Sudden death of my healthy 10 year old lab

Discussion in 'Labrador Chat' started by Frosty12, Apr 8, 2018.

  1. charlie

    charlie Registered Users

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    I am so very, very sorry you lost your beloved girl so quickly, such a terrible shock for you :( My heart goes out to you during this very sad time. xxx
     
  2. Granca

    Granca Registered Users

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    I’m so sorry to hear about your loss. One of my dogs died suddenly just over five years ago. He was fourteen, well and still enjoying life, although nearly blind. When I went downstairs in the morning I found him dead just by Wispa’s crate. He had got up from his bed by the radiator and had gone across to her... and had seemingly only just died. I panicked and rang the vet to say that I thought my dog had just died, but nobody offered to come to check. I couldn’t move him to take him to the vet, but I suppose there was nothing they could do. My son came to move him before he went to work, then we buried him that evening. We were devastated and shocked, of course, but in some ways it was much less traumatic than having to take the awful decision for a sick animal... He’d had his supper as usual the day before and had gone to bed normally. He didn’t appear to have suffered at all but seemed to have got up to go to say good morning to Wispa, who was only about a year old, but collapsed on his way.

    Do share some memories when you feel able to do so. It’s always so hard to lose a pet, so much so that I think twice about having another. It’s important to remember the good times.
     
  3. Frosty12

    Frosty12 Registered Users

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    Thanks for your compassion. I appreciate it and take it to heart. As I struggle to get up each morning, always thinking that my girl will come to greet me and look for her breakfast, I realize the house is empty and tears continue to fall as I still can't grasp that this happened to her. Miss her terribly...
     
  4. Frosty12

    Frosty12 Registered Users

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    My heart breaks for your sudden loss of your companion.... my sincere condolences to you... it shows once again the unpredictability of life and we must not take for granted that our dog is certain to be given a long life if we do everything in our power to make it so.... I assume your dog must have had a bond with your other companion animal.... I surely didn't look forward to euthanizing my girl in her old age but my heart aches that she didn't have a few more years of quality life to enjoy given that she was such a sweet soul and deserved to live into her senior years.... I know the shock and devastation that you speak of as it weighs on me each day and I wonder aimlessly, sometimes picking up the blankets from her bed just to hold them and take in her smell that lingers there.... and let the tears fall.... my girl is being cremated and some of her ashes will be spread on the lake where she swam and her favorite hiking trail.... the majority will rest in an urn in my personal glass enclosure at the local mausoleum where I, too will be one day... my first yellow lab who lived to 14 and was euthanized due to arthritic pain and a poor quality of life, is also there in her own small urn as she was so very dear to my heart as well.... the vet for my sweet girl already gave me a foot print of her front paw and a vile with some of her hair so these items, as well, will go in my glass enclosure.... as I think of her as my family...
     
  5. Atemas

    Atemas Registered Users

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    :hug:
     
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  6. Ski-Patroller

    Ski-Patroller Cooper, Terminally Cute

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    I'm so sorry for you loss. It is hard enough when they get to grow old, but worse when they are young and healthy. One of my friends lost his 3 yr old Lab from some kind of aneurysm, which just happened in the middle of the night. She was his younger hunting dog and seemed to be in perfect health.
     
  7. Frosty12

    Frosty12 Registered Users

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    Oh no.... it breaks my heart to hear this about your friend.... as it is devastating to have to accept and deal with....just 3 years old is tragic.... thanks for your sympathy... I appreciate it.... the loss is so difficult because my lab went with me wherever I went... like a shadow.... loved her so much....
     
  8. kateincornwall

    kateincornwall Registered Users

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    Sorry , I am a bit late coming to your sad post , I am so very sorry for your loss . I lost my six year old boy five months ago , to cancer , I knew about his illness for a year before he passed away , but it wasn't any easier . As you rightly say , all loss is just horrible , we don't ever get over it but somehow we learn to live with it . My sincere sympathy x
     
  9. Pilatelover

    Pilatelover Registered Users

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    I’m so very sorry to hear of your loss, sending you big hugs. :hug::hug:
     
  10. Frosty12

    Frosty12 Registered Users

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    Thanks so much for your kind thoughts. I am so sad to hear about your own 6 year old passing from cancer.... such a young age, really the prime of his life.... life is so unfair at times and you never know what is coming next.... all the best to you
     
  11. Frosty12

    Frosty12 Registered Users

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    Thanks for your sympathy.... I appreciate it.... it helps to share the loss with others who understand the intense love and bond that develops between labs and their owners....
     
  12. Candy

    Candy Registered Users

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    Yes, I really think that this sense of living in the moment is one of the greatest gifts our sweet dogs give us. That, and the unconditional love, which flows freely both ways. I have been through the sad loss of very dear dogs five times now, none of them as sudden and shocking as your loss but still incredibly painful. The only thing that has ever helped me has been getting another dog eventually and starting the process of building a (slightly different, always) relationship with her. It sounds like you are a truly loving and caring person, who has so much to offer. My heartfelt thoughts are with you and I do hope that one day you and another dog will find each other and love.xxx.
     
  13. Frosty12

    Frosty12 Registered Users

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    Thanks for your kind words... As an owner of many dogs, I know you understand the pain of loss--whether it was sudden or drawn out due to illness or age-related...

    yes, I agree with you regarding the need to live in the moment... every day my dog would show me how to enjoy life, as I was going through a lot of stress... she would come with me this past winter for a walk on the frozen lake and every now and then, throw herself on her back and roll in the snow (kind of like humans making snow angels).... I would laugh and smile each time she did so as she seemed to get such joy out of it...

    Oh and the years and years of unconditional love from her, always by my side and there to comfort me and be my constant companion.... as I attempted to show her my love and give her attention as much as I could....

    Yes, I do plan on getting another dog in time as I do wish to share my life with a sweet companion and I do have lots of love to share, and more time than most since I don't have any two-legged children... most likely a lab since I so enjoyed my life with my last two ... and they truly are all individuals... my first yellow female lab was a similar personality as my second but definitely had her own ways and acted very differently as a puppy and as an adult in some ways.... I would like to perhaps train my next lab as a therapy dog for seniors and/or for those who are ill.... it would give my life more meaning as well....
     
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  14. TAD

    TAD Registered Users

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    Hello Frosty 12,
    I was so sad to read about you losing your beautiful sweet Lab. My daughter has recently lost her beautiful yellow Lab Marley just 2 wks ago. She was nearly 10 years old but looked like a pup, a very healthy well cared for and loved dog. She too was fed with the best food possible, went running with her mummy every day, regularly attended the vet for check ups. A very healthy dog with the sweetest nature - ' A gentle soul ' . We are all deeply upset but my daughter is beside herself with grief and over whelming sadness . Marley died suddenly and quietly over night at the foot of my daughters bed, the pain and shock of losing her is devastating to us all but she was my daughters girl and her best friend . I accidentally found this site and am SO glad I did. I really feel your loss Frosty and can deeply empathise with you as our pain is raw at the moment. I have given this website to my daughter but she is too grief stricken to look at it. Perhaps in time she can participate . My sincere condolences to you and I hope you find peace and strength and in time your pain eases.
     
  15. Candy

    Candy Registered Users

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    Hello and sincere condolences to your daughter and all the family for the loss of such a very important family member, dear Marley. Speaking from experience, the grief at losing a dog is very real, very all consuming and very raw. The only thing that has ever helped me feel better has been eventually getting another dog and starting to bond with her, but for me that has always taken time, and I have had to judge when I'm ready to start it all over again. My thoughts are with you all.
     

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