Our Rat Terrier Jack.........

[ollie]

was put to sleep a couple weeks ago because of kidney failure. It was a shock to all of us because Jack was still relatively young. We got him from a shelter at what were told was the age of one year. We had him for seven. It really was a traumatic experience to put him down because as much as he made me crazy, he was a member of the family.

Jack was a very cuddly dog who loved people and kids, but he had no use for other dogs. At night he would sleep in our bed burrowing under the covers making sure that one end of him was touching my wife and the other was touching me. But he was also very stubborn or stupid depending on how you want to interpret his actions. No matter how hard we tried he refused to learn tricks, wouldn't even heel, sit or beg. What made me realize that perhaps he was not firing on all cylinders was when our daughter's dog Shenny came over for a visit. We had expandable gates set up in the doorways downstairs to keep him in the kitchen. Shenny would just jump over the fence, look at Jack and jump back showing him how easy it was. Jack would get all excited.......and leap straight up in the air and land back in the same spot, kind of like a pogo stick. He couldn't get it through his thick skull that he was supposed to push forward at the same time.

No toys ever survived Jack either. We had one chew toy that went through three dogs. Jack destroyed it in about three days. Completely shredding it. He could really use those teeth. We tried a number of chew toys. He would just place both front paws on it, then start to pull at it with a jaw full of very sharp teeth.

A few weeks ago, he got very lethargic...It came on suddenly. Then he started vomiting his food. We took him to the vet who diagnosed him with Kidney failure. He kept Jack over night and put him on an IV drip and medication. It didn't help. When we went back to the Vet the next day, Jack's left eye was full of blood and he was spontaneously bruising. The Vet only gave him a 10% chance of recovery. Regina and I were left with a very hard choice, but we knew we had to let him go peacefully. The two of us were with Jack and we held him as the Vet administered the lethal dose. It was really hard to look at him then but he passed away within seconds and there didn't appear to be any pain.

We miss him a lot, he used to come charging down the stairs and greet me when I came home from work. When we watched TV, he would sit on my lap while I was in my favorite rocker. He had this funny habit of shoving his nose under your forearm and tossing it in the air then ducking and putting his head in the way as if to say "Pet me, damn it".

We are mystified about kidney failure at this early an age. Rat Terriers are supposed to make to 15 years as I understand it. We sent a sample of the food we bought him to Cornell for testing. Here's a photo of the little guy. He's sitting on my left shoulder.

For now we've decided not to get another dog. We'll probably get another Rat Terrier when I retire in a couple of years.

[Snowden]

That's so hard, Ollie. I'm sorry about Jack. Pets are part of the family.

I do think another dog would help the healing, but when I lost my old cat I decided not to ever have another pet. We were too old, I said. Then one evening, our son let in a stray cat, barely past kitten, and he's Bob's joy now. He and that cat have bonded in much the way a dog bonds. I still miss my cat, and all the cats and dogs I've had and loved over the years, but Max is smart, responsive and loving. And it does help.

When you're ready and get another dog, I hope he will be in good health and live long. Jack sounds like a very special pet -- loving, ornery, with weaknesses that were more endearing than anything else. I know he will live on in your heart -- that's very obvious.

[irish_blue69]

Ollie, I am so sorry to hear about your Jack. I know that you miss him terribly but he is in a much better place now with no pain or suffering. As far as waiting till you retire to get another pet, it might happen that way or something may happen to suprise you sooner than you think. Keep your hearts open to all the possibilities.

[Woodmonkey]

Ollie, I'm so sorry to hear about this. He sounds like the kind of dog that makes a wonderful pet. I know how hard it is to lose a beloved pet and have warm memories of both a dog and a cat. They're irreplaceable, but other pets with different personalities somehow help to fill the void left. I'm glad you were able to be with him to the very end.