I lost my first rescue yesterday, my sweet Jenny
My3dogs ME zone 5A
7 years ago
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IdaClaire
7 years agoDLM2000-GW
7 years agoRelated Discussions
I have lost my best friend, my dog Tweed
Comments (32)Our son's dog, Kate B. left us in her 12th year. She slept at my feet on the corner of the bed for so long that I automatically bent my right leg to make room for her even after she was gone. I told my DH that we had to find another friend. He said we could not replace her. I told him that was true but a new little friend would help to fill the void she had left (I boohoo'd for what seemed like weeks...my son could not believe I took it so hard). Six weeks later Tess came into our lives, all 1 3/4 lbs of her and she has been the best dog of our 42 year marriage. She loves us both, loves to talk to our grown son on the phone...hates his 4 huge cats! We just took in 2 black feral kittens we found under our house. I thought Tess was going to disown us. LOL She loves to tattle on what they are up to and with those two they are ALWAYS up to something (what was I thinking!). The good Lord shared a wonderful friend like Tweed and surely HE will send you another that will help you during the trying times you are dealing with. Much love from Tess, YoYo, YaYa, DH and me (((hug))) Peggy...See Moreadvise needed please- rescue cat hates my fur family
Comments (10)It is very common for a new cat in an animal-occupied household to be very defensive-aggressive. This is likely to be even more amplified when the newbie has suffered amputation of his primary defensive weapons, as in Stanley's case. Not only is Stanley fully aware that he has been thrust into unfamiliar animals' territory, which is enough to put most cats on the defensive, but he's also aware of his disability in terms of his own physical defense. He's in a "first-strike" mentality right now, trying to scare off the enemies who he sees as potentially mortal threats. I've been down this road many times with many adult cat integrations into my household, so I will share my two most successful integration strategies with you. First, I set the newbie up in my bedroom/master bath and fill the doorway between the bedroom and livingroom with baby gates from bottom to top (the door could also be temporarily replaced with a sturdy screen door). This allows the newbie to view all of the household goings-on from the safety of his side of the gates, and allows safe interactions between newbie and resident animals without any direct physical contact. This provides the newbie with time to observe interactions between the resident animals, to see that resident dogs don't chase resident cats, and to learn the residents' body language and general demeanor. Depending on the newbie's reactions from his side of the gates, it may take days, weeks, or months before I feel comfortable bringing the newbie out for brief visits into the rest of the house. Regardless of how long I have given the newbie to decompress and acclimate in the bedroom, there is almost always fear aggression as soon as I take the newbie out of the safety of his own room. For this reason, I almost always put a kitty harness (NOT a collar) and light leash on the newbie when first bringing him into the rest of the house. With the leash, I can immediately curb and control any aggressive actions on the part of the newbie so that he won't make immediate enemies of the resident animals. I may hold the newbie on my lap for a couple of minutes while the resident animals go about their usual activities, or I may allow the newbie to explore a bit while I follow passively behind, ready to immediately curb aggressive behavior with the leash. Depending on the stress exhibited by the newbie, these first outings may only last a couple of minutes. I let the newbie set the pace. If he wants to stay out of the bedroom and explore longer, that's fine as long as he doesn't try to go after the other cats. The longer he passively observes the other animals, the more quickly he learns that they pose no significant threat to him, and the sooner he will release his aggression. But again, it's all on his time table. My job is to hold the leash and keep the peace while the newbie is figuring out that he's actually safe in this new environment with these new animals and people. One the newbie has started to relax around the other animals and his aggression has largely diminished (could take hours, days, or weeks), I'll drop the leash and allow him to drag it around behind him while he's out of the bedroom. This gives him greater freedom while still making it easy for me to quickly grab the leash if trouble breaks out. If all goes well and peacefully during the leash-dragging phase, I'll remove the leash but keep the harness on. If all remains peaceful, I'll eventually remove the harness, too. I strongly advise you to get a harness and leash for Stanley right away before there is any more aggressive degradation of his relationship with EJ. Unfortunately, when mutual aggression occurs early in a feline relationship, it sometimes never improves. You need to prevent any further aggression between those two if you hope to restore peace to your household. Using my baby gate and harness/leash strategies, I've had cats who were fully integrated into the household within a few days, and others who took as long as 4 1/2 months. Oh, one important note - never EVER leave a harness and/or leash on a cat unattended. Use them only when you are available to keep a close eye on the cat wearing them. Best of luck with Stanley man. Laurie...See MoreI lost my furbaby.
Comments (67)Connie, McDuff will be gone a year on November 8th. And we will never be the same. It's okay to cry. I'm still crying. I don't think I will ever get over this guy. It's okay. He was my only connection with this new place. As each day goes by, it will get easier for you. It really will. believe me. I'm attaching a poem I wrote for McDuff. And I'm lucky enough to have a place where I can collect money, in McDuff's name for the North Fork Animal Welfare League. So, I think it would help you, if you just wrote down your feelings for your beautiful little doxie. Here's the poem: Our Sweet, Sweet McDuff I moved to Long IslandâÂÂs North Fork, A place very new to me I felt alone here, and different from the way I used to be. Then I got you, Sweet McDuff, at 6 weeks of age, I proudly strutted you through Greenport, And oh, my love, you were all the rage. Your huge Saint Bernard paws and your very, very beautiful face, Introduced me to people in this unknown place. I adored you from 6 weeks to 7 years old, And, of all the hearts I know, yours was a true, a very true gold. People giggled and were awed at your big, gorgeous, 180lb self, You were magnificent, my boy, in all your glorious stealth. I met people I never knew, Now they are a part of my life, all because of you. Although you were never asked to guard our front door, You did, my gentle giant, and made our B&B guests feel safe and secure. What a lucky girl your sister, Daisy was, To have one so noble for her to love. The respect and adoration you had for each other, was just so awesome to watch and made us all wonder How you loved each other and us so much, Were you gift a gift from God, precious McDuff? You amazed everyone until cancer took you, We tried and tried, sweet boy, but there was nothing we could do. You were there by my side in good times and bad, we laughed and cried together, How I miss the friendship we had. So proud, so proud, so proud and blessed we were to have you, my big, beautiful boy, My heart aches now at the loss of my pride and joy. You are in heaven now, And to you, Our Sweet, Sweet McDuff, we all take a bow....See MoreHow to Cope? My Dog Passed Yesterday
Comments (87)Adding my sympathy and tears, AK. I lost my almost 15 year Brittany Sam in Feb. 2015; he was the smartest dog I have ever seen, and so happy. Sam greeted each day by taking a squeaky toy in his mouth, holding his head high, and marching through the house squeaking his good morning happiness. I know his time had come, and as hard as it was, I know that I was doing what was best for my sweet boy. The vet and I both cried, as he had grown up with her as his vet. As Faron says above, I knew that it would be an honor to Sam if I adopted another dog that needed a home. I did just that last May when I did my first transport for the rescue org. I'm involved with. Everything lined up and it was just perfect when they needed me to foster her temporarily. When she gave me a face full of kisses as the previous driver handed her off to me, I knew I wanted to make her mine. Two days later I learned that I could adopt her. Before my late dog-loving Dad died in 2007, he had hospice care at home. They gave us a booklet on what to expect to see him do. We were ready when Dad started looking at the ceiling, especially the corners, and said, 'They have dogs up there.' Mum and I smiled, knowing that he'd be fine, and he'd see his past dogs there, as stratfordroad's beautiful sign above says. When we lose a beloved pet, we wonder how we can go on, but a day will come when you think about Maddie and smile, thinking of the wonderful years you had with her....See Morestratfordroad
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