I'm not that bizarre to bury my wife in the yard! I have thought about these things could a body just be left in the woods... but alas that grave is for my dear dear Bacchus. Yesterday may 30 was a tragic day for me. My wife and son left early to complete weekend plans in NYC. They never do this. It was extremely unusual to have them leave Ct on a Friday reverse commute to the city and they took a hired car. Why did this happen this way? I feel some cosmic intervention. It was about 11:45 and Bacchus had refused some food which is always a warning sign. He looked out of it again the way he did a week ago when I'm sure he had his second stroke. I had to go to the market in town and then get some lunch to bring back from the local place and I left him here at around 12:15 he was on the carpet. I came back at 12:40 and between those times (very short) he had an episode. I found him splayed out unable to walk and having peed on the carpet. It looked like he had dragged himself away from where he went to the bath room. I rushed over and said get up! get up! and his front legs were not working. Now I have a very large animal who cannot move at all. Already he has been knuckling on his back legs. Now is when things got a little crazy.. I dragged him upstairs and pushed him into the shower he could sit so he had some strength left- now that I think back this it the ritualistic bathing of a corpse but at the time I just wanted to get the pee off this proud animal's belly. I got him into the bed and he was lying forward with his head hanging over (also not a good sign) I forcefully turned him around and he lay on my chest one last time. I feel guilty I didn't prolong these moments but he let lose with a big fart and I was like oh man he's going to crap in the bed now. So I lifted him off the bed and again he could not walk. I had to carry him down the steps and like a maniacal idiot drag him outside where he lay on the ground there- I was completely freaking out. Then i dragged him back inside and lay his head on a pillow and he did some face grimaces, some twitching like behavior and then he rose up, stuck a paw straight out like Elon Musk and collapsed hard back. His tongue was almost black. I knew he was dying. Then he just quietly stopped breathing. Bacchus was gone. I panicked. I looked up some vet up here he has never been to and was going to race over there an hour before they closed - for what? I don't know I was freaking out but there was a level of relief. I could not go on with him unable to walk i would of had to put him down and that's something that would of destroyed me mentally. As it was I was probably about to have a panic attack when I heard the mower start up.- My grounds guy Kurt he was here on a weird day usually Thurs is mow day he was here on Friday and at an unusual time to boot midday. I ran out and waved him in and Kurt was going to do CPR something I never even thought of as I watched Bacchus die. Kurt leaned in to check the breath and put his ear on his side-- nothing. My baby was gone. It struck me then- we're burying him here in Ct where he loved to be. Not burning him up and losing the ashes over the years- I've got my parents in urns somewhere lost in closets. and my first Dog Clyde I took his ashes to Fire island where they are now completely overgrown and intertwined with some septic tank... Together with Kurt we dug a big hole and I wrapped Bacchus in a bed sheet and I put his bowl with a piece of chicken and a sweet potato his two favorites and his leash and a chewy toy and a marrow bone and I buried my best friend. It's a lot to take in and it happened so fast. That dog was smiling as recently as this week. I read online that if your dog has multiple small strokes they don't usually make it past 3. This was his third one. I feel guilty for feeling relieved in some ways. It was going to happen and it happened in a good safe place. This July 17 Bacchus would of turned 11. For all of you who have come to know Bacchus through my babbling know I did my very best. You probably will not see the boisterous stonedinvestor for quite a while. I still want to post but getting excited about gains and mourning losses and being number 1 that all I have lost. I'm just an average guy now without a dog. He's the reason I leave the house at all! 4 times a day I meet people in NYC and now I feel very alone. Of course I have my wife and son to lean upon but a big part of my life-energy died yesterday as well. ~stoney
When the boisterous Stoney is ready, we'll start a new thread. It'll be the best one yet. For now, we all grieve for the loss of your best friend. Hang tough Stoney, Bacchus would expect no less.
Sorry for your loss. This thread won't be the same without the Bacchus updates. Just know we are here grieving with you.
What a beautiful dog... and holy cow.... that property(!).... saaweeet! That is really nice Stoney. I bet when you get a lot of rain, that creek really swells. It's Connecticut so I know there's no way in the world you could get away with it without a dozen neighbors screaming bloody murder... but I'd build a little damn and put in a small hydroelectric generator with batteries for power storage if for nothing else than to save (using the batteries) and power outdoor security lights when you're not there. There's a lot of kinetic energy in that stream. That place is beautiful Stoney. Not how I pictured it. It's a beautiful property.
Sorry to hear about Bacchus..I enjoyed hearing the stories we all have about our pets. May he rest in peace.