My dog had to be euthanized today

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Being an old animal myself, I now adopt old animals, not the babies. Yes, nothing is cuter than a puppy or kitten. But the mature pets are harder to find homes for. They need a home so much more. The cat I have now is the most loving, affectionate animal I've ever had. She was a mature cat when I got her. She ended up at the humane society because her previous owner died! She was too shy to be readily adopted. But she has an enormous purr and is a wonderful companion.

One of the cats I once had was a breed called a Maine Coon. It was an exceptional cat. One of my neighbors gave it to me when it was a baby. This breed is sometimes called a Hemingway cat since he had several and willed part of his estate to raising them. One of the traits of Maine Coons is that they are Polydactyl cats. They have six claws on each foot and six claws on each paw. Those who raised these cats thought that this was a defect so they breed it out of Maine Coons. But some polydactyl cats still exist. And I had one.

What I found so unique about the cat was its temperament. It was an extremely calm animal. It had the largest paws when it was an infant. Almost twice the size of a normal cat. Sometimes my large dog would approach the cat. In most cats they have an automatic reaction to hiss at a dog, strike at the cat and then run in terror. But this kitten was very different. The kitten was calm. It was almost like my kitten was a large tiger. It had no fear of the dog. If the dog got too close, the kitten would take one swipe at the dog with its large paws and the dog would flee in terror. It was an exceptionally loving cat. It was an exceptional hunter and mouser.

[Maybe there is a symbolic analogy. Breeders intentionally tried to breed the polydactyl traits from the cats and for the most part succeeded. Sometimes I think maybe civilization is trying to breed the nonconformity traits out of Aspies. I always thought that the attempts of breeders to destroy this trait in this species of cats was wrong, dead wrong.]

Last edited by jimmy m on 16 Dec 2018, 12:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I am so sorry for your loss, Tim_Tex

Thank you for all the kind words. I have more or less given up on having kids (because of my age, but I still hold out hope), so to me, losing a pet is like losing a child.

I'm sorry Tim. I've had some loses around the last few Christmas holidays. Including some pets. My girlfriend wants kids but I don't want them & she cant handle them rite now anyways(she has disabilities & other issues she's dealing with). Your Welcome to PM me if you'd like someone to talk to.

I am so, so sorry OP. I can relate because I have to put my cat to sleep after the holidays. I too, am heart broken. She's 16 and has kidney failure.

Thank you all for your kind words. I think we will eventually get another dog, just not sure when.

I’m very sorry to hear about this. My dog had to be put to sleep two days before Christmas in 2016, and he had heart failure and diabetes. In the last few days, he wouldn’t eat, so it was hard to give him his medication, and he couldn’t walk much, breathe properly or sleep. It was horrible to see him so sick, and the vet told my parents nothing could have been done for him.

For the first few weeks, the house felt empty and I kept expecting my parents to say they were going to go and get him from the vet (where he had gone to get healthy). It’s like I couldn’t believe he was gone until the day we got his ashes back in a teddy bear. Sometimes I blame myself for not being able to protect him from getting sick, but he was probably born with his heart problem.

You’ll miss your dog forever, but in time, you’ll be able to think of the happy moments and smile about those instead of being sad that you don’t have your dog with you anymore. If you get another dog, it won’t replace the one you lost - pets can’t be replaced - but it will probably feel like you have your dog back in some ways, especially if they look similar.

Being so close to Christmas is a horrible feeling, but it was the best thing you could have given your dog. Now there’s no more pain or suffering, and that’s a good gift to give. In the end, when they’re sick like both of our dogs were, it can feel like they’re alive only to keep us happy and not because it’s what they want. They want us to be happy, even if they can’t be here anymore.

Sweet Pea hugs.