I just lost my best friend in the whole world on tuesday night. His name was Red and he was a 7 year old Golden Retriever. He was having labored breathing tuesday morning when i got home from work so i decided that if it didnt get any better then i would take him to the vet to get things checked out on wednesday morning. when i woke up on tuesday evening he still hadnt gotten any better so i decided to stay home from work and i laid down in the floor with him and just held him and cried telling him how much i loved him. i couldnt wait any longer so i called the ER and they told me to bring him in so we got in my truck and off we went. when we got there he was pretty weak so i had to help him out of the truck and once we got his leash on he walked inside like a big boy. then we got into the exam room and the lady wanted to take him back to get him on oxygen because she said she didnt like the way he was breathing. he walked through the door and that was it. he collapsed and stopped breathing. my baby was gone. she said that he was bleeding internally so after some research i am coming to believe that it was cancer. i had never even heard of hemangiosarcoma until now. he was acting fine the day before. we even went for a ride, something that he loved to do. then he didnt want to eat anything which is not normal at all for him, he loved to eat too. anyway i was having a really hard time with this because he was my first dog that was mine and i felt so guilty that maybe i didnt do enough but i really did every thing i knew how to. he was happy the day before and then it was just so sudden. i miss him so much and so does his best buddy cody, the labrador retriever. Cody seems to be depressed and i just feel so bad for him too. i have been thinking of getting another golden already because i just love them so much and cody could really use another friend but how soon is too soon. their eyes just melt my heart or at least reds did. i kind of feel guilty for even thinking about getting another but i could never replace red. he will always be my baby boy. View attachment 121753
Hi Joey
I am so sorry your lost your best friend. Many of us on this forum have lived through the hell you are now going through. I don't have any magic words to ease your pain, I wish I did. Please go to the rainbow bridge section and post in the grieving part of it. There are many who have lost their heart dog to cancer and we all understand how you feel. Pictures of your boy when he was healthy would be nice. Feel free to post as much as you need to, we are all her to listen and help if we can.
I just lost my best friend in the whole world on tuesday night. His name was Red and he was a 7 year old Golden Retriever. He was having labored breathing tuesday morning when i got home from work so i decided that if it didnt get any better then i would take him to the vet to get things checked out on wednesday morning. when i woke up on tuesday evening he still hadnt gotten any better so i decided to stay home from work and i laid down in the floor with him and just held him and cried telling him how much i loved him. i couldnt wait any longer so i called the ER and they told me to bring him in so we got in my truck and off we went. when we got there he was pretty weak so i had to help him out of the truck and once we got his leash on he walked inside like a big boy. then we got into the exam room and the lady wanted to take him back to get him on oxygen because she said she didnt like the way he was breathing. he walked through the door and that was it. he collapsed and stopped breathing. my baby was gone. she said that he was bleeding internally so after some research i am coming to believe that it was cancer. i had never even heard of hemangiosarcoma until now. he was acting fine the day before. we even went for a ride, something that he loved to do. then he didnt want to eat anything which is not normal at all for him, he loved to eat too. anyway i was having a really hard time with this because he was my first dog that was mine and i felt so guilty that maybe i didnt do enough but i really did every thing i knew how to. he was happy the day before and then it was just so sudden. i miss him so much and so does his best buddy cody, the labrador retriever. Cody seems to be depressed and i just feel so bad for him too. i have been thinking of getting another golden already because i just love them so much and cody could really use another friend but how soon is too soon. their eyes just melt my heart or at least reds did. i kind of feel guilty for even thinking about getting another but i could never replace red. he will always be my baby boy.
Hi there,
So sorry that you have lost your best friend I know exactly how you are feeling, we lost our golden Daisy 10 months ago and it devastated us, as have many others in the rainbow bridge section. Just hang in there, it'll take time for you to start to feel better. There's no set time when you feel ready to get another, some find it's the best thing for them immediately, others can take years. Hugs to poor Cody too, he must be missing Red lots!
Definitely stick around on the forum, we all understand your pain and it has helped me so much since losing Daisy having somewhere to come and write about her.
I am so VERY SORRY about Red - it sounds like he had hemagiosarcoma-it can be very fast!
RED knew he was loved and no you could never replace him, but I know how much you and Cody miss him. My hubby and I have always adopted another dog right after we lost one, but everyone is different.
I am so sorry you lost your best friend. I too lost my golden Fletcher to hermangiosarcoma last month. This is how I found this wonderful forum. It was a very similar situation to what happened to Red....feeling fine and then all of a sudden wouldn't eat and had difficulty breathing, pale gums. The one comfort I get from this is that I didn't have to watch him suffer and slowly die from the cancer....apparently with hermangio, by the time symptoms present themselves it is too late to do anything. I didn't have to decide when was the right moment to say good-bye.
Everyone grieves in different ways....as far as how soon is too soon...it is up to you. I plan to get another golden in the summer due to timing but if I could get get one now I would. You are not trying to replace Red....you have a lot of love to give another golden and there is no shame in that so please be gentle on yourself.
So many people on this forum have been down this path and it has helped me to read their stories. They are wonderful.
I am so sorry for the sudden loss of your dog. I know it feels like someone stuck a knif into your gut and keeps twisting it. It has been 5 months since my Allie died and it still hurts everyday. I just had to get another dog right away. For me and my other dog. It helps but doesn't take away the pain of the loss. It is just such an empty feeling. Time has begun to heal me but I still cry. I am just so sorry and I feel your pain. Hugs..
Very sorry for the loss of your beloved Red. I know that this loss is more terribly, because of his young age and loosing him so suddenly! I HATE Hemangiosarcoma.
I do understand, we lost our Bobby the same way. One day he was playing with our granddaughter and that evening he had dinner (ate slow) got sick about 3 hours later. I went to bed and my DH woke me and said he thought Bobby was dead, he was still alive but a very sick dog. I took him to the ER and after many test he was DX with hemangiosarcoma. We let him go that News Years Eve and as you said I thought I did something wrong. You didn't do anything wrong except love Red.
I am so sorry for your loss of your dear boy Red. I lost my beloved Rhett to hemangio just over 4 months ago. You will be in our prayers that you can find peace and comfort in this difficult time that you're going through right now.
Run free and play hard dear Red, my beloved Rhett and many other of the Golden friends are waiting for you at the Bridge.
I am so very sorry for your loss, seven seems too young. Everyone grieves differently, and if you think you're ready for another GR in your life, then go for it.
I am so very sorry. I am sorry you had to come to this forum under such sad circumstances.
I lost my golden girl, KayCee, at 8 yrs 9 months to a differenct kind of cancer, a gastroinstestional stromal tumor. She was fine one day, playing with her best friend, our adopted godlen girl, Honey. The next morning she didn't want breakfast and threw up. I took her to the vet--twice she had cuaght in bug and got dehydrated, so if she ever threw up, I took her straight in.
Turns out he could feel that tumor in her somache--he operated, but was surprised she made it thru the surgery. She died as I held her in ICU 48 hours later. I felt so guilty becaue she laid on her back next to me at night and I gave her tummy rubs all the time and I had not felt that tumor. He said if you didn't know what to look for, you wouldn't find it, that he wished all his clints were as carfeful and took care of their dogs the way i do. So I know all to well that these things happened and there is no way we could know or prevent them.
As for getting another, I hve always been one who could not go long long at all without a dog. It is like a big chunk of my life is missing, or a something, if I do not have a dog. It makes me sick to think that Honey will probably be my last dog as I have a lot of health problems and am 67 and I do not not wish to leave a dog for someone to find a home for.. Some people can not even think about another dog for months, or even years, many are "ready" to fill the void as soon as possible. And you are right---no dog EVER REPLACES another. Your heart just grows to allow as much love for the new dogs as for the one you lost.
Your boy was such a beautiful boy, or perhaps I should say handsome. My he find my many dogs already at the Bridge waiting on me. They will be happy to show him around. It is a mixture of English ssetters (lost my first one back in '56), Irish Setters and golden retrieves.
I am so sorry for your loss of Red, he was a beautiful boy. Try not to be so hard on yourself or second guess what you did or could have done.
I lost my boy in Feb. 2011 at the age of 15.5, he had a very good life and a long one. We were blessed with the time we had with him.
You can never replace your boy, he was very special and unique, but you can choose to love another Golden and fill your life with much needed joy. After I lost my boy in Feb., I adopted a young male in March, he has brought joy and love back into our lives.
I hope your pain will ease with time, you will be able to find peace, and choose to love another Golden again.
I'm so sorry. I lost my Bear to hemangio just over 5 months ago.
I did get a puppy shortly after I lost Bear, but I was planning on it even before she died. I knew she had hemangio and only had a short time left, I'd been thinking about getting a puppy before she was diagnosed and her diagnosis actually pushed me into moving forward with that decision.
To me it's not a replacement, as you can't replace something you love. It's just loving something new. I also did it to help my 12 year old lab, knowing he'd be lonely without Bear. I love the new girl with all of my heart, but she's not Bear and I don't expect her to be Bear, she's Kenzie and deserves to be loved as Kenzie.
I am very sorry for your loss of Red. I know how hard it is, lost my heart dog 18 months ago and still have tears, lots of tears and some painful days. We loved them so much, that's why it is very hard to lose them. Your boy was beautiful, still young and losing him so sudden make the loss even worse. Will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.
Run free, play hard, sleep softly sweet Red, you will never be forgotten.
I also want to add, please don't feel guilty. Hemangio is a silent cancer. Most people never know their dog has it until the end.
I had 2 months with Bear after her diagnosis.
She didn't eat breakfast one morning and seemed lethargic, that's why I took her to the vet that same day. She never showed any symptoms before that day. I left a few hours later with the diagnosis. Once they have it, it's already too late. There are some lucky owners who get some time, even my 2 months was longer than many get.
I'm so sorry. My heart aches for you. We lost our Simon boy to hemangio and I know exactly how you feel. Again, I'm so very sorry.
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