Had to put my girfriend's dog to sleep

**Bryan** · 10-26-2011, 09:07 AM

She got him her senior year at UNC. He was the runt of the litter, yipped all the time and was a little goofy so she named him Wojo. Never cared for the name but he was a good dog. He would bury his head in your chest and keep pushing it in as your scratched his sides. At night he would just plop down at the end of the bed and sleep but if you got up in the night he would take your warm spot. She was his baby.
Saturday we woke to find him breathing hard. We watched him and he returned to normal. He ate and all seemed well. We woke Sunday to find he had thrown up all over the bathroom and kitchen. When the contents of his stomach were all gone, he threw up a thick mucus. We took him to the vet. They ran some test and kept him overnight. She took yesterday off and was at the vet in the morning. It was peritonitis. They could treat it but were worried about a thickness in his side. She took him to another vet who did an ultrasound. When he saw the image all he could say was "I'm sorry." There was a "significant" tumor near his leg. We talked to our vet and decided to have one last night with him. He laid beside her all night and was alert. This morning we took to say goodbye to her dad who kept him when she was out of town. We brought him to my place so he could see my dog Willie who loved to chase and wrestle with him. They laid beside each other and Willie licked behind Wojo's ear. He knew. He had never done anything remotely like that before.
It was time to take him to the vet. We were taken into a room and told to take as much time as we needed. She put him in her lap and told him he was a good dog and that she loved him. She kissed his head and said she couldn't watch her dog die. I told her I would stay with him. I took Wojo and gave him a few pets and told him goodbye. The vet came in and I laid on the table. I rubbed behind his ears and kept my eyes on his as the vet injected him. Then he was gone. I drove her back to her place and when we went inside it hit me. He wasn't there. His bowl was there. His chair. His leash is hanging on the hook but he will never be back. 9 years she had Wojo and now he is gone.
Show your little guys some love tonight. I know some people don't understand being upset about a dog but they become part of your family. Goodbye Wojo.

**swarez** · 10-26-2011, 10:30 AM

Oof that's rough. Sorry to hear man. Dags are awesome.

**B-DROID** · 10-26-2011, 10:36 AM

Ugh, that sucks. Sorry to hear that. My dag will get some extra fetch time tonight for wojo.

**Lojack** · 10-26-2011, 10:45 AM

Man that is really sad. I have had to do it a couple of times but where I live the vet comes to your house but I could never watch, too sad.

**strawberryluna** · 10-26-2011, 11:24 AM

i just hugged my lil girl super hard.

that's just so hard and sucky. so sorry. Wojo sounds like he was a great friend. i love a dog that snuggle-hugs like that. it's really tough and heartbreaking, but i am SO glad that you held him through the end.

when we had to do this with our last dog, i was destroyed with guilt and heartbreak, and then friend of mine said it's the last gift we can give our best friends, and she's totally right.

dogs are magical.

**squeegeethree** · 10-26-2011, 11:49 AM

Recently my parents wonderful 16 month old Golden Retriever died (despite a lengthy operation) because it ate one of my Mom's nightgowns.
Wish I had a dog but smallish apartment + kids = not enough room.

**MEANS** · 10-26-2011, 12:17 PM

Man that sucks, (the name is great too!) i had to do the same with my Sheltie a while back, I did the same thing you did, stayed with him until the end, came outside to see my parents both crying and I just lost it too. tough tough day I will never forget.