Boomer, 2000-2008 A couple of weeks ago, after an initial diagnosis of bursitis, Boomer the basset hound was X-rayed to reveal a bone tumor. After a second examination from a specialist in Round Rock and a blood test for an alternative problem, he was in enough pain that we took him in this afternoon to be put down. I bought him on a summer weekend in 2000 when my family was out of town, entirely on my own with no warning or discussion. He was honestly one of the stupidest, ugliest, smelliest animals I have ever been around. It took over a year for him to get partially house-broken, and over three years before he'd pee outside on a rainy day. The only command he ever learned was "in your bed," which he learned primarily because it was usually given in my loudest and most threatening voice after he had misbehaved. Even for a basset hound, he had abnormally long ears which were kind of attached more to his neck than his head. He had an extremely long and thin face and head, highlighted by a small bump on the top of his skull that we joked contained the entirety of his brain. When you walked in our house, you smelled Boomer. I'd bathe him regularly, but within a day, he'd smell like a hound again. But whenever I came home from work, he'd greet me with not just his tail wagging, but the whole back half of his body wagging, and that always made a bad day suddenly much better. And at least once a day, he'd come up to me wanting his chest/belly scratched, and when I did that, he would gaze at me with a look of absolute adoration in his eyes, which just always melted me. And though he seemed to sleep 22+ hours a day, at least once a day he'd get in the mood to play, which was signaled by him jumping around barking, with his front end going one direction and his back end bouncing independently as if controlled by a different brain. A couple of slaps to his butt would send him into a frenzy and he'd go tearing several laps through our house like some sort of mutant greyhound until he had burned off his energy and it was time to lie down again. That never failed to make me laugh out loud and put a smile on my face. In spite of his stupidity, ugliness, and smelliness, nothing/no one in my life has ever more consistently cheered me up more than Boomer. I'll miss you little fella.
I love the description of his exuberance in wagging his tail yet a portion of his body moved. My Rottie somehow manages to let her little nub do the same thing. Your boy is handsome as all get up. I can finally post on this thread. They are so painful, so touching and so important so I have to respond before going to bed. Did Boomer have a knack at chasing things? An ex gf's parents had a Basset who would chase the family cats. In the house the dog had no chance. But out in the yard, the cats had no chance. He knew where they were going and would get there before they did. The cats would freak the hell out when they would make their cut and BAM, the Basset was already there. Hopefully some wisdom and advice from other threads will be able to prime you for what lays ahead and helps you pass the pain. Again, Boomer (I hope the second name is not what it could be....grrrr) was, no, is a handsome dog. He looks very loved, I know he is very missed already. Interhugs in a manly way.
So sorry for your loss. Beau...I know how much these little fellas can mean to us...just lost my Bulldog, Samson in June, aged 8 to stomach bloat... I still cry over the thought of his loss... Prayers...
Thanks for sharing your fond memories of that goofy hound. I've always had a soft spot for Basset Hounds and Boomer sounds like a fine example of why that is so. Sorry for your family's loss.
We put down our 13-year-old golden retriever this morning. I'll never have a better dog than Scheffler. He was absolutely off-the-charts in kindness, friendliness and obedience. He did one thing wrong in his life. When he was young, he wasn't allowed on the carpet in our rental house, so if he was inside, he had to stay on the tiled area by the front door. We came home one night and found a chewed-up $2 flip-flop in the living room, amongst a bunch of undisturbed $100 running shoes. I looked towards the front door, and there was Scheffler, so distressed with shame that he couldn't even look at me. Other than that, he was perfect. He lived to please us. He literally learned "sit" in four commands, and he never disobeyed a command. Our daughter was born when he was three, and he let her pull and poke on every part of his body without protest. He put up with Boomer's selfishness (eating his food, butting in at the water bowl, etc.) and stupidity with never more than a mournful look to me. He was especially in tuned to others' moods, and whenever my wife and/or I would get upset, he always tried to diffuse the situation by putting his worried head in our laps. He was diagnosed with hip displasia at 6-months, but seemed to work through it until old age. We'd been expecting him to die for the last year and a half, but he kept hanging in there. Lately, we had to help him stand up. He had a late-night seizure in November, but surprisingly was back to his regular self the next morning. This morning, we woke up at 5am to another seizure. This one wouldn't stop. By 6am, we were calling all the vets in Wimberley to try to find one that could help, but the only emergency services were in Austin and New Braunfels. I gave thought to how I could euthanize him myself, but I don't have a gun and I decided that I couldn't bear to suffocate my boy. I thought about calling a friend who could do one of those things, but decided the best choice was to take him to New Braunfels. By the time we got to NB, the seizures had stopped, but he wasn't very responsive and his breathing was harsh. The vet told us that he was "in a desperate situation." We told her it was time. My family will never have a better friend. I'll miss you, big guy.
Beau, two tough losses. Our golden, Terra, is 10 years old and starting to get down in the hips. She is much like you described your Golden - the most obedient, eager to please dog I have ever had. I dread the day when we have to make the call you did, but you did the right thing. Dogs, man. They break your heart.
Man, my golden is the dumbest dog I've ever met. But she is the sweetest animal. At least once a day, she comes up to where I'm sitting, jumps up and puts her paws over my shoulders, rests her chest on mine, and we just kinda kiss a cuddle a few minutes. My rottie mix is getting to show her age, though. She is slow to get her rear end up, and I noticed the other day that she's starting to go grey on her chin. I don't know what I'm going to do when we lose those dogs. I'm so sorry for you loss, Beau
I am so sorry to read of Boomer first, and now Scheffler. Both of them added so much to your life, it seems - Boomer with his goofyness and Scheffler with the gentleness only a golden has. Boomer's pic is awesome and seems like that is the image that will stay with you - ears flying and the rest of the body just barely under control! As another poster said - you gave them a good life. Thoughts and prayers with your family.
Reading this thread made me smaile and cry with 2 minutes. About 3 years ago I lost my black lab (Bevo) to Parvo and i had refused to ever get another dog - EVER. Well - 2 weeks ago i suprised my 15 yr old daughter with another black lab puppy (Boo). I took me 6 weeks to decide to go ahead and open myself up again to the roller coaster that comes with dog ownership. This thread reminded me of Bevo several times - making me smile... then later it reminded me of the day I had to put him down... Boo is the funniest dog ever - full of energy and only wants to play 24/7. Thank you for this thred and I hope everyone who has lost their friends smile whenever they think of them!
My Aussie died at 9:15 this morning. She seemed fine a week ago then got sick and was gone six days later. We got her from an Aussie Rescue group after she had been dumped on the side of Hwy 377 in Roanoke, Tx. We had some great adventures together. Colorado, Big Bend, Arizona....... Mandy, thanks for 11 years of love, devotion and companionship. You were a true sweetheart. Rest in Peace [/IMG]
