Beautiful weather today and managed to get all the kids (and step-kids) over for a very happy morning. Unfortunately, Henry has been unwell for a while with many issues including both rear legs suffering nerve damage, immobility and this week he’s been hiding away in my parents garden at night, so the vet came out..
He passed away today and its obviously been a very emotional day for all involved, but I’m glad he’s no longer in pain..
As my daughter said, he was always happy, never even growled at anyone and will be greatly missed. RIP Henry
Our special boy, Coco passed yesterday and man, this is going to be hard.
We rescued him at 7 and he made it to 12 and a half years. People keep telling my it's a good age, but for the breed, it's not really. They frequently go to 15+.
He was the best thing that happened to us and it's going to be so unbelievably shit not having him around anymore. He had so much character and was bursting with energy. Such a special dog.
But a few weeks ago it all came crashing down. A week after having his annual jabs and check up (all fine) he was suddenly diagnosed with diabetes. This came after having a rough 24 hours where he was drinking water like no tomorrow and weeing everywhere.
We got him on insulin but I don't think we were administering it very well as his blood glucose remained high.
But we didn't have time to adjust the dose, or adjust the injecting routine, as he became extremely unwell 3 days ago. He was being sick and wouldn't eat or drink anything. He was unsteady on his feet, which is so scary to see. Especially for such an energetic, fast paced dog.
Went to that emergency vet at midnight. Blood test confirmed pancreatitis, liver damage, and she also found a heart murmur. He now needed treatment for multiple chronic conditions, and I was happy to do it. Anything to make him better.
We collected him from the emergency vet. He actually seemed worse. On top of the physical ailments, he's now distressed and utterly worn out.
We took him home and he plopped himself in the garden in the sunlight. We called a mobile vet who came and put him to sleep. It was the most dignified ending at home and the vet was the nicest chap.
It's going to be hard losing him as he's family member. But I'm already battling the overwhelming feelings of guilt about his condition.
They vet says that dog diabetes is a complex illness, but the raw facts can't be denied. He was overweight. Approx 13kg, which is a lot for a German Spitz. He came to us at 10/10.5 kg and guidelines for the breed state 8/12kg.
We didn't measure his food stringently but it was broadly commensurate with guidelines for the animal weight. He also rarely had treats and didn't particularly like dry food and would frequently leave all of it. He also enjoyed a lot of walks and play time.
His weight was in the back of my head, but he didn't look fat and was able to tear around like he always had. Plus, until now, he'd been so healthy - literally never going to the vet and never needing treatment for anything. So, I thought I'd let him crack on if he's happy and healthy. But I should have been more serious about his weight, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
RIP. Dogs don't live long enough. Can't believe I won't hear him trotting around anymore.
Alex88 wrote: Fri Apr 18, 2025 8:12 am
Thanks Ian. I just scrolled further up the thread and saw your post. RIP Henry. Hope yourself and family are doing ok.
Thank you. We have another dog so haven’t had the empty house feeling although other dog was off food for a couple of days.. picked up Henry’s ashes and planned to scatter them at some point next week on his favourite walk.
You inevitably search for answers at this point - trying to make sense of a situation that is so painful. Unfortunately it's a fruitless effort.
Quite a lot of people like dogs.
A subset of those like dogs enough to own them.
A far smaller subset of those are willing to rescue a dog that's been with someone else.
And a tiny subset of those are willing to rescue an older dog.
Massive props to you and your partner for giving Coco the life he had. Sounds like he had a ball. Unfortunately it only hurts so much 'cos of the mutual bond you created. RIP Coco.
Sorry for both your losses, I know what’s it’s like. We haven’t been able to open Chicos ashes yet, just not ready. Have to say, rescuing our Coco was the best think we did. She’s a totally different personality to Chico but she fills up the house. I’m currently in Malaga and missing taking her for walks!
Thanks guys. I'm sorry about Chico, Zonda. I get how you're feeling.
Appreciate the words, Mik. I had an attachment to him that I've never had with an animal before so feeling crushed. I know the guilt is one part of the emotional journey, but we all look back and wonder what we could or should have done. It's a fruitless effort as you say.
Going to try and celebrate his little life this weekend. Hard as it is.
Questioning yourself is a silly thing to do, you feel what’s right at the time and run with it. Dogs rarely give signs of distress so if it was zooming around and happy then you gave it a happy life.
Plus, with fluffy and smaller dogs it’s hard to say when they are overweight, we were told Flash was overweight every vet visit but he had 3 ribs on show and looked great. Just being heavy doesn’t mean overweight.
Putting the pup to sleep in the garden, absolutely the best ending possible given the circumstances, nicely done.
To be fair we often said that his coat disguised his weight (like that picture above from 6 months ago). Looking back at pictures, he was obviously plump, but I never thought he was fat and he never seemed hindered at all by his couple extra kg. This is why I allowed him to carry on despite the vet telling me that we should think about cutting his weight a bit. But it never felt like a serious concern.
Like you say, you do what feels right at the time and until his sudden illness, he was having a great time. There were subtle clues that have given me retrospective suspicion that he had a grumbling, mild illness, but he was also getting on a bit, so didn't want to take too much from it.
Yeah I'm relieved he went at home in his own space and in his garden. The sun was literally shining on his face through the trees as he nodded off and let out his last breath. I then drove him to the pet crematorium in tears.
I couldn't bear the idea of picking him up and driving to a vet practice and doing it there. And the vet who came round made a point of ensuring he was completely sedated before administering the final dose. I'm grateful that it is was so peaceful.
But thinking about it, if he had to go, I'd rather he enjoyed life on his terms and went suddenly. He was never the type of dog to be stringed along for a couple of extra years on special food, jabs, endless appointments, not being able to play anymore, etc etc. He was definitely all or nothing.
Last edited by Alex88 on Fri Apr 18, 2025 8:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
RIP Coco, you gave him the best life possible. I wouldn’t overthink the diabetes. My previous dog wasn’t overweight but got diabetes at the same age. I couldn't understand why.
Thanks Mito. I appreciate that and I do think we gave him the best time. He went from being trapped in a house with an old lady, not treated very well, then dumped at Wood Green when the owner found a new dog, to then coming home with us.
He immediately settled in and then all our lives changed for the better.
I didn't know you had a dog with diabetes. It's awful, isn't it. And I'm inclined to agree with you re. The weight - apparently half of all dogs are overweight or obese, but half of all dogs aren't diabetic. I think the vet is right that it's a complex disease and no single thing causes it. It was just his time.
