Earlier this year I adopted a border collie from the local kill shelter. The info on her card had her age estimated as 9 yrs old. However upon examination by my vet it turned out she was actually at least 11, perhaps 12. She had been picked up as a stray by animal control and when I took her I was told that if I hadn't she would probably have been killed at the shelter on Monday the following week (their weekly euthanasia day). According to the vet's exam she had extremely severe arthritis in her hind legs and had probably been in pain for quite some time - pain to the extent that she moved only when it was mandatory. As a result she had lost almost all the muscle mass in her legs. I brought her home, fed her, loved her and she slept as close to the bed as she could physically get (I have a 14 year old cocker spaniel who has monopolized the majority of the bed since he was adopted at age 13). One day, after a strong rain, Cara slipped on a bare patch of mud in the back yard, fell and broke a leg so close to the hip joint that it could not be set. The only remaining option was to amputate the leg. However because of the pre-existing muscle loss she would not have been able to walk on the remaining 3 legs so I made the decision to let her go while she was under anesthesia from the attempt to set the leg. Cara had been with me for only a month at that time but during that short period she grabbed very strongly at my heart and I will mill her for a very long time.
Even with that I still do not regret the decision to adopt her as during the month she lived with me she was one of the kindest, most affectionate dogs I have ever met. Yes, I miss her but regret at my loving her is not part of that. The only regret is that I could not give her a longer time with me.
The people I fault are the ones who left her in so much pain from the arthritis that she lost the muscle mass to to lack of movement and then turned her out on the streets. Them I'd punish as strongly as I could. Cara was a beautiful dog and I still miss her.
On Dec 30, 2011 Becky Dodge wrote:
Earlier this year I adopted a border collie from the local kill shelter. The info on her card had her age estimated as 9 yrs old. However upon examination by my vet it turned out she was actually at least 11, perhaps 12. She had been picked up as a stray by animal control and when I took her I was told that if I hadn't she would probably have been killed at the shelter on Monday the following week (their weekly euthanasia day). According to the vet's exam she had extremely severe arthritis in her hind legs and had probably been in pain for quite some time - pain to the extent that she moved only when it was mandatory. As a result she had lost almost all the muscle mass in her legs. I brought her home, fed her, loved her and she slept as close to the bed as she could physically get (I have a 14 year old cocker spaniel who has monopolized the majority of the bed since he was adopted at age 13). One day, after a strong rain, Cara slipped on a bare patch of mud in the back yard, fell and broke a leg so close to the hip joint that it could not be set. The only remaining option was to amputate the leg. However because of the pre-existing muscle loss she would not have been able to walk on the remaining 3 legs so I made the decision to let her go while she was under anesthesia from the attempt to set the leg. Cara had been with me for only a month at that time but during that short period she grabbed very strongly at my heart and I will mill her for a very long time.
Even with that I still do not regret the decision to adopt her as during the month she lived with me she was one of the kindest, most affectionate dogs I have ever met. Yes, I miss her but regret at my loving her is not part of that. The only regret is that I could not give her a longer time with me.
The people I fault are the ones who left her in so much pain from the arthritis that she lost the muscle mass to to lack of movement and then turned her out on the streets. Them I'd punish as strongly as I could. Cara was a beautiful dog and I still miss her.