You will now cry.

[ElFenix]

damn allergies

 

[Mayne]

I did not cry. If that my dog I would of made that tribute much more cry worthy. Terrible writing.

 

[darkewaffle]

I teared up, I miss my dog. And my cat - he went through something that at least looks pretty similar to Dukey - had a tumor and lost a leg.

“I need you to help me watch over my family.” - man that picture hit me hard.

 

[MiniDoom]

made me sad. my dog of 15 years is dying and i'll have to do this again soon.

 

[radhak]

What's the difference between the wife and the dog though? One has the sense to know that you did this to them while the other only feels the pain of being separated from you. We all know that putting Duke down was a mercy, but what might Duke say about the matter? He had fun at the water park today. Might he not also have fun at the water park tomorrow? That could be the very basis of his argument for living a bit longer.

"I know I'm getting sick, but let's take this day by day. I like getting petted and eating hamburgers today, and that probably won't change by tomorrow. Let me have another day and we'll see".

"Sorry Duke, but at this point it isn't about you anymore. As humans, we can see where you're going. We've already moved on in our minds, and we're ready to conclude this business. We're going to create a montage of pictures from your last day so we can feel like we did our part, and then we're going to adopt another dog that afternoon. You're just a bittersweet memory to us already."

"But I'm still here! I enjoy things! I'd love to have another day with you".

"Sorry Duke. We've already mentally steeled ourselves for your death. Letting you live now would just extend that period of mourning indefinitely".

"Fuck your feelings. I want to live a little longer. Why should I die now so that you don't feel bad for as long"?

"Sorry Duke. This is what it means to be a pet. You are here to serve us, despite what we sometimes tell ourselves. You live and die at our whim. We love you for a while, but when the time comes we're always ready to put you down to protect our own emotions. Them's the breaks. Peace out".

If you want to anthropomorphize a dog, you should at least go by most common perception of dog behavior. As in the 'lock him in a trunk' example above, a dog always seems to come back to the owner with a heartfelt 'thanks'. "Thanks for allowing me out" (forget that you locked me in), "Thanks for giving me a hug" (forget that you kicked me in the ribs earlier), etc. Almost like the dog gratefully accepts that the owners know and want the best for him/her.

I re-imagined your imaginary conversation as below -

************

Thank you for being with me today, even though I'm getting sick, but let's take this day by day. I love getting petted and eating hamburgers today! Thanks!

Spoiler

"Sorry Duke, but at this point it isn't about you anymore. As humans, we can see where you're going. We've already moved on in our minds, and we're ready to conclude this business. We're going to create a montage of pictures from your last day so we can feel like we did our part, and then we're going to adopt another dog that afternoon. You're just a bittersweet memory to us already."

I dunno which dog-lover thinks like this.

Thank you that I'm still here! I enjoy things! I'd love to have another day with you!.

Spoiler

"Sorry Duke.We've already mentally steeled ourselves for your death.Letting you live now would just extend that period of mourning indefinitely".

Again, no dog lover would think this. They only want to reduce the dog's suffering, not reduce their own 'period of mourning', which never goes away.

Spoiler

"Fuck your feelings. I want to live a little longer. Why should I die now so that you don't feel bad for as long"?

More like - Thanks for this life I had! Thanks for trying to reduce my suffering!

Spoiler

"Sorry Duke. This is what it means to be a pet. You are here to serve us, despite what we sometimes tell ourselves. You live and die at our whim. We love you for a while, but when the time comes we're always ready to put you down to protect our own emotions. Them's the breaks. Peace out

Repeating myself - if you think this way, you are not a dog lover.

 

[Imported]

I hate you.

 

[Ruptga]

The anthropomorphization was really over the top. The dog had no idea what was about to happen, it was just enjoying a day out with its humans. It's a sad story already, trying to make it sadder by making up some BS narrative just cheapens it, like covering a good steak with ketchup.

 

[Aharami]

What's the difference between the wife and the dog though? One has the sense to know that you did this to them while the other only feels the pain of being separated from you. We all know that putting Duke down was a mercy, but what might Duke say about the matter? He had fun at the water park today. Might he not also have fun at the water park tomorrow? That could be the very basis of his argument for living a bit longer.

"I know I'm getting sick, but let's take this day by day. I like getting petted and eating hamburgers today, and that probably won't change by tomorrow. Let me have another day and we'll see".

"Sorry Duke, but at this point it isn't about you anymore. As humans, we can see where you're going. We've already moved on in our minds, and we're ready to conclude this business. We're going to create a montage of pictures from your last day so we can feel like we did our part, and then we're going to adopt another dog that afternoon. You're just a bittersweet memory to us already."

"But I'm still here! I enjoy things! I'd love to have another day with you".

"Sorry Duke. We've already mentally steeled ourselves for your death. Letting you live now would just extend that period of mourning indefinitely".

"Fuck your feelings. I want to live a little longer. Why should I die now so that you don't feel bad for as long"?

"Sorry Duke. This is what it means to be a pet. You are here to serve us, despite what we sometimes tell ourselves. You live and die at our whim. We love you for a while, but when the time comes we're always ready to put you down to protect our own emotions. Them's the breaks. Peace out".

that was....dumb

 

[NuclearNed]

not going to read... nearly 2 years after my dog died it's still too soon for stuff like this