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My dog Roosevelt has passed

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Some of you may remember my dog Roosevelt from the other board. He was named after Roosevelt Leaks and survived the house fire with me in 2015. Thank you so much to those of you that donated and helped us out. I don't know what I would have done without the support I received from y'all. 

Ro was just shy of 15 1/2 years. He'd been battling a pancreatic tumor that stole all his blood sugar as soon as he ate causing him to go into shock and start seizing up. The vet said you usually get 6 months after diagnosis, but he fought through it for another year and a half. We thought we were going to lose him in November, but as a last ditch try, started giving him CBD and it stopped the seizures in a few days. He hadn't had one since. PM me if you want more info on the CBD, it was literally a life saver and gave him a massive increase in quality of life. 

He'd torn both knees and had them replaced via TPLO in 2015 and 2016. He was in a lot of pain from arthritis, so we had the vet come to the house and put him to sleep yesterday. It's one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, but there really wasn't much choice. The pain meds weren't working well enough anymore. He couldn't support his own body weight to poop and was so smart, he felt ashamed when he pooped in the house the last week or so. No amount of reassurance from us could make it better. We had him cremated via aquamation, rather than fire. He survived one fire and I wasn't going to put him back into one at the end. 

He was the most amazing dog I've ever known, my best friend and faithful companion for 15 1/2 years. I feel so empty without him.

One of his favorite things was riding in the car when we drove through West Texas. He loved the smell of cow shit and every time we passed a feedlot, he'd go nuts smelling the air. We're going to take another drive soon and scatter some of his ashes there. 

Here's him on our last road trip in January. We knew it was probably his last trip, so we left outside air on for him for the entire drive. Here he is leaning down to smell the poop smell coming in the air vent and then looking over his left shoulder as the smell wafted past. 

 

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 106625

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Well, shit, dude.

I'm sorry.

Dogs are the best.  Saying goodbye to them is the worst.  Sounds like you and Roosevelt were lucky to have each other, and in this life, that counts for a hell of a lot.

Good boy, Roosevelt.

Shit.  I just remembered what my mother put on the marker for my childhood dog: "He raised his boy.  And then he rested."  I hope that Roosevelt is at peace, especially after helping you get through a rough time.

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Trey3216

Trey3216 15450

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Good Boy Roosevelt.   He was a good boy.   Sorry to hear this for you man.  I know how hard it is.    But damn, if they don’t give you an uplifting memory in times of need, and damn If they don’t teach you lessons of love, patience and respect along the way.   

 

Y’all got to the top of the mountain, and it was good.   Rest easy good pup, roll in all the cow shit you want to.  You deserve it!

Edited by Trey3216
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Thanks y'all. Archer, if you need to give your border collie any liquid medication, try lactose free vanilla ice cream. Roosevelt was too smart for us to hide it any other way, but he'd eat his CBD and appetite stimulant medication pretty well in the melted ice cream. 

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Archer

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1 minute ago, Pods said:

Thanks y'all. Archer, if you need to give your border collie any liquid medication, try lactose free vanilla ice cream. Roosevelt was too smart for us to hide it any other way, but he'd eat his CBD and appetite stimulant medication pretty well in the melted ice cream. 

Thanks Pods I’ll file that away. So far all of her meds have been pills or injections. Her CBD is treat based so she scarfs them down. 

 

We were on antibiotic pills that she hated and were trying to hid them in ham steak. It worked for a few days but she wised up and would barely bite the end of the ham and shake her head until the pill fell out and then eat the ham. Really glad to be done with those meds. 

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sdm

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Godspeed Roosevelt and condolences Pods. Roosevelt was a very lucky boy having you in his life. Sounds like you both gave unconditional love to each other and, well, it just doesn't get any better than that!

Edited by sdm
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4 minutes ago, Archer said:

Thanks Pods I’ll file that away. So far all of her meds have been pills or injections. Her CBD is treat based so she scarfs them down. 

 

We were on antibiotic pills that she hated and were trying to hid them in ham steak. It worked for a few days but she wised up and would barely bite the end of the ham and shake her head until the pill fell out and then eat the ham. Really glad to be done with those meds. 

Border collies are too smart for their owners good. Had the exact same experience many times with Ro. I finally gave him the pill in something different every time and rotated about 5 options. That kind of worked. 

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Archer

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10 minutes ago, Pods said:

Border collies are too smart for their owners good. Had the exact same experience many times with Ro. I finally gave him the pill in something different every time and rotated about 5 options. That kind of worked. 

That sounds familiar. Her meds have really messed up her appetite and taste buds so we never know what she’ll eat. What she eats in the morning she won’t want in the evening. We keep 5 or 6 foods ready and bring them all out at food time to see what the magic formula is for that meal. 

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Selfishly, I really wanted to keep him longer, but I had to do what was right for him, not me. Things are still in the shitter for me, but I'm trying to climb out of the mess the fire left me in. To add a little salt to everything, I have to go to a memorial for my main paleontology mentor and scatter his ashes Friday at the field site I used to run, but had to give up. I'm going to scatter some of Ro's there with him. 

I'm still dealing with chronic pain and haven't been able to write much. The first post took me a long time, writing in spurts. I'm still on a leave of absence from school until that resolves a bit more. My doctor put me on some new medications last week that gave me double vision yesterday and today. I thought it was tears in my eyes blocking me from seeing clearly, but it didn't go away. Good times. 

I'm still putting one foot in front of the other and have made a ton of progress, but it was a lot easier when Ro was there along side me. He was in too much pain though, so I had to let him go. A big part of me wants to go with him. I won't, but from where I'm standing, I can see how people make that choice. I know that every day will be a little easier than yesterday and today. 

That's probably TMI above, but it's better to get things like that out and into daylight than it is to keep it bottled up inside where it can fester. 

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10 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

Buck up, Pods. We need you manning that starboard turret gun.

That's a joke about the turret gun. I was serious about how we need you.

I'm holding it together much better than that post probably indicates. If he'd died in the fire, or any time up until last summer, I would have been in trouble. Yesterday and today, I was still able to do everything else I needed to accomplish, which is huge progress for me. I did it with some tears in my eyes, but I still got everything done. Ro waited until I was strong enough to walk on my own.    

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19 minutes ago, Pods said:

  I did it with some tears in my eyes, but I still got everything done.

No shame in that. I have tears in my eyes reading this thread and thinking about the day. I’ll be a sobbing baby on the couch for 48 hours. 

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BillyGoatHill

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Pods,  Sorry for your loss. It is never easy putting down a friend, especially one that gives us undying love and devotion. We had to do the same with our Abby of almost 18 years last August. Though strong in heart, her hips would sometimes collapse under her. We wanted her still around but it was not fair to her to keep her in pain. In 2015, we had to bury our other little rescue dog (Buddy) that was hit by a car in front of our house. We were ( and sometimes still) devastated as you don't get to tell them things about how they have made your life better.

What really helped with him was sharing some thoughts about him with friends on a site such as this. I got a great reply from an old military bud that I like sharing with others when they lose their pet/bud/companion............."A great story with what most would call a sad ending. It's not! You gave him his forever home & and he filled your house with memories. Passing happy and loved is all any of us can hope for. RIP, little fella..."

Hope this helps somewhat.....RIP Roosevelt.

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Nuge

Nuge 2025

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RIP Roosevelt.  I know your pain.  I lost my girl, Olive,  a couple of weeks ago.

I'll pass along some words of wisdom my 8 year old bestowed upon me when I was crying like a baby.

"Just remember all of the good times.  It's all a part of the circle of life."

Also, "Now that Olive is gone, you don't have to clean up so much poop."

Kid is too practical.

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Nivek

Nivek 17330

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20 hours ago, Pods said:

Damn, that's rough Nivek. I'm really sorry man. 

It was overall not bad really.  Cat was dead on my chair and the kids found her.  There were tears and crying for an hour or so.  I covered her in an old Texas shirt, dug a grave, and we all picked a flowers for her.  Few more tears but the kids decided to find activities to do.   I used this as an opportunity to spin it from a loss to an appreciation event for the cat.  The next day the big kids (7,5) would tell me stories about seeing her running in the clouds chasing mice, I told a few old stories, and kids were doing fine.   They processed it quickly, better than I did.  But then again, I never had anyone try to help.    

Sorry about losing your buddy.  Losing a companion who shared in your trauma, I imagine makes it more difficult as Ro cannot be there for you this time.  I hope this shitty little asshole community helps.    

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