# Our newest addition



## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

Here's our little guy we just got last night. He's a stray and we're currently fostering him until I can convince my wife to keep him permanently; which shouldn't be too hard.


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## kg333 (May 19, 2008)

Cute dog. :smt023 I think he's going to get bigger though, if those paws are any indication.

KG


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## Cope's Distributing (Feb 24, 2009)

nice looking dog he looks like he has pit in him or boxer very cute he will be handsome


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## Wandering Man (Jul 9, 2006)

Congrats on the new family member.

WM


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## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

I'm guessing he'll be 50-60 pounds when he's done. For some reason the paws look bigger in the picture than they really are. He's pretty skinny right now and needs some definite nourishment. I'm thinking part pit, and so did the vet, with God only knows what else. So far he's been nothing but a big mush and wants to play and cuddle. And he's already taken really well to his crate!


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## BeefyBeefo (Jan 30, 2008)

Adorable! Congrats. :smt023


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## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

*RIP Chance*

Had to put the little guy down tonight. He was only 8 weeks old. He started throwing up last night and was very lethargic and wouldn't eat or drink today. So I took him to the emergency clinic tonight and they tested him for parvo, http://www.workingdogs.com/parvofaq.htm . He tested positive and my heart sank. My choices were spend hundreds for at-home treatment, that had about a 50% chance of working and the fun that went along with it (more vomiting, bloody diarrhea, etc); spending somewhere in four digits for hospitalization, or euthanasia. I didn't like the odds of the at-home option and it wouldn't have worked juggling two kids and a really sick dog, I don't have $1000+ for hospitalization, so I had to take the third option. I only had him 4 days, but since I am at home all day, he was with me for 96 hours straight, and I got really close to him and he was pretty attached to me. I'm totally torn up. Case in point, it's 12:30 in the morning and I'm crying into cyberspace. My wife keeps trying to remind me that if we didn't have him, he'd be out loose somewhere suffering from the parvo and that we gave a him a good four days of love and shelter that he wouldn't have had; but it's not much consolation. He was such a lovable little guy that just wanted to cuddle and be petted, and even though I only had him a very short time, I'm going to miss him tremendously. Here's the last picture I ever got to take of him today while he was out in the back yard. RIP Chance.


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## undrgrnd (Jul 10, 2008)

poor pup. its hard losing a dog to parvo. we lost an entire litter once. as for you todd hope thing will get better for you with time. seems like he was a good pup.


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## TOF (Sep 7, 2006)

Sorry to hear of your loss Todd. You did what you could.


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## kg333 (May 19, 2008)

Sorry to hear that...it's harder when it's a young dog like that. 

KG


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## Wandering Man (Jul 9, 2006)

You have a brilliant wife.

You gave him a wonderful home and a peaceful end.

Your children have learned a hard lesson about life and death.

And they have learned about the very human emotions of compassion, empathy, love, and sorrow. 

You and your brilliant wife are modeling how to cope with the painful side of life.

Prayers for you as you greive.

WM


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## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

Thanks guys. I'm still pretty messed up right now, but I'm hoping that having to prep for our upcoming FL trip on Friday will keep me distracted. I never thought that I would become this attached so quickly and I'm feeling guilty in the fact that we could have saved him if we had the money; it wasn't like he had an inoperable brain tumor. :smt086


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## dave33 (Mar 13, 2009)

Man that just plain sucks. Hopefully your grief will end soon. At least you were able to take him in and show him some love for at least a little while. Fear not though, all dogs go to heaven.


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## BeefyBeefo (Jan 30, 2008)

Sorry to hear about this, _Todd_. This really makes me sad. I love dogs, but I do not have one. I couldn't have one while growing up (parents allergic), and it would cost too much for me at the moment. Believe it or not, my girlfriend already have a breed and a name picked out.  This is the one thing that scares me the most about owning a dog - the thought of one day losing it. I won't let this stop me, but I know it has to be tough. As short as it was, the amount of time you had Chance is irrelevant. He became a part of your family for that short time. You showed him love and he returned that love. He lived a wonderful few days under your care, _Todd_. Your wife couldn't be more right. He would have been much worse off without you there to save him. You're a good man for having taken in a stray in the first place. I wish you the best. RIP Chance. :smt1099


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## Tuefelhunden (Nov 20, 2006)

Bummer Todd. That is not fun. We have had to put a few pets down and it hurts. Your wife is right though and you guys did your best. Better than him suffering for few more weeks in the street all alone. We have 2 fuzz ball adult Golden Retrievers and when one of them goes it will be a bad scene indeed. Thats the down side with pets especially dogs. They give so much in their short lives and are one of the family. In our case we don't have children so they are the kids. Truely sorry for your loss.


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## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

Thanks again guys. We're all doing pretty well now, though he still will be missed. My older son wants another dog (and so do I), so after we get back from vacation we are probably going to hit the animal shelter for an older pup or dog that has had all his shots as well as have a vet perform a titer test to make sure the next dog has the antibodies. We're also talking to a vet friend of ours to make sure we've done everything we can to not hand another dog a death sentence if he comes here as apparently the virus can live for a month inside and 5 months to a year, depending on who you believe, outside. We've cleaned up pretty thoroughly and there were very few places the dog pooped (since he wasn't eating and was dying), which is how the disease could be spread to the next one; so the house and yard should be OK for another dog that has had the vaccinations.


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## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

Good luck bud, you know what they say, an ounce of prevention...

Sorry to hear about the other doggie. God Bless.

Zhur


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## jimmy (Feb 3, 2009)

Hi Todd, I am sorry and wish you the best. I really understand how you feel..When I first opened the thread and started reading it today, I was happy for you and the dog looked so cute..Then as i was scrolling down, i read the harsh news, and my first reaction was "I wish I didn't open that thread"..This is my feeling and I only saw him in the picture, so your feeling must be 1000 times more since you brought him home and spent some time with him..Life is hard and sometimes throws a curve ball at you..But being a beleiver, you just have to dust your clothes, stand up and move forward..I am sure that with the little time you spent with the dog he was happy..and this will be reflected in your life at some time..

Take it easy Todd..and my sympathy and sincere wishes for a quick emotional heeling.

-Jimmy


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## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

I'm still bummed about it, but am starting to feel better about my decision. Chance was picked up with two other puppies and one of them starting showing symptoms the same night. That lady did elect to start the treatment and the puppy ended up dying anyway. So I may have prevented him a few extra days of suffering. The third puppy did not show symptoms, but was brought to the vet anyway after hearing about Chance and the other puppy, and did test positive. They treated him and he is expected to make a full recovery. I guess since he wasn't as advanced and he got the treatment earlier than the other one, it worked out. 

A couple good things have come out of it all though. One is my renewed interest in being a dog owner. I've always liked dogs and we had a Golden Retriever before we moved to NC. Because we didn't know what our living situation was going to be like and my son was entering some new therapies, one of his therapists on FL offered to take the dog. That was three years ago, and while I missed the dog, I didn't realize how much I missed just the general companionship that a dog has to offer; even if it's just hanging out in the same room with you. I've also decided to be a better dog owner. I picked up a couple of Cesar Millan's books yesterday and although I am only 50 pages in to the first one, I've already learned a few things about how a dog thinks and also some things that we did wrong with our first dog in regards to training and probably would have repeated with Chance. So hopefully, this will all work itself out in time and even though he was only with me a few days, Chance may have taught me something about myself and set me on a path to gain some new information.


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