Had to believe but it was 13 years ago today, Oct. 16, 2003 that I lost my soul mate of dogs, He was 4 years and 2 months old. We had gotten Hunter and Kaycee in Oct. 1999 and at 8 weeks I started working on them with leash and collar. He never once tried to fight it. When I started taking them for short walks a couple of weeks later, little scaredy cat KayCee stayed close to my feet, but Hunter was at the end of the leash investigating everything he could. They slept in a mesh play pen on my side of our king size bed until they got to large and then they were in bed with me--and hubby when he was home from the road ( cross country trucker).
Hunter had more patience than any dog or human should have. His sister would torment him to no end, and he did nothing. When we adopted Honey in Dec. 2002, she loved to run behind him and grab a back leg and pull him down. Shen she grabbed his leg, he would just sit down and wait for her to go find something else to do. He as more than willing to share his toes with them and with the grandkids. He would bring his toys and put them on the blanket with the baby and then lay down and watch the little one.
He had a couple fo games he loved to play with me. At night I would say "night night babies" and all the dogs would run down the hall, him leading the way. Buck, our oldest and largest golden slept in a front bedroom I felt safer with him in there as he would let him know if anything was amiss in our front yard. But Hunter, KayCee and Honey slept in our bed. He would get on my pillow and lay there tail wagging and for all the world looking like he was smiling at me. I would put my hands on my hips and say 'Petey, move" and he would move.
He woke me every morning likcing the back of my neck, and my ears, getting it full of slobber. Also slobber in my hair. He always wanted to lick face, arms, neck, etc. He had a wide wet tongue and he slung it around like a wet lasagna noodle. KayCee had a narrow almost dry tongue and she preferred feet and legs. She would even pick at my sox to get me to take them off so she could lick my feet. Her licks were so and deliberate. Honey--she licked whatever area she could get to and her tongue as perfectly dry.;
I could go on and one with stories about him, but that is enough about the things he did. Well, he was never a chow hound and he didn't bother picking up any human food that dropped to the floor--unlike the others. He would eat a little kibble, then go play, come back and eat more, go play. I had to work to keep the other dogs out of his food. He was long and lean at 79 pounds and I called him the Long Lean Playing Machine.
Well, because of the way he ate, or didn't eat, I worried that he might somehow not eat his heart worm prevention pill, so I decided to go with ProHeart 6 for him. He got his injectio0n and then I was standing at the front desk talking to the receptionist and 2 of the techs--with 4 dogs, I knew them all pretty well. One of them said "look at him, he adores he and is listening to every word she says." I looked down and there he sat watching me. Little did I know I had just signed his death warrant, tho I didn't know it at the time.
In short order he was in ICU with autoimmune hemolytic anemia and dying liver. He was there for 8 days fighting so hard. I got to visit with him all I wanted and I went 3 times a day taking him fresh boiled chicken and I could take him outside to do his business and sit and love on him. He had transfusions, all kinds of drugs that are needed to try to sto the AIHA, ultrasounds, blood work every day, etc, etc. But he couldn't beat both and I lost that wonder boy--oh, he and I were going to start Therapy Dog classes in a couple of months--my vet's idea becaue he saw and knew what a gentle soul Hunter was.
Well, I went to the library her in our little town and was shown how to use a computer and I found story after story after story of ones who had lost 1 or 2 dogs to ProHeart6. Thru the stories I found my first dog forum called I-dog and it was huge. And so many stories on there about Proheart6 deaths and bad reactions. IK told Hunter's story and was asked to come to other forums to tell it. My first golden forum was Chat Goldens, and eventually someone there that also belonged to this one asked me to come here and I did in Sept. 2005. At one time I was on 6 golden groups, but now this is the only one left due to FaceBook taking everyone's time.
I love Hunter no more than I loved the other dogs, but there was a bond between us that everyone saw and commented on. All deaths crush me, but I took his even harder becaue I felt I had killed him. That is another story and I will tell it in a follow up post.
Pictures of Hunter and KayCee as puppies. She use to chew on him all the time and he took. He loved the grandkids--that is our grandson who is 3 weeks older than Hunter, and the on the blanket is our oldest granddaughter. One of Hunter on the sofa with our son, and then just a couple of Hunter and KayCee as adults.
Hunter had more patience than any dog or human should have. His sister would torment him to no end, and he did nothing. When we adopted Honey in Dec. 2002, she loved to run behind him and grab a back leg and pull him down. Shen she grabbed his leg, he would just sit down and wait for her to go find something else to do. He as more than willing to share his toes with them and with the grandkids. He would bring his toys and put them on the blanket with the baby and then lay down and watch the little one.
He had a couple fo games he loved to play with me. At night I would say "night night babies" and all the dogs would run down the hall, him leading the way. Buck, our oldest and largest golden slept in a front bedroom I felt safer with him in there as he would let him know if anything was amiss in our front yard. But Hunter, KayCee and Honey slept in our bed. He would get on my pillow and lay there tail wagging and for all the world looking like he was smiling at me. I would put my hands on my hips and say 'Petey, move" and he would move.
He woke me every morning likcing the back of my neck, and my ears, getting it full of slobber. Also slobber in my hair. He always wanted to lick face, arms, neck, etc. He had a wide wet tongue and he slung it around like a wet lasagna noodle. KayCee had a narrow almost dry tongue and she preferred feet and legs. She would even pick at my sox to get me to take them off so she could lick my feet. Her licks were so and deliberate. Honey--she licked whatever area she could get to and her tongue as perfectly dry.;
I could go on and one with stories about him, but that is enough about the things he did. Well, he was never a chow hound and he didn't bother picking up any human food that dropped to the floor--unlike the others. He would eat a little kibble, then go play, come back and eat more, go play. I had to work to keep the other dogs out of his food. He was long and lean at 79 pounds and I called him the Long Lean Playing Machine.
Well, because of the way he ate, or didn't eat, I worried that he might somehow not eat his heart worm prevention pill, so I decided to go with ProHeart 6 for him. He got his injectio0n and then I was standing at the front desk talking to the receptionist and 2 of the techs--with 4 dogs, I knew them all pretty well. One of them said "look at him, he adores he and is listening to every word she says." I looked down and there he sat watching me. Little did I know I had just signed his death warrant, tho I didn't know it at the time.
In short order he was in ICU with autoimmune hemolytic anemia and dying liver. He was there for 8 days fighting so hard. I got to visit with him all I wanted and I went 3 times a day taking him fresh boiled chicken and I could take him outside to do his business and sit and love on him. He had transfusions, all kinds of drugs that are needed to try to sto the AIHA, ultrasounds, blood work every day, etc, etc. But he couldn't beat both and I lost that wonder boy--oh, he and I were going to start Therapy Dog classes in a couple of months--my vet's idea becaue he saw and knew what a gentle soul Hunter was.
Well, I went to the library her in our little town and was shown how to use a computer and I found story after story after story of ones who had lost 1 or 2 dogs to ProHeart6. Thru the stories I found my first dog forum called I-dog and it was huge. And so many stories on there about Proheart6 deaths and bad reactions. IK told Hunter's story and was asked to come to other forums to tell it. My first golden forum was Chat Goldens, and eventually someone there that also belonged to this one asked me to come here and I did in Sept. 2005. At one time I was on 6 golden groups, but now this is the only one left due to FaceBook taking everyone's time.
I love Hunter no more than I loved the other dogs, but there was a bond between us that everyone saw and commented on. All deaths crush me, but I took his even harder becaue I felt I had killed him. That is another story and I will tell it in a follow up post.
Pictures of Hunter and KayCee as puppies. She use to chew on him all the time and he took. He loved the grandkids--that is our grandson who is 3 weeks older than Hunter, and the on the blanket is our oldest granddaughter. One of Hunter on the sofa with our son, and then just a couple of Hunter and KayCee as adults.