[SEL] A Passing

Alan Bowen rustaholic777 at yahoo.com
Sun Sep 9 12:11:05 PDT 2007


My very best canine friend ever was Pest.
Pest was the result of a Registered female Collie that was supposed to be bred by another of her kind, but the neighbor's registered Irish Setter got there first.

He was a beautiful dog with a heart full of love. i got him when I was 14 years old and he was a pest every single day until the day he died 16 1/2 years later.
I remember that day very well.
I pulled into the driveway after work and Pest didn't get up.
He didn't even raise his head.
That had never happened before !!!!
The day before there was no hint that it was his last good day.
I picked him up and went to the vet just three miles away.
The vet checked him out and said his whole body was shutting down.  It was just his time to go and he was in no pain at all. I just took him home and sat with him for the next couple hours and he died asleep.
What a sweet way to die, That is my dream too.

Then there was my Mom's dog Spud.  Spud was a German Shepard/Husky mutt.
He was a big dog and a very nice feller.
Mom was away and my sister was house setting when she called me and said there was something bad wrong with Spud.  Right then I heard the most painful wailing I have ever heard.  I grabbed the 410 pump shotgun and a box of slugs and headed over there.  It sounded that bad.
When I got there Spud was laying in a very contorted fashion and when he tried to move at all he wailed like that again and I could see it would be pure torture to move that dog.  I talked softly to him while I loaded the gun then I put a slug through his brain and Spud's body straightened out, the goofiest smile came across his face, his tail went straight up and waved it's way back down and he was at peace.  

It really is hard to shoot such a good dog, but at the time it was the most merciful thing to do.

As I write this I am thinking of our 14 year old German Shepard/Collie mix dog out in the other room that is slowing way down and I don't think she will be with us another year. She is named Kitty of all the stupid names, but she is the very best watch dog and at the same time she has always been wonderful with kids of any age.

I really don't know how many dogs I can stand to lose, but there is always another one out there with years of love to give.

Sorry this is so long,
Alan Bowen
Williamsburg, Michigan

Orrin Iseminger <oiseming at moscow.com> wrote: You are undoubtedly feeling very sad right now, Patrick.  The best thing to
do is to go right out and find another dog.  Although you'll still miss
Shannon a great deal, another one will soon work its way into your heart,
helping to fill the void.  

Our old basset hound went to sleep one night and never woke up, again.  Both
Cathy and I were profoundly saddened; but, with the help of the Internet,
within days we found another in a Humane Society shelter.  He turned out to
be the best dog, ever, to have joined our family.  

Good luck,

Orrin

Orrin Iseminger
Colton, Washington, USA
http://users.moscow.com/oiseming/lc_ant_p/menu.htm
So many projects.  So little time.   

-----Original Message-----
From: stationary-engine-request at oldengine.org
[mailto:stationary-engine-request at oldengine.org] On Behalf Of Patrick M
Livingstone
Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2007 3:12 AM
To: Stationary Engine Mailing List; Stationary Engine ATIS List
Subject: OT: A Passing

For those of you who knew her. 
Shannon (my German Shepherd engine dog) passed away in her sleep yesterday
aged 11. She will be missed.

Patrick M Livingstone
Leichhardt NSW
http://www.oldengine.org/members/pml/Index.html
http://www.users.bigpond.com/pml/


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