Fandango’s Dog Days of August #6
It’s ironic that we lost both of our Scotties during this pandemic. Gibbs, who had never shown any sign of illness, simply died one afternoon on the sofa — soundlessly in his sleep and Bonnie, who had been failing for a couple of years, just about a month ago. And suddenly, Duke is the king of the household. He always seemed to want to be the Head Hound of our home, but after Bonnie passed, he was pretty mournful for a few weeks. I think it hit him harder than it hit us.
We knew it was just a matter of time before Bonnie would be gone. We kept her alive longer than we probably should have because she seemed suprisingly lively, even though her hearing and most of her sight was gone and her dementia was pretty advanced.
This is a time when a houseful of happy hounds would be a great thing, but the Duke will have to be our dog. He seems to have passed through his grief at Bonnie’s passing and is a very good boy. A little nutsy, but a lot of fun. He makes us laugh.
I don’t even know how many dogs and cats we’ve had over the years. It’s odd to have just one dog. He’s a very good boy. Furry, friendly, and permanently looking for something good to eat. If nothing to eat shows up? A good cuddle is just fine.
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Categories: #gallery, #Photography, Anecdote, dogs, Fandango's One Word Challenge, Pets, Scottish Terrier
TOUGH DECISIONS 
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Hugs
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Right back to you 🙂
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“…she seemed suprisingly lively, even though her hearing and most of her sight was gone and her dementia was pretty advanced.”
You just described the state of our 14 1/2 year old shepherd/Lab mix perfectly. I don’t think she’ll make it to the election. Too bad. I was going to have her vote by mail.
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We were just letting Bonnie hang on. She’d stopped relating to Garry and me, was still a bit lost over the disappearance of Gibbs, but the Duke took care of her, moving her down the stairs, then pushing her back into the house. He fussed over her and she liked that. It came time last month to visit Tom & Ellen and I realized I was afraid to go because Bonnie needed SO much special care … and THEN I realized we’d not gone LAST year for the same reason. I pointed out to Garry that we were doing what we SWORE we would never do again. There’s a time to let go. It had come months ago, so we did it. Oddly, it was almost a relief, though not to the Duke. He wandered around for a few weeks looking for Bonnie. We understood. It was very strange having both of the Scotties gone. And Bonnie had been with us more than 13 years, since she was an itty bitty Scotty. Sadly, sooner or later, you have to get it together and let them go. Our vet says he just went through the same thing, even though he’s a vet. He kept waiting for “the right moment.” By the time that comes, your poor dog is a mess.
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I think we’re not quite at that “right moment,” but, sadly, I think it’s fast approaching.
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I just realized I was making the same excuse for not going out as we used LAST summer. We extended her life by feeding her handfuls of hemp-filled dog treats — they calmed her down and she stopped barking all night. But it didn’t give her back her vision or hearing and her teeth were rotting — at least a thousand dollars worth. Even the vet felt it wasn’t worth the investment.
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The Scotties were both lovely dogs and although it didn’t seem like you needed another dog at the time Duke was meant for you. He’ll keep you laughing for years to come.
I guess that if you are meant to have another dog the opportunity will present itself. Just leave it to fate.
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And that is what we are doing. Perhaps a dog will show up from somewhere. Who knows who has a puppy who needs a home?
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The Duke will do just fine….
Leslie
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He is going very well. He’s grafted to Garry’s heels.
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Treats will do that…
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Actually, he looks to ME for treats. Garry has gotten very careful because we don’t want him to get fat. And he will if we let him. He simple adores Garry — and Owen, too. He’s a “man’s” dog.
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chuckle…
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I’m so glad you have Duke — and that he seems to be coming into his own as Head Hound.
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That’s what he wanted. And when we took him, we both knew that the Scotties were 12, so a young dog wasn’t such a bad idea. He did liven things up quite a bit.
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What a lovely group of furry friends! So sorry about Bonnie’s passing. I hope we all meet again someday.
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It’s funny how “matched sets” of pets seem to die together. We had two Petit Basset Griffon Vendeens (PBGVs) who we got as puppies and died within four weeks of each other. One had massive cancer which we never knew about. She was fine until one day, she wasn’t … and he had a massive stroke. They were paired. They came together and been planned for mating, but we got lucky. I ultimately opted out of the puppy contract because I didn’t feel up to the task. I’m not a breeder. You need to know what you are doing. So instead, we had both of them neutered. Griffon was the love of Tinker’s life. That’s a story for another day. Griffon was such a dog and he broke Tinker’s heart. You wouldn’t think dog’s could do that to each other, but these two did.
Bonnie and Gibbs were not quite as close. We didn’t get Gibbs until he became a rescue when he was 9 — and Bonnie was also 9 by then. But they had that special companionship which very similar dogs often have for one another. I’ve even seen that in cats of the same breed. Some kind of instinctive understanding of each other.
From Gibbs’ point of view, bringing in the Duke was not a good thing. Gibbs needed to be the dominant male, but the Duke was bigger and much younger and he gently but firmly bullied Gibbs and no amount of love from us could make up for his loss of status. Of course, we didn’t go out to find the Duke. My granddaughter brought him over because he had become homeless and she knew we’d never turn him down. It was difficult for Gibbs, but it was, in the end, good for us. Otherwise, we’d be without any pets at all and that would be very hard.
But this is also why I’m iffy about getting another dog. It could be great … but it also could be not-so-great. So right now, Duke is king until we figure out what to do. Maybe when he is older and less energetic.
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It’s a tough decision, for sure. So easy to upset the fur-family dynamics!
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We have so discovered. It’s why I’m not making any decisions and anyway, the price to rescue a dog has gone SO high, most people (including us) can’t afford it anyway. I guess only the well-to-do get to have pets now.
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