had to take him to the vet, and I had to pet him and try (and fail) not to cry like a little bitch while they put him down.
To this day, I refuse to watch any movie about a dog, unless I know in advance that the dog won’t die.
TOW, for God’s sake DO NOT go see “A Dog’s Purpose”. I used up all of MRS D’s Kleenex before it was halfway done and soaked the front of my t-shirt.
Awesome movie, just hydrate first.
OK, Whitey, as I recall you’re a firefighter so this story applies to you in two ways. When Sweet Thing and I first married, she brought home a kitten one icy cold winter evening. Like you, I hated cats and told her the cat would have to stay in the garage. However, as the bitterly cold evening wore on, the thought of that tiny, helpless little ball of fluff out there in the freezing garage kept wearing on my conscience until I went out and brought him in.
Where he stayed every night from then on.
Now the other half of the story: early one morning I was awakened by an occasional faint thumping sound against our bedroom door. After hearing it several times, I jumped out of bed and jerked open the door, to be met with a huge inward flow of smoke and that young cat, now grown to large adulthood, collapsed at my feet. Quickly following the billowing smoke down the hall to the kitchen, I found a pot of beans that my wife had intended to simmer overnight burned black on the stove and churning out a furious amount of smoke. Obviously Sweet Thing had turned the stove knob the wrong direction before we went to bed the previous evening.
Whether those beans would have ignited and set the overhead cabinets on fire, I don’t know, but I do know that without that young cat waking me up, they might well have.
Since that fifty year ago event, my wife and I have adopted and raised countless homeless kittens and full-grown drifters. We have three such cats now and they bring smiles and laughter into our old lives every day. However, almost every one of them we’ve had to euthanize at the ends of their lives and it is always a heart-rending, painful experience.
I once ran on a structure fire in the middle of the night in which the family of five were saved by the dog waking them up. Cheapass landlord told them not to mess with the smoke detectors, and of course he never checked them, either. They all got out, but I found their cat char-broiled in the bathroom. I have no use for felines, but I’m not a heartless bastard who doesn’t care about somebody else’s loss. We took the cat out back where the family wouldn’t see us, buried it with a marker so they wouldn’t have to, and told them about it afterwards.
I hate cats, but that was pretty sad.
Fat Boy was the laziest dog in the history of man. If he could eat while lying down, he would do it. But, but, he was the kindest animal one could hope for. He was a full blooded Tibetan Terrier dropped off at the humane society. They knew he was special so one of the ladies took him home. They wanted him to have only the best possible home. How I entered into that equation I’ll never know. One day we’re at the pound and the lady asks would we be interested. So we go to her house and leave with Fat Boy, whose name had been Bobby but which I changed for obvious reasons. A dozen or so years later it was his time. Could no longer support himself, couldn’t go outside to relieve himself. I carried him to my truck and went alone with him to the vet … his last trip. Sitting in the lobby for a few minutes until we are called into the back. Sniff, sniff. I look down and he had crapped the largest canine turd in history. I laughed and gave him a cookie. I mean this turd was so tall it had snow on its peak. He had managed to crap w/o even standing up … he couldn’t stand any longer. Carry him back (He’s got crap all over him … I don’t care), talk to him while doc starts an IV. Sedates him a little at my request so he’s not scared or in pain. Then she puts him down. I went out to the truck and cried for hours.
The best animals are rescues. They will love the hell out of you if you treat them properly, as we should.
I haven’t been able to take the heartache of another dog after the last one was put down, it was actually my wife’s dog but when she brought me home for the first time the dog decided I was good people and became my instant companion and friend whenever I was in the house…I’m half inclined to believe that’s why she agreed to marry me because the dog figured I was safe around her and her kids….
I’ve always had dogs as well growing up in the country a shepherd, St. Bernard, hunting dog, even a couple of greyhounds over the years…but that last one the black Lab….anytime I went outside we had a game where I would put on an old snowmobile glove and he knew when that glove went on it was roughhouse time….he would chase any ball I threw for hours and run around the yard wagging tail and giving that dopey black Lab smile they are famous for….when I made eggs for the kids and the wife he would sit by waiting for some, and he would get a little along with some sausage or bacon and then out the door we went….
When he could no longer lift himself comfortably to go outside, I knew we were at the end…I called my friend who is a vet who came to my house…I took the dog outside one last time and we sat together waiting for the vet, when he showed up he asked if I wanted him to stay and help me bury the dog….I said no because I was going to cry like a little girl the entire time…I still haven’t tossed out his leash or collar and I don’t think I could take that pain again….
Great article, made my eyes all wet….and reminded me of a lot of fun I had with that dog….
It’s OK not to like animals.
Some of the biggest jerks on the planet are loved by their pets – but beware of someone dogs don’t like. Giant bad-news signal.
Last summer, I took in the meanest little spark of a cat in the world. Howls like a Siamese when she wants something. Mean as a snake, but never touches my furniture. Punkin Squawkypants, may you live forever and come back as a Viking war goddess.
Got my cat at six weeks. I wanted a descriptive yet uncommon name. His name is Kitty. I had thought of Gizmo or Dingus. Maybe next time. He jumps on my lap and loves to smell my breath.
AND folks, this falls into the category of being a no-shitter, but he’s potty trained. Look it up on youtube. Daughter came up with the idea. Took about 3-4 weeks. We’ve bought two things of kitty litter since we got him years ago. We only use it when we’re leaving him alone for more than a day. It takes a few weeks to potty train them and it’s quite easily done. He’s not even bashful. If one of us is using the can (have two but he refuses to use the other one … who knows?) he let’s us know it’s time to move on. He’s a prick but I love that cat. It’s the first cat I cared for.
His favorite foods are canned asparagus, peas and corn.
“He jumps on my lap and loves to smell my breath.”
Chief, your cat is obviously an alcoholic. To paraphrase the old sailors’ ditty:
What a good cat for a drunken sailor,
What a good cat for a drunken sailor,
What a good cat for a drunken sailor,
Early in the mornin’
Poet: I haven’t heard that one but it would explain a lot.
Old sailors ditty called “What do you do with a drunken sailor?”
It’s been said that if you were to put your wife and dog in the car trunk for a couple of hours and then open it up, guess which one would be the happiest to see you. 😉
DISCLAIMER:
I will not be held responsible for anyone whom does the above aforementioned action.
Please contact Attorney Dan Bernath for further information and legalities.
What? He’s disbarred? Never mind. /sarc
Just had to put down our big orange cat a couple months ago.. Boxie ( wife named him that because boxwood smells like cat pee…) was 24 lbs, and could be a real pain in the ass, and even though i never wanted to, ended up liking the big fuzzball. First dog ever was Max.. German Sheppard / Rottweiler / Husky mix. protective as all hell, but gentle enough my infant son could pull her ears without a response. Her best friend was a little girl next door. One summer, the little girl developed aplastic anemia, and died within a couple weeks. 2 weeks later, Max died of the same thing.. we think they both got into some pesticides in the little girls garage.. I held Max when we put her down, and cried for hours afterwards. I swore we’d never get another dog, but then came Jake.. 140lbs of Sheppard Husky, again, very protective, but a big sweetheart.. he started limping, and after doing blood tests, vet put him on NSAID for his joints. in less than a week, it destroyed his pancreas and liver.. didn’t get a chance to take him to be put down, he died in my arms, in the corner behind my recliner, a spot he’d never gone to until that night.. that one took even longer to get over, and this damn post has me on the verge again.. and it’s been 3 1/2 years.. and that big goof, he went and died on 9/11, already an emotional day for me and the family…
TSO
Seriously, if you’re going to do housework and renovations around my desk, kindly give me some goddamn warning first.
The dust in here is making it so I can hardly see.
Jerk.
But yeah, excellent story.
A dog will teach you a lot about yourself.
And that is a lesson that I believe CB Senior, with all his gruff bluster about the rest of us here being too soft and sentimental, has yet to learn. I sincerely hope he’s a relatively young man so that he has the time left to discover what a wonderful love between man and animal he has missed and correct his callous attitude.
He imagines himself a hardass while I would wager most of us here just see him as a pathetic fool.
We put our fourth Dobie down last summer. We found a service that brought the vet to our house instead of taking her to a clinic. It was about a three hour affair and worth the pittance she charged. At home Kona could lay on her blanket and look out the window when the vet gave her a sedative and waited until we asked her to put her down. I helped carry her out to the car in a special carrier she had. I’m a little anal so we got her ashes back a couple of weeks later and she sits next to Raven’s ashes and they both can look out the window they loved
Have you ever taken your dog on a several-hours-long trip, doing errands, seeing friends, etc.? For hours your dog is lying in the seat, napping in the sun. Yet … as you approach your home, the dog knows even though he hasn’t been watching where you are. Happens every time I’m with the daughter’s little dingo mutt, who we sit Friday-Sunday as she pulls shift as an RN. They know and I don’t know how or why. She sits up and starts whining as we approach our house. Smart and loyal little dingo mutt. Our other dogs were the same way.
They can smell the house from miles away.
I had to leave Bandit with my parents for a couple of weeks. I called one day and said I’d be down that weekend, and my mother told Bandit that I’d be coming soon. She went and stood in the dining room window looking for me, until I had to call my mother and tell her I couldn’t come because my workload and overtime were so overwhelming, I wouldn’t be able to get down there until the next weekend.
She told me that Bandit had reacted to being told ‘not this weekend, after all’ very sadly but ten days later, when I was halfway down there, she went and sat in the dining room watching for me through the picture window. I hadn’t said a word to my parents about coming for a visit, either. She just knew.
I still miss her after all this time. Shepherds are the best.
My daughter does Friday-Sunday as an RN and we watch her rat dingo mutt. She comes at varying times to retrieve her mutt … Sunday night, Monday whenever or sometimes Tuesday. ISYN, the dog KNOWS and will act differently in anticipation of her arrival. Hell, WE don’t know when she’s coming over.
I love me some mutts and kitties. I wouldn’t want to live w/o them. Or w/o music.
Please, spend a moment and remember we left a lot of loyal k9’sbehind in the final days of V.N., at least that’s the last I heard. Can anyone confirm or refute that?
I know my Uncle had to leave his War Dog in Vietnam, but he was long gone by 1973.