- Aug 26, 2001
- 13,941
- 1
- 0
Got a call my from mom's fiancee today. My dog, Gus, is dying.
A few days ago, we took him to the vet because he's been extremely short of breath and lethargic. The vet did an ultrasound and found out that he has a large mass on his spleen that's bleeding. Unfortunately, it looks like the mass (probably cancer) spread to his kidneys too. The vet said he has two months left.
Today, my mom took him to the animal hospital to discuss the possibility of surgery and how much it might cost. They got him in there and found out his bleeding has accelerated. The good news is that it's painless for the dog, he just gets more and more tired until he dies. The bad news is that he is unlikely to survive the next several hours.
I'm about 300 miles away. There's no way for me to say goodbye. The last time I saw him, was last weekend as I walked out the door to visit my girlfriend
Shit, I wish I'd known and could have said goodbye better.
I've had him since I was in sixth grade. I picked him out of the litter myself. My parents wanted a female dog, but Gus crawled into my arms and fell asleep and I was sold. Yes, I named him Gus, mostly after the mouse in Cinderella.
I know most people say this about every dog, but Gus was really one of a kind. He was an idiot. He fell down staircases. He was afraid of brooms. When he was younger, he couldn't even figure out how to mount our other dog properly. He loved to jump, but he'd misjudge his jumps and slam into things. He once fell out of my bed while he was asleep. He was never much of a sleeper though, you'd wake up at just about any time after 4 am you'd find him looking at you, staring out the window, or pacing around. He never barked or growled, except at one man when I was walking down the street (I was sure to cross to the other side). He was gentle and sweet, even though he was big and clumsy. He had an annoying habit of pawing you when he wanted attention, but then when you started petting him he'd pull his head away until he was out of reach. Then, he'd look at you like it was your fault. Every day, for 11 years, he'd get so excited about his food that he'd wait at the top of the stairs and then prance around the kitchen while you brought it to his place.
My favorite story, though, is as follows: My mom and I have owned a few dogs (four in my lifetime) and she's become very good at training them. She trained all of them sit by giving them treats. She'd force them to sit before they got their treat. Anyway, Gus picked this up pretty fast (he's eager to please) and applied it liberally to the rest of his begging. When my mom would bring food from the stove to the counter, she had to walk across the kitchen and good old Gus would be there trying to stay next to her and sit down at the same time. Pretty hilarious.
I'll miss him terribly.
pics:
Gus 1
Gus 2
Gus 3
A few days ago, we took him to the vet because he's been extremely short of breath and lethargic. The vet did an ultrasound and found out that he has a large mass on his spleen that's bleeding. Unfortunately, it looks like the mass (probably cancer) spread to his kidneys too. The vet said he has two months left.
Today, my mom took him to the animal hospital to discuss the possibility of surgery and how much it might cost. They got him in there and found out his bleeding has accelerated. The good news is that it's painless for the dog, he just gets more and more tired until he dies. The bad news is that he is unlikely to survive the next several hours.
I'm about 300 miles away. There's no way for me to say goodbye. The last time I saw him, was last weekend as I walked out the door to visit my girlfriend
Shit, I wish I'd known and could have said goodbye better.I've had him since I was in sixth grade. I picked him out of the litter myself. My parents wanted a female dog, but Gus crawled into my arms and fell asleep and I was sold. Yes, I named him Gus, mostly after the mouse in Cinderella.
I know most people say this about every dog, but Gus was really one of a kind. He was an idiot. He fell down staircases. He was afraid of brooms. When he was younger, he couldn't even figure out how to mount our other dog properly. He loved to jump, but he'd misjudge his jumps and slam into things. He once fell out of my bed while he was asleep. He was never much of a sleeper though, you'd wake up at just about any time after 4 am you'd find him looking at you, staring out the window, or pacing around. He never barked or growled, except at one man when I was walking down the street (I was sure to cross to the other side). He was gentle and sweet, even though he was big and clumsy. He had an annoying habit of pawing you when he wanted attention, but then when you started petting him he'd pull his head away until he was out of reach. Then, he'd look at you like it was your fault. Every day, for 11 years, he'd get so excited about his food that he'd wait at the top of the stairs and then prance around the kitchen while you brought it to his place.
My favorite story, though, is as follows: My mom and I have owned a few dogs (four in my lifetime) and she's become very good at training them. She trained all of them sit by giving them treats. She'd force them to sit before they got their treat. Anyway, Gus picked this up pretty fast (he's eager to please) and applied it liberally to the rest of his begging. When my mom would bring food from the stove to the counter, she had to walk across the kitchen and good old Gus would be there trying to stay next to her and sit down at the same time. Pretty hilarious.
I'll miss him terribly.
pics:
Gus 1
Gus 2
Gus 3
Facebook
Twitter