Doom Dogs

[King Bob]

Had to let go of Hazel today. She had stopped eating on Thursday and was pretty much just sleeping. The vet said she was going into renal failure. But she was 17 and a half, and she only really declined in the last year. She got really sick last summer and we thought she would die, but she bounced back, but was always weaker after that, and she started losing weight. She was skin and bones at the end.

After we left the vet I realized that I had been living with anxiety about her for months and it was suddenly lifted, so today was nowhere near as bad as I expected. I'm sure I'll be lonely once I'm alone in the house.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Bob, I am very sorry about Hazel.

[Drunk Monk]

Deepest condolences, old friend.

[cranefly]

Sorry to hear about Hazel as well.

[Greg]

I hate being in the house without the dogs. Sorry for your loss.

[King Bob]

Thanks to all of you.

Just like my mom, it was time. She (Hazel) was deaf, and going blind, and getting feeble, and maybe saddest of all her mind was going - she would go in the kitchen for a drink and not be able to find her way back to her bed, or get stuck facing into the corner. We knew it was getting closer, but she still ate heartily until this week, and we still went for slow walks.

It was funny, her last walk on Tuesday was the best one we'd had in a while; she kept up a steady pace and was faster than usual. And Friday night, in the middle of the night, she managed to find her way into the bedroom all the way to my side of the bed, which she hadn't done in a very long time. I got up and sat on the couch and she went to sleep on my chest, just like when she was a puppy. So we went full circle right at the end.

[Drunk Monk]

That's interesting. It reminds me of something my dad did - a flash of coherency just before it was his time. It's one of those symptoms they tell you about in end-of-life care pamphlets. In reflection, it's a moment of mercy for those of us who survive, a reminder of what was. 

Please take care. This year has been tough enough already so these added slings and arrows weigh so much more heavily.

Falling asleep on your chest is so bittersweet. The thought of that got me a little misty.

[Drunk Monk]

Yuki bit me pretty badly. I took him for an evening walk because yesterday was filled with too many tasks to get him to the dog park in time (it closes at 5 pm now), plus I thought I'd be fun to see the xmas lights. He doesn't do well with walks in the dark. His big ears hear everything but then he can't see so he stops and stares into the darkness a lot. At one point, he picked something up and started chewing on it - I think it was a piece of trash. He didn't respond to the 'drop it' command (we ran out of treats yesterday so all I had was kibble) and when I tried to wrest whatever it was from him, he bit me. One fang went deep into my palm - hurts like hell. I was bleeding profusely all the way home. 

This morning it has sealed up nicely but it's really sore. No sign of infection. 

bad dog.

[Greg]

Yikes. Dogs. Preston bit me once.....

[Greg]

I have never had a problem pulling things out of the mouths of Dani and Maeve. And I have pulled some bad things out of them. I think the same went for Preston and Cuchulain.

If I were to attempt to take something away from Bentley aka The Woodbeast, I would have definitely lost a finger, probably the whole hand.

[Drunk Monk]

I never had a problem with my other dogs. Yuki however has this fierce streak. His mane is getting thick so he has a lot of neck padding and he loves to challenge bigger dogs. When he finds a high value thing to chew on, he's vicious in defending it. We've been working on that since dog training, but he got me good last night. 

Barely a scar but it hurts like hell. In the heart of my left palm. I've been mad at him ever since and he seems perplexed and somewhat guilty feeling.

[Greg]

Stigmata!

[Drunk Monk]

I thought that at first but the scar is just a little pinprick.

Hurts like hell though. I think it's on some acupuncture point. Doggopuncture.

[Drunk Monk]

I recently read somewherez onna interwebz that you should have at least 5 nicknames for your dog. I thought it odd at first but then realized I fit this mold easily.

Yuki is his given name. His nicknames are as follows:

Yukz - I call him this when I'm too lazy to say two syllables - my most common way to address him

Yukidawg - I call him this when I think his name needs an extra syllable. I've been meaning to rewrite the lyrics of Underdog to Yukidawg, ala Weird Al. 

Mr. Yukz - I call him this when I'm being formal yet still lazy

Duke Yuki - Stacy started saying 'Yuki Dookie' until I reminded her that dookie is a slang for poop and we get enough Yuki dookie every day. I reverted it to Duke Yuki and discovered that it is impossible to say Duke Yuki, without saying Dookie Yuki

Hariyuki - This is his formal Japanese name and also a play on Harry as in Harry the Dirty Dog, a children's book of Tara's featuring a dog that is shaped a bit like Yuki (yeah, my dog is shaped like a cartoon dog).

QQQQQQQQQQ - If you repeat the letter Q quickly in rapid succession for long enough, you will wind up saying 'Yuki'. It's science.

[King Bob]

Harry the Dirty Dog has always been one of my favorites. I have given the omnibus volume - now sadly out of print - to several friends and relatives with children.