Long dog story; not entirely OT!
05-21-2004, 05:58 PM
#1
Race Car
Thread Starter
Long dog story; not entirely OT!
I promise, there's a twist that keeps this from being totally OT! It's a long and sad story thoughand it is 99+% OT, so don't start reading if you aren't interested.
It was mentioned in a thread a couple weeks ago that we had to say good bye to a wonderful companion. Misty was a great dog and she live a long (17 years) and happy life but her age caught up to her and she had to be put down.
We were unsure weather we wanted another dog in our lives right away but within a few days we knew we were miserable, without a canine family member the family was incomplete. Misty had come from an animal shelter and we decided that we would honor her memory by sharing our home with another homeless dog. The shelter she had come from had no dogs listed that fit what we were looking for so last Saturday we decided to go meet a few dogs. When I was in HighSchool my family had a Shih tzu, I prefer larger dogs but I have a soft spot for this breed so when was saw a Shih tzu puppy listed with a shelter a half hour away we decided to take a look. There were a bunch of people waiting to see this dog when we got there, we filled out an application to adopt her (along with a few dozen other people) but I didn't really feel that this was the right dog for us. Though I knew our application would be approved, I also knew that a good number of the others would also be approved and the odds weren't in our favor. We decided to spend a few hours checking out some other area shelters. The next one had 3 dogs that fit what we wanted but none of them really struck me as THE dog. We ended up stuck in traffic on the way to the next stop, all of a quarter mile from the shelter that Misty had come from, my wife talked me into stopping there even though the website didn't make it look too promising.
We took a look at the dogs they had and 2 of them caught my wife's eye. They had been brought in together and looked to be Flat-coated Retrievers, about 4-6 months old, a male and a female. We asked about them and found out that they had only been there a week or so and hadn't even been given names within the shelter yet (Misty came with the name), nobody knew much about them other than that they were friendly and seemed to be good with kids.
Good with kids was our #1 requirement so we asked to meet them and they were brought out to a large play area. They were both great dogs and we would have loved to take them both home but unfortunately we are really a one dog household. As we were trying to decide between the two of them, the guy who had brought the dogs out to us came back to tell us that they had been given names after all, Ren and Stimpy!
I'm not a big cartoon fan but my wife liked the female and I instantly knew that an extra 'n' was the solution (I told you there was a tie-in!), we filled out an adoption aplication for Ren, soon to be Renn!
It was then that we found out that she wasn't ready to be adopted yet, puppies are held longer than adult dogs and she wouldn't be available for adoption until Tuesday. Further, the policy was that they wouldn't hold an animal, even thought our aplication would be aproved by then it would be first come first served on Tuesday and they had seen cases of people waiting 6+ hours before they opened to adopt a certain dog. There hadn't been any previous interest in this dog so we weren't too worried but I was there 3 hours early on Tuesday.
Renn was ours, the only thing was that all dogs had to be fixed before they could be adopted and since she wasn't technically available before this her vet appointment was in the afternoon, she would be spayed and should be ready to go home the next day. (we knew about this part already but wanted to be the first on Tuesday to make sure we got her) I was told to call in the afternoon to check exactly when she would be able to be picked up. When I called, I was told that she'd had a bit of a fever (cause unknown) and she was being treated for it and would probably have to wait an extra day for her operation. I was told to call back again the next day (Wed) to check on her. I called on Wednesday and found out that the fever had actually been pretty high. She was being treated for it and was improving but she would probably spend the rest of the week at the vet's, come back to the shelter for the weekend and then go back to the vet's on Monday to be spayed. This meant that she would probably be ready to come home with us next Tuesday, but I should call Friday to check and make sure everything was going as expected.
We went out that night and bought dog toys and puppy food.
The shelter is only open to the public from 12-4 so this afternoon I called to check on Renn, I found out that , sadly, she didn't make it. They don't know what she had and will probably do an autopsy to find out. She had been improving but suddenly took a turn for the worse and couldn't be saved. We had all been looking forward to bringing her home and I had been anxiously awaiting the right time to write a much happier "not entirely OT" post.
I'm not so much posting this because I want to tell story to a group of people who have been there when I needed them in the past, as I am to ask a question. The person I spoke with mentioned that Renn's brother Stimpy is still available if we were interested and I'm not sure what to do. He seems to be healthy and was altered on schedule last Tuesday. They do want to hold him for observation to make sure he doesn't have whatever it was that his sister had, we didn't discuss how long they would hold him for observation. He has been removed from the adoption list for us until Sunday afternoon so that we have time to think about it. We spent an hour or so last Saturday with both of them and they were both great dogs, I would have taken both of them home then and there if I could have. We chose the female for several reasons, the name was the final thing but I've always had female dogs and am partial to them, my wife's family has always had male dogs, Misty was her first female. As for the name, they didn't respond to them yet so that could be subject to change, I can't see keeping the name Stimpy but Renn seemed like it was meant to be. Size was also an issue, this breed was as large as we want to go and we thought the female wouldn't get quite as large (there was already a noticable difference in size between the two of them), this isn't that big a deal. I'm 90% ready to say we'll take Stimpy but my wife has reservations. She's afraid we'll get him home and something will happen. We lost Misty a couple weeks ago and feels like we lost another dog today, it's not something we want to go through again in the next decade. As I've always felt that this board has it's collective head on it's shoulders, I'm curious as to what input you all might have. The choices seem to be, adopt the male (and change his name, or not, I haven't even ruled out the posibility that he could become Renn since I think it makes a great dog name) OR start the search over, OR just give up (we might be bad luck for dogs or something). Sorry for the length and for the 99.7% of it that's OT.
It was mentioned in a thread a couple weeks ago that we had to say good bye to a wonderful companion. Misty was a great dog and she live a long (17 years) and happy life but her age caught up to her and she had to be put down.
We were unsure weather we wanted another dog in our lives right away but within a few days we knew we were miserable, without a canine family member the family was incomplete. Misty had come from an animal shelter and we decided that we would honor her memory by sharing our home with another homeless dog. The shelter she had come from had no dogs listed that fit what we were looking for so last Saturday we decided to go meet a few dogs. When I was in HighSchool my family had a Shih tzu, I prefer larger dogs but I have a soft spot for this breed so when was saw a Shih tzu puppy listed with a shelter a half hour away we decided to take a look. There were a bunch of people waiting to see this dog when we got there, we filled out an application to adopt her (along with a few dozen other people) but I didn't really feel that this was the right dog for us. Though I knew our application would be approved, I also knew that a good number of the others would also be approved and the odds weren't in our favor. We decided to spend a few hours checking out some other area shelters. The next one had 3 dogs that fit what we wanted but none of them really struck me as THE dog. We ended up stuck in traffic on the way to the next stop, all of a quarter mile from the shelter that Misty had come from, my wife talked me into stopping there even though the website didn't make it look too promising.
We took a look at the dogs they had and 2 of them caught my wife's eye. They had been brought in together and looked to be Flat-coated Retrievers, about 4-6 months old, a male and a female. We asked about them and found out that they had only been there a week or so and hadn't even been given names within the shelter yet (Misty came with the name), nobody knew much about them other than that they were friendly and seemed to be good with kids.
Good with kids was our #1 requirement so we asked to meet them and they were brought out to a large play area. They were both great dogs and we would have loved to take them both home but unfortunately we are really a one dog household. As we were trying to decide between the two of them, the guy who had brought the dogs out to us came back to tell us that they had been given names after all, Ren and Stimpy!
I'm not a big cartoon fan but my wife liked the female and I instantly knew that an extra 'n' was the solution (I told you there was a tie-in!), we filled out an adoption aplication for Ren, soon to be Renn!
It was then that we found out that she wasn't ready to be adopted yet, puppies are held longer than adult dogs and she wouldn't be available for adoption until Tuesday. Further, the policy was that they wouldn't hold an animal, even thought our aplication would be aproved by then it would be first come first served on Tuesday and they had seen cases of people waiting 6+ hours before they opened to adopt a certain dog. There hadn't been any previous interest in this dog so we weren't too worried but I was there 3 hours early on Tuesday.
Renn was ours, the only thing was that all dogs had to be fixed before they could be adopted and since she wasn't technically available before this her vet appointment was in the afternoon, she would be spayed and should be ready to go home the next day. (we knew about this part already but wanted to be the first on Tuesday to make sure we got her) I was told to call in the afternoon to check exactly when she would be able to be picked up. When I called, I was told that she'd had a bit of a fever (cause unknown) and she was being treated for it and would probably have to wait an extra day for her operation. I was told to call back again the next day (Wed) to check on her. I called on Wednesday and found out that the fever had actually been pretty high. She was being treated for it and was improving but she would probably spend the rest of the week at the vet's, come back to the shelter for the weekend and then go back to the vet's on Monday to be spayed. This meant that she would probably be ready to come home with us next Tuesday, but I should call Friday to check and make sure everything was going as expected.
We went out that night and bought dog toys and puppy food.
The shelter is only open to the public from 12-4 so this afternoon I called to check on Renn, I found out that , sadly, she didn't make it. They don't know what she had and will probably do an autopsy to find out. She had been improving but suddenly took a turn for the worse and couldn't be saved. We had all been looking forward to bringing her home and I had been anxiously awaiting the right time to write a much happier "not entirely OT" post.
I'm not so much posting this because I want to tell story to a group of people who have been there when I needed them in the past, as I am to ask a question. The person I spoke with mentioned that Renn's brother Stimpy is still available if we were interested and I'm not sure what to do. He seems to be healthy and was altered on schedule last Tuesday. They do want to hold him for observation to make sure he doesn't have whatever it was that his sister had, we didn't discuss how long they would hold him for observation. He has been removed from the adoption list for us until Sunday afternoon so that we have time to think about it. We spent an hour or so last Saturday with both of them and they were both great dogs, I would have taken both of them home then and there if I could have. We chose the female for several reasons, the name was the final thing but I've always had female dogs and am partial to them, my wife's family has always had male dogs, Misty was her first female. As for the name, they didn't respond to them yet so that could be subject to change, I can't see keeping the name Stimpy but Renn seemed like it was meant to be. Size was also an issue, this breed was as large as we want to go and we thought the female wouldn't get quite as large (there was already a noticable difference in size between the two of them), this isn't that big a deal. I'm 90% ready to say we'll take Stimpy but my wife has reservations. She's afraid we'll get him home and something will happen. We lost Misty a couple weeks ago and feels like we lost another dog today, it's not something we want to go through again in the next decade. As I've always felt that this board has it's collective head on it's shoulders, I'm curious as to what input you all might have. The choices seem to be, adopt the male (and change his name, or not, I haven't even ruled out the posibility that he could become Renn since I think it makes a great dog name) OR start the search over, OR just give up (we might be bad luck for dogs or something). Sorry for the length and for the 99.7% of it that's OT.
05-21-2004, 06:33 PM
#3
Pro
Join Date: May 2001
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 674
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Dave,
As much as I want to say go for Stimpe I'm afraid the best thing would be to either wait a considerable time to verify that he also wasn't infected or look for THE dog elsewhere. Bringing him home to Joseph and then losing another dog.... well that's just too much to even consider. My sister's a Vet and more or less runs the new West Caldwell Emergency hospital.
As much as I want to say go for Stimpe I'm afraid the best thing would be to either wait a considerable time to verify that he also wasn't infected or look for THE dog elsewhere. Bringing him home to Joseph and then losing another dog.... well that's just too much to even consider. My sister's a Vet and more or less runs the new West Caldwell Emergency hospital.
05-21-2004, 06:49 PM
#4
Three Wheelin'
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Pasadena, CA
Posts: 1,476
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't care if this is an OT thread or not.
Wait a few days for the dog to show no signs of problems then bring him on home. Enjoy him. He's the same genes as his sister - a dog you were ready to spend the next 10 -15 years with. Save him from the needle!
I have an 11 year old Lab mix and adopted an 8 week old male Lab pure bred puppy. I have struggled with this now 10 month old male. He's young, he's more "alive" than my older dog..but I know my older dog won't be with us forever and didn't want to g othrough the withdrawal you are going through. Take Stimpy (Renn?) home, get John D. to send you a BIG Rennlist sticker and cut off the "list" part...put it on his bowl and, of course get him a Guards Red or Speed Yellow collar. He'll love it. -Dan
Wait a few days for the dog to show no signs of problems then bring him on home. Enjoy him. He's the same genes as his sister - a dog you were ready to spend the next 10 -15 years with. Save him from the needle!
I have an 11 year old Lab mix and adopted an 8 week old male Lab pure bred puppy. I have struggled with this now 10 month old male. He's young, he's more "alive" than my older dog..but I know my older dog won't be with us forever and didn't want to g othrough the withdrawal you are going through. Take Stimpy (Renn?) home, get John D. to send you a BIG Rennlist sticker and cut off the "list" part...put it on his bowl and, of course get him a Guards Red or Speed Yellow collar. He'll love it. -Dan
05-21-2004, 09:58 PM
#5
Addict
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Dave,
Is Renn the dog you mentioned in the PM a few days ago? Before i give you my theory, im meeting andy sunday at around noon regarding that pm.
since august i found out one friend with liver cancer had done all they could do for him (39), another was diagnosed with colon cancer and is now crapping in a bag and getting chemo (39), another was murdered on his front lawn, and the gal that grew up around the block from me was buried while here three kids watched (42).
the moral is life is too short to live in the future. gotta live for today. something i still have a hard time doing. sometimes we have to go with our gut. i met my wife on line, and we both gambled by meeting without sending pictures. my hair is greying as i try to figure where the $ is going, and why i am in deficit spending, yet you know what i am looking at as i go through my third or fourth midlife crisis.
you see where this is going. if you bonded with stumpy as in stump puller which is kinda fitting for a big dog (oh, that view was already altered, but still it works), then take him home, let your son enjoy him, and if something happens deal with it then. in the meantime, enjoy the moment. we have too much to worry about.
oh, and wish maria a happy BD for me.
Is Renn the dog you mentioned in the PM a few days ago? Before i give you my theory, im meeting andy sunday at around noon regarding that pm.
since august i found out one friend with liver cancer had done all they could do for him (39), another was diagnosed with colon cancer and is now crapping in a bag and getting chemo (39), another was murdered on his front lawn, and the gal that grew up around the block from me was buried while here three kids watched (42).
the moral is life is too short to live in the future. gotta live for today. something i still have a hard time doing. sometimes we have to go with our gut. i met my wife on line, and we both gambled by meeting without sending pictures. my hair is greying as i try to figure where the $ is going, and why i am in deficit spending, yet you know what i am looking at as i go through my third or fourth midlife crisis.
you see where this is going. if you bonded with stumpy as in stump puller which is kinda fitting for a big dog (oh, that view was already altered, but still it works), then take him home, let your son enjoy him, and if something happens deal with it then. in the meantime, enjoy the moment. we have too much to worry about.
oh, and wish maria a happy BD for me.
05-22-2004, 01:36 AM
#6
Race Director
Re: Long dog story; not entirely OT!
Originally posted by Dave
...OR just give up (we might be bad luck for dogs or something).
...OR just give up (we might be bad luck for dogs or something).
Last edited by Geo; 05-22-2004 at 10:03 AM.
Trending Topics
05-22-2004, 04:21 AM
#8
Rennlist Member
I say get the NEW RENN and enjoy the life of the dog for what it is. Take a chance,cuase youll never know unless you do it!!! Good luck....and make sure you get a red collar!!! -chris
05-22-2004, 10:44 AM
#9
Race Car
Thread Starter
Thanks for the input, it's helping to clear my head.
Anders, Sorry, but I did warn you. you don't have to worry about the other forums since this is the only one I frequent. I don't visit the OT forum or I would have posted there. This forum is the community that is familiar to me.
Al, Is that the place on Bloomfield Ave a few doors down from the tile place? If so, Misty was there a few months ago late on a sunday night. We didn't think she'd be coming home (she was given 6 months after the removal of a tumor, 4 years ago) but it proved to be minor and the vet who saw her said she was actually in great shape. I couldn't help thinking that at 17, just standing is pretty good shape. I'm glad we got a few more months with her and his comment helped to put my mind at ease since she was a little arthritic and I wasn't sure if her discomfort was enough for her to be put down yet, he assured us that it was minor.
Fty, Don't worry about needles, it's a no-kill shelter. OTOH adoption from this shelter opens up a space so that another dog can be saved from a needle. Weather we decide to adopt the brother or adopt a different dog, it will probably come from this shelter.
Tom, Maria said "thanks!" Yes Renn was the dog I mentioned. I may be able to break free for an hour or two tomorrow mid-day (somewhere between my parents departure and us heading to her parents), I'll PM my cell # to you. If you want an extra set of eyes give me a call when you cross the river and I'll try to meet up with you guys.
We're not really sure yet what direction we will go in. Although as Geo said, 17 years isn't bad luck, it sure seems like May '04 is a change following a long run. We are going to the shelter this afternoon to visit with Stimpy and dicsuss the medical issues with the management. I think some more detail about the situation and what is being done might put our minds at ease. They did indicate that they would be observing the dog for a period of time before he could go home with anyone and I assume that there will be an extra visit or two with the vet. Finding out what caused Renn's demise would certainly help too. I'll let you all know how it goes.
Anders, Sorry, but I did warn you. you don't have to worry about the other forums since this is the only one I frequent. I don't visit the OT forum or I would have posted there. This forum is the community that is familiar to me.
Al, Is that the place on Bloomfield Ave a few doors down from the tile place? If so, Misty was there a few months ago late on a sunday night. We didn't think she'd be coming home (she was given 6 months after the removal of a tumor, 4 years ago) but it proved to be minor and the vet who saw her said she was actually in great shape. I couldn't help thinking that at 17, just standing is pretty good shape. I'm glad we got a few more months with her and his comment helped to put my mind at ease since she was a little arthritic and I wasn't sure if her discomfort was enough for her to be put down yet, he assured us that it was minor.
Fty, Don't worry about needles, it's a no-kill shelter. OTOH adoption from this shelter opens up a space so that another dog can be saved from a needle. Weather we decide to adopt the brother or adopt a different dog, it will probably come from this shelter.
Tom, Maria said "thanks!" Yes Renn was the dog I mentioned. I may be able to break free for an hour or two tomorrow mid-day (somewhere between my parents departure and us heading to her parents), I'll PM my cell # to you. If you want an extra set of eyes give me a call when you cross the river and I'll try to meet up with you guys.
We're not really sure yet what direction we will go in. Although as Geo said, 17 years isn't bad luck, it sure seems like May '04 is a change following a long run. We are going to the shelter this afternoon to visit with Stimpy and dicsuss the medical issues with the management. I think some more detail about the situation and what is being done might put our minds at ease. They did indicate that they would be observing the dog for a period of time before he could go home with anyone and I assume that there will be an extra visit or two with the vet. Finding out what caused Renn's demise would certainly help too. I'll let you all know how it goes.
05-22-2004, 02:25 PM
#10
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Hey Dave-
Did the first Renn die from complications from the neutering, or was it something else? Since Stimpy (change that name--it's horrible) survived the fixing, and you liked him too...I say go for it. I agree with what Tom said (live for today). If Renn#2 is healthy...it's a no-brainer. End the search, pick him up, and see what happens.
See you tomorrow (maybe).
Andy
Did the first Renn die from complications from the neutering, or was it something else? Since Stimpy (change that name--it's horrible) survived the fixing, and you liked him too...I say go for it. I agree with what Tom said (live for today). If Renn#2 is healthy...it's a no-brainer. End the search, pick him up, and see what happens.
See you tomorrow (maybe).
Andy
05-22-2004, 03:36 PM
#11
Race Car
Thread Starter
Just got back from the shelter.
Renn was given anesthesia for the surgery and her temperature was then found to be high so the surgery was canceled. She seemed to be recovering for a day but then took a drastic turn for the worse. The prevailing theory is that she had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia. Stimpy will not be available for adoption until after he visits the vet next Tuesday afternoon, he has had all his shots and been fixed but the shelter wants him checked over again to be sure he's OK.
Pending approval by the vet, we will adopt him on Wed. but he's going to need a new name (he does not respond to Stimpy yet anyway).
I still think Renn makes a great name but it would be a little wierd giving him the name of his departed sister (I could probably get over it but my wife isn't as sure). The question has now become what to name him. Should we go with Renn or something else? Maria has already vetoed Ferdinand as well
. Any ideas?
Renn was given anesthesia for the surgery and her temperature was then found to be high so the surgery was canceled. She seemed to be recovering for a day but then took a drastic turn for the worse. The prevailing theory is that she had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia. Stimpy will not be available for adoption until after he visits the vet next Tuesday afternoon, he has had all his shots and been fixed but the shelter wants him checked over again to be sure he's OK.
Pending approval by the vet, we will adopt him on Wed. but he's going to need a new name (he does not respond to Stimpy yet anyway).
I still think Renn makes a great name but it would be a little wierd giving him the name of his departed sister (I could probably get over it but my wife isn't as sure). The question has now become what to name him. Should we go with Renn or something else? Maria has already vetoed Ferdinand as well
. Any ideas?
05-22-2004, 05:35 PM
#12
Addict
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Originally posted by Dave
Just got back from the shelter.
. Any ideas?
Just got back from the shelter.
. Any ideas?
we are supposed to be at the guys house around 12:30-1:00
05-22-2004, 06:43 PM
#13
Race Car
Thread Starter
Actually Tom, since I brew, there's a german word for dark that I thought might fit a black dog pretty well 
At this point, she likes Porter, Monk, and Barley. I still like Renn.
At this point, she likes Porter, Monk, and Barley. I still like Renn.
05-22-2004, 07:36 PM
#14
Burning Brakes
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Houston,Tx. Texas GreaseSlingers
Posts: 949
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Best of luck with the new addition to the family.
My .02 would be since the other one never came home with you using the same name would be OK.
Or how about "Rennster" or perhaps "Cayenne" maybe "Turbo"...
Whatever you decide, pets rule, and give us all, that unconditional love and understanding that only small furry aliens can.
My .02 would be since the other one never came home with you using the same name would be OK.
Or how about "Rennster" or perhaps "Cayenne" maybe "Turbo"...
Whatever you decide, pets rule, and give us all, that unconditional love and understanding that only small furry aliens can.