( I am not copeing with losing my Mastiff ROCKO) he was my best friend

[mybaby]

Hello my name is Wendy.Jones from Mission ,B.C

CANADA. My husband and my daughter had to put down my Mastiff on Friday August,5 ,at 4:30pm 2011 and he was my best friend ,companion,confodont,pertectorand my everything. I am not copeing to well with this . Rocko was his name and he had just turned 6 years old on July 10 2011 . About a year ago he started poping in the house not everyday and we did,nt think it was a big deal,and in January.of this year my stepson abbaoned his 6 year old Ammican Bulldog and Rocko and him got along great and we seen Rocko playing with Bully after about 2 weeks and he had,nt played with other dog,s since he was bit 2years ago so we thought this was great. On or around April of this year Rocko started crying at times when he was laying down and getting up so we took him to the vet and they new Rocko very well so they did blood test stool samples xray,s ,CTscans ,and yern sample. So that took about a week to 10 day,s to get the result,s back and then we where called to come down to review,an then we got the new,s he had a descie called Wobbler,s descie and i just wepted like a baby and the vet said to try massage therepy,acupucsure,and antiinflamatory,s,pain medication and that we did every week and i massaged him 2 times a day with oil and muslerelaxer cream. And the vet said that he could not play anymore or go down stairs in the back yard. So it started to make him feel better so we where so hopful . But around June thing,s started to go down hill with him having a hard tim getting up and moving around,so we took him back to are vet and she said that the Bulldog was making it worse because as much as we tryed to keep them apart they would still play just a little.
So the vet said we had toget rid of the American Bulldog we tryed everything and phoned everyone and the animal shelter,s would,nt take him because he was not fixed and they would not fix him because he was legally not ours it was my stepson,s .So finnally we found someone who would take him til Rocko passed .So he did,nt get better and he has alway,s had a Queen mattress and Memery Foam where he would lay in the house everywhere my baby would lay down we made sure he had a 6 inch memery foam to lay on before he got sick healway,s slepp with us on are bed ever since we got him so this part is just a little funny we would have to buy different memery foams until he fould one that he liked because in his mind was if he could,nt get up on are bed he had to have his own Queen matress and memery foam at the foot of are bed . Rocko never ever stayed out side only if we where within site he would be out there but as soon as we haded to the door he would be there first. Are friend,s said we where kooks cause why let a 200lb dog stay in the house and sleep where ever he wanted and we always said would you keep your children out side all night or out in the rain. So anyway,s writhing to you who loves their dog,s just as much makes me feel a little better. I just don,t know how to cope or heal from this devasting death. My husband said that maybe when i pick him up next Friday the 19 and bring him home and put him where he loved to lay in front of the window it might help and i want to carry him everywhere i go is that being crazy .

 

[AKBull]

First, I'm sorry for your loss... Nothing can take awaythe pain of losing any pet.
Nothing you did or said sounds crazy to me. When your pet are ill you go to extreme lengths to make them feel better. I've told my kids on more than one occasion that the dog was sleeping on their bed first, so grab a pillow and blanket and hit the couch.
I don't know which is worst, a sudden passing or a drawn out illness with an inevitable outcome. I've been through both of those. My previous bully, Sadie, passed away after suffering a massive seizure at the age of 7. And my first Mastiff ever, Bud, had to be put down after losing a battle with cancer and suffering seizures, also at the age of 7. The most incredibly difficult things to deal with. Still gets me to this day actually.
It will take time for you and your family to heal, but it will happen.

 

[dpenning]

I'm sorry for your loss. When I lost my last pup unexpectedly I came unglued and they pulled my husband out of a meeting with the president and ceo of his company when they heard me on the phone. It is a completely normal reaction IMO. I was in Oregon a few weeks ago and bought a piece of glass by the artist on this page. http://www.soulbursts.com/index.html I was at a studio that carried some of her pieces so I did not actually see the memorial pieces but her work is beautiful and I like the idea of having a pretty keepsake. Just something to think about. Take care.

dawn

 

[Marrowshard]

When we brought Ebony home (after having to put her down for systemic cancer), I buried her myself in our yard. A few people asked me if I was going to keep any of the ashes or anything, but I figured outdoors was the best. We've got an old dead stump toward the north edge of the yard about 3 feet away from an old apple tree. It's covered in wild cucumber vines that really brighten it up. Husband had been talking about burning/digging out the stump since it was just one more thing to mow around, but I decided to adopt it as a grave marker. I planted a large boulder upright there (very rocky property, could barely lift it!) right next to the stump. No more problem for husband since I repurposed the stump, and I couldn't ask for a prettier spot. Point being, it really helped me cope to go out and choose a nice spot and break some sweat in the digging/rock hauling/weeding. The vet's office where she was euthanized also did a nice thing: they offered to make us a clay paw-print (for free!) to take home. They even stamped her name into the clay for us. Finally, I framed a couple of my favorite pictures or her and hung them in our sky-blue living room along with her nametag. I agree with dpenning: it helps to have a keepsake of some kind. I've always kept shoes or hair from my horses and tags or toys from my cats and dogs. Nothing hoarder-ish, just a little thing.
And I agree with AKBull too ... an animal on the brink gets to sleep where it want to. Ebony had always been banned from the master bedroom, but the last few days I overturned the ban and she slept where she felt like it. I told my husband that if she decided to crawl up in bed with us he'd just have to budge up! I wouldn't think for a second about leaving her in her kennel or outside all night when she was that close to leaving us.
Sounds like you did what you could and loved your boy dearly. That probably doesn't help much now, but it makes closure later a little easier to know you made him happy and comfortable

~Marrow

 

[STEVSH]

Losing one so close will never get easier, but it does get better and there will be longer times in between the crying/sorrow.

My golden retriever that passed 6 years ago was literally my best friend. She was my baby girl and my roomate when I lived alone on my first job out of college. It was just her and I in a little house in the country and I would give anything to go back to that time.
When she passed of nasal cancer, I had her cremated and drove her ashes up to our cabin seven hours away in northern MN. It was both of our favorite place to be in the world. I spread her among the blueberry patch along the lake under the birtch/pine trees. And I still go there when I need to talk to her or just to say hi.

Rocko will always be there with you. I am very sorry for your loss. You gave him a wonderful life.

 

[Dogue]

Sorry about your Rocko. He sounded like a special dog. I lost my American Bulldog rescue, Archie, last June and he truly was my best friend. It gets better though like Stevsh said. For me, it's been volunteering at our local shelter.