For anyone with a dog or pets, please read

[Jer]

Please bookmark or add to your contacts the information for Home to Heaven. They're a home euthanasia service based out of Fort Collins and they're amazing. We recently had to put our little girl Gixxer down and she just turned 8 years old a couple weeks prior. She was a 15lb Italian Greyhound who got only the best food and care so to say that we were both shocked is an understatement. She was healthy as could be for the entire 8yrs then she was sick for a couple weeks. We tried all sorts of things from bland diets to home-cooked foods to medications and treatments. Some blood work led is to believe she had an infection plus a possible parasite so we were treating for those things. Finally, after weeks of sleepless nights I found a lump on her little tummy. We took her in for an emergency sonogram that day and found out she had terminal cancer and it was all over. We made the heart breaking decision to put her down the next day. While this is a VERY difficult time for my wife and the rest of our friends and family (if you ever met Gixxer, you would understand) I can't tell you how great Home to Heaven was. Being able to have her at home in our bed in her blanky with my wife, mom and myself by her side made for a picture perfect ending to a life cut way too short. I hope non of you have to go through this so soon but, as in our case... you just never know. The vet that came was amazingly understanding and helpful when the rest of us were a mess. I highly recommend them and am SO glad something like this exists.

Gixxer 3/3/03-4/14/11
RIP Daddy's Little Girl

[Mtn.man]

Man I know where you are with this.
It sux cause we get so attached to our pets.
It's not fair.
Peace my freind.

[Lex_Luthor]

Dang man, I'm sorry to hear. I hope we don't have to do something similar soon for my fiance's parents' dog.

[Jer]

Man I know where you are with this.
It sux cause we get so attached to our pets.
It's not fair.
Peace my freind.

Yeah, we definitely felt robbed on this one. We were even joking the day before in the Vet's office about how she wasn't even a senior citizen yet based on the chart on the wall. We figured we had MANY more years left (8?) and while it was difficult we found solace in the fact that we spent LOTs of time with her and had many many great memories from the short time we had with her. When we got home at 5:00 on Wed after we found out we laid with her in our bed in her blanky for over 7hrs just talking about all the good memories we had of her and we hadn't even covered everything yet. That was a sign to us that she managed to cram 16+ years of living into only 8 years so we were super thankful for that. I still remember when my wife wanted to get an Italian Greyhound I was oblivious as to what they were. When we saw her for the first time my heart melted though and from that point forward I was a different man. She was definitely daddy's little girl and my wife will readily admit to that. Everywhere we went she was right there in my lap. I would even put her to bed with the wife and her brother Koby and go downstairs to play video games and she would get out of bed to come sit by me while I played an watch. It was like our little bonding time and she loved hanging out with me. I could sit here and type for days on all the things that made this dog special and still not even scratch the surface of joy that she brought to our lives. It wasn't until she was gone that I realized how big of a part of my life that little dog was. For being a 'big tough guy' I was amazed at how hard it hit me. Those last 19hrs w/her from when we found out to when she was gone will be some of the most cherished minutes of my life. It's been a couple weeks now and I've been better for a while but as I sit and type this the feelings come back to me. It's gotten easier to remember the good times lately so that's what I try to remember for happiness.

[Jer]

Dang man, I'm sorry to hear. I hope we don't have to do something similar soon for my fiance's parents' dog.

I'm glad you saw this thread because I was going to link you to it. Your thread is what inspired me to share the info of Home to Heaven for those who may need it. It's not something that's easy to talk about but I hope that if it's needed it will be as helpful as it was for us.

[Lex_Luthor]

Thanks man, I really do appreciate it. I'm glad for such a good network of people here.

[Monky]

Sucks man.. I hate reading stuff like this.. stupid allergies making my eyes watery.

[Jer]

Sucks man.. I hate reading stuff like this.. stupid allergies making my eyes watery.

Yeah, I must have had some of the worst allergies ever documented in history for a few days because I was out of control. Prior to this my wife was beginning to wonder if I was an emotionless robot since this hadn't happened in the 15+ years she's known me. It's incredible how much a part of our lives these little guys become, especially since we don't have 2-legged kids.

[Mtn.man]

Sister bugs babies (Boston Terrier, Pug)
Our babies after a vet killed my dog.

[Jer]

Awe, how cute. Here's some more pictures of Gixxer and some have her little big brother Koby in them as well.