Kingcarl24 wrote:vcsgrizzfan wrote:Kingcarl24 wrote:
I don't know. Don't really care. I like my pets but they are pets to me.
I've owned a lot of dogs over the years, and it always sucks when you lose one. Biggest problem with dogs is they don't live long enough.
I agree. I've had pets my whole life and it sucks when you have to put one down. I've spent more on medical expenses for my own dog then I would like to admit. Still, I've never put the death of an animal or a pet anywhere close to the death of a human. I guess that's what I'm saying. My mother in law treats her dogs like real people and calls them her boys. She gets upset when we don't want them in the family photos. She takes them to sit on Santa's lap every year and sends us pictures. It's just stupid in my mind.
I'm not going to argue that a good thing can be taken to extremes and get stupid.
The worst "dog death" story for me was about 5 years ago or so. My youngest son just turned 19 a week and change ago, but he was about 14 or so at the time. We had bought a Golden Retriever when he was about 3 or 4 and the two had basically been inseparable for years and years. The dog had been a holy terror till she was almost 3, but then became the sweetest thing and just adorable. My youngest is by far the quietest of my children and the one who shows the least emotion. At that age, it was often a guess trying to figure out how he was really feeling.
I came home late early one evening and the dog was splayed on the kitchen floor. My son was on the floor with her. We lifted the dog into the car and took her to an emergency vet. Turns out Goldens are prone to having tumors on their heart, that had caused a seizure and there was nothing to be done. She needed to be put down. My son shed a few tears but basically kept it together while the vet put her to sleep. It was late spring and I told my son that night we would get him another dog when school ended in June. He seemed fine with that.
Well, the next night I'm walking by his room and I can hear this strange jingling. I open the door and there is my son with "Tubby's" collar in his hands sobbing quietly and his hands are shaking making the collar jingle. I swear it felt like a dagger in my heart. Well, after consoling him for a bit, I was on the web that night looking for another golden. I found a Labrador retriever about an hour and a half away and after a couple of phone calls, arranged to get a puppy the next morning. Kept my son from school and we drove up there are picked up the dog. I don't think she ever replaced "Tubby" but she helped heal the wound.