saying goodbye to my old mare

[oreocookie713]

Nina your point is well taken. It's just so hard to hear people putting down their animals friends and there's nutting they can do to help. I myself own a dog and a quaker parrots and i cant imagine what i'd do...just hang in there..i dont own a horse but im sure theyre stunning animal...are you getting another one soon? how hard is it to care for a horse? can they be potty trained? if you find these questions inappropriate at a time like this i apologize...sorry for your loss!!!!!

[Nina51]

like i said, i hope you never have to face this decision but if a time comes when your dog gets old and infirm, or your parrot has become ill beyond hope, you will hopefully know it's time to end his suffering. i could see it in my old dog's eyes, he was ready to go and although it ripped my heart out, i had to listen to his wishes.

same thing with chips. she was ready, she's been telling me for the past few weeks. when she had trouble rising after a nap, when she could no longer chew a carrot and had to have marshmallows for treats instead, when she begged to go out to the alfalfa field because hay was just too difficult for her to chew. all of these things were her way of telling me, it's time. as hard a thing as this is, it is, without a doubt, the last act of love we can show our devoted furfriends.

lol, if horses can be potty trained, i'd love to know how! i would market that idea and i'd be rich rich rich!

horses are not at all hard to care for, at least not for me. but then, i've had 30 years of experience. i won't be getting another horse. i actually already have another one. that would be tuffy, he's 26, i've been owned by him since he was 5. i've been out to see him several times today. he's been standing at the fence and vocalizing. i know he misses chips but this will pass in a day or two. horses are like that.

thank you for your sympathies. messages from everybody here have meant the world to me. i'm okay with this, i just know i'll miss her terribly but she's happy now. nina

[filishy]

Nina,

I am with you as I completely know the pain and you're going through. I have had to make the same decision for two of my former dogs in the past and it is probably the hardest things I have ever done.

I am really, really sorry but it is better for us to go through the pain of terribly missing our friends and companions, than to see them suffer.

Mary.

[crzy4reefs]

nina i'm so sorry for your loss......i lost my cat this month he was roughly 20 yrs old i only had him for a few yrs (adopted him) and it was hard to see him go but like you said you know when it's there time. he wasn't put down the vets were all closed this happend suddenly.....he died in my lap as i was petting him. and animals know when one of there friends are gone.......sorry for your loss................
shanna

[Nina51]

crzy, i'm sorry for your loss also. i think i remember you posting about your kitty.

exactly mary!! you hit the nail right on the head. i have had to watch chips go downhill for the past year or so. it was coming to the point that i knew if i let it go any longer, she would have been miserable. i couldn't sit by and watch that happen.

to all who have posted, thank you from the bottom of my aching heart. kind words, thoughts, prayers are all i have at this point. those and the wonderful memories of a beloved companion. chips was more like a big puppy dog than a horse and she will be sorely missed.

to all who have lost a beloved pet, my heart, what's left of it, goes out to you. nina

[keckles]

Sorry to hear about your loss

[abfleck]

Sorry to hear the bad news............good luck!

Fleck

[CrystalAZ]

I am very sad to hear about Chips.

You obviously loved your horse and I know you did the right thing, although it had to be a tough choice to make.

I have 6 cats and 2 dogs and I dread the day I have to make that decision.

Crystal

[Nina51]

just wanted to thank everybody from the bottom of my broken heart. this whole ordeal has been much more bearable since i have been able to come here off and on and read all of the heartfelt messages you folks have left.

yes crystal, it was a tough but necessary decision. that sweet old horse would not have made it easily through another cold illinois winter!

we must all look at our pets sooner or later and many of us will have to decide when the time is right to end their suffering, be it from illness or old age. as my dear sweet vet told me, this was the last act of love i could show chips. it was comforting to me to be able to be there for her, her head in my lap as he gave her that final injection. she's in a better place and now i will get on with my life and remember all of the wonderful times she and i shared. i'll see her some day, of this i am sure. nina

[Drano]

Ninapearl, you have my sympathy to add to those already here. A good friend of mine lost her horse last year --suddenly-- the horse was not old. He lay down and was dead within hours, despite the efforts of the vet.

Your beloved companion lived 36 years; that is a wonderful long life! You were wise to end it humanely. I hope that your younger horse does well too.

*hugs*

gayle

[fishinchick]

Nina,

I am glad you have the courage to put her to rest before the quality of her life deteriorated. I have a friend that kept her horse well beyond what the horse deserved with multiple ailments and leg problems. I felt very bad for that horse.

A couple years ago I had to put down a particular favorite of mine due to kidney failure. She could have been saved had people been more on the ball when I made my observations and said she wasnt feeling well and the vet was less of a jackass.....

[Mmaggicc2]

Nina, You have my sympathies. Thirty - six years is a wonderful old age for a horse..she was well cared for and loved. Mary

[chiliaddik]

Nina....How are you doing? Just wanted to check in with you.

Tanya

[Nina51]

tanya, how sweet you are. i'm okay with it. i miss her like crazy because she was ALWAYS at the gate when i do morning chores at 5:30 a.m. she would nicker up a storm when she saw me coming. my gelding isn't as vocal although he's still glad to see me. of course, he knows he's gonna get fed.

chips, on the other hand, was happy to see me 'cause, well, she just loved seeing me! she loved attention and especially loved scratches behind the ears. i have so many wonderful memories of her and i'm looking forward to the day when i can look at pictures without wiping away the tears.

i would be remiss if i didn't take the time to mention my vet. he retired back in october and when i called him early monday morning just to ask him what i could expect when the new vet came out, he started to explain the procedure to me and then just said he'd come. i was so thankful, he has seen me through so much joy and heartache and was here when i had to have my old husky put to sleep last year. he's one of a kind and i consider him a dear friend.

thank you for asking, it helps to know others remember! nina

[chiliaddik]

Nina.....that was so awesome of your vet to do that, and to care enough to come out of *retirement* to be by your side with Chips. I know it's not easy having to make the *decision* for our pets. It was nice to hear from you. Things will get easier in time. Hugs! We are always here for you!

Tanya

[Nina51]

thanks again tanya! i really truly helps to know you have us in your thoughts. you would have loved chips!

yes, my "retired" vet is the most wonderful man i know, next to mr. nina he's been with me through thick and thin, never once complained when i called him away from a football or basketball game on a sunday afternoon to treat a sick horse, always took the time to explain every single thing he was doing, he's just a great great guy! he did not charge me when we had to put a goat down a a couple of years ago. he did not charge me when he came out to the farm to put our dog down last year and he did not charge me to send chips over the rainbow bridge. how's that for devotion?? nina

[finding nemo]

Oh my, I am so so sorry for you and the loss of your beloved mare. This has brought back so many memories of my mare Patches. She was 34 when I had her layed to rest here on the farm. She continued to suffer from arthiritis in her legs and the last week of her life she could no longer get up, she layed in her manure and urine for that week and I did the best I could to keep her cleaned up and fed while she was down. I just couldnt take it anymore and layed her to rest. I had her grave ready and was able to bury her here in her favorite pasture.
My Heart hurts for you and I know that yours is breaking now. But she is with my beloved patches and all of the other horses that have gone before her, running thru fields of green and kicking up there heals, waiting for us to ride them once again.
Hugs to you,
Dont grieve for me, for I am with you always.
My beloved Patches and me in high school in 1972.

[Nina51]

awww nemo, what a sweet pic!! so sorry to know you've been through this but as with chips, your patches must have lead a wonderful life to make it to such a ripe old age!

we'll see our girls some day. i'm happy knowing chips is running free of pain and when the time comes and we are reuinited, it will be a great day!! nina

[finding nemo]

Morning Nina, yes they are together now, romping and playing in the fields. If you need a shoulder , pm me ok. I know the pain you are in. Karen