Ursa our eveready dog has to go

I got Ursa on May 2 1992, she was 9 days old. I was dragged along by a neighbor to their friends house and all the little kids were playing with her. I noticed that she was not getting any rest, so I put her on my lap under my cap. The kids older brother told me that the mother only had her and that he was going to put her down the next day with his 22. That resolved everything for me. I stuck Ursa in my jacket pocket and took her home with me. She has been one of the most loyal dogs that I have ever had. She is the only dog that I trained to jump into my arms. At 6 she was diagnosed with Lymes disease and after a cortizone shot she suddenly developed Lupus. At 8 she went from a jet black to a brindled black and white. Now she is almost all white, the disease that caused her to change coat color is Cushings disease, a tumor on the base of the brain , it is behind the tale of a person seeing a ghost and having their hair turn white. The last week has been a down ward spiral for Ursa. She has more trouble getting up and cannot walk more than 6 feet and she has to stop and get her breath, the lupus makes her very thirsty. We do not want her to suffer this discomfort anymore so we called the vet and he will come to our house and put her down tomorrow in the late afternoon. She would have been 15 on the 24th of April. We love her very much. We know that we are doing the right thing. Today I dug a 5 foot plus deep grave for her and tomorrow we will build a casket for her, that way we can bury her right after the vet leaves.

Here are some pictures of Ursa and my other dogs. Ursa when she was black.

I'm sorry I forgot the picture. Ursa when she was black. Ursa 4 years ago. Chelsea , Ursa and Oshota in the back of my rl the day after I bought it.

The last picture is from 5 1/2 years ago , The dogs are clockwise from the top, Oshota, Chelsea. Ursa and Heidi. Heidi passed away 4 years ago to Pancreatitus, Oshota we let go last June 23 to a spinal disorder. Chelsea will be our only dog after we let Ursa go. It is going to be lonly here. This is my favorite picture of Oshota, Ursa and Chelsea. No , Chelsea and Ursa are not related, Ursa is a McNab/German Shepherd mix and Chelsea is a McNab/Jack Russel mix. I will have Chelsea for a long while yet, she just turned 6 in January.

I am kind of lost today and keep forgetting to finish what I start. Here is my favorite picture of Oshota, Ursa and Chelsea in our driveway. This was 3 years ago. All my dogs are buried at the same level in the yard. I dig down till I hit a hard layer of sand that is just shy of being sandstone. It has layers of rust in it from a tsunami that hit the coast 700 years ago, it even smells like the ocean.

Before anyone mentions it, yes I do know Rainbow Bridge, very well. I pass it on to my friends and neighbors that have lost a pet, I even gave one to the vet and they have it posted on their bullitin board. This time tomorrow I will be reading it and will definately shed some tears. Tomorrow we will treat Ursa as if she were a queen, it is her last day and she deserves the best. Tonight she got steak cut into cubes and tomorrow we will give her boneless chicken breast for her meal. I am going to plant a Dragons Claw Willow tree over her grave, it is also called cork screw willow or walking stick willow.

Man, I've been where you are before & I feel for you.

Our Ursa was a white shepherd-husky cross & he lived to be 14 1/2 yr old. He was a great dog, but we had to put him down due to kidney failure.

I dug a hole just like yours beside the white azalea next to my shop. I even used an aluminum ladder. That was a long time ago. Thanks for helping me remember my old friend.

I know how hard it it to say goodbye to a beloved pet. They are so much different to us than our human friends. My heart goes out to you. The many fond memories of Ursa will help you through the difficult time ahead and provide great recollections for the rest of your life. Hang in there - I'm thinking of you.

Only dog lovers understand why you did all you did. Let me share a story. A Little old lady asked a holy person if her beloved FiFi would be in heaven with her. They replied that God said that we would be eternally happy in heaven. She said she could never be happy without FiFi. Soo.

I'm very sorry to hear about your dog. I just lost one of our dogs about a month ago that we had for 12 years. It's very tough to go thru. Hang in there and remember the good times you had with your dog. But, it's very tough. Our dog had kidney failure as well.

Your in our prayers

Oh, Martin, what a sad time you are having. My heart goes out to you. Your Ursa is a special soul. Getting her at nine days old bonded the two of you together in a profound way. Dogs know when they have been rescued, I am convinced of that. Every rescue we've ever had has been supremely loyal and a grand member of the family.

You may count your blessings at getting her to such a ripe old age, despite her serious medical conditions. She did the best that any dog could do, she gave her entire life to you.

I know tomorrow will be a hard day for you. I will be thinking of you. I know it's not going to be that long until I will count on you doing the same for me with my older dog. Shimmer is showing her age. . .

Give Ursa extra hugs from your ROC family. She is a queen.

Martin, I also feel your pain. Our Ursa (collie-shepard), who accompanied us on camping trips all over the USA, died many years ago. She is buried in our back yard, along with the other dogs in our family who visited us, enjoyed their lives and enriched ours, and then departed.

Nikki (samoyed-golden retriever), Sara (chocolate lab), Hershey (mutt), Tandlyn (collie-shepard), our son's dog, Bob (black lab-chow), Ferguson (mutt).

Gone but never forgotten...

I built Ursa's casket today and now we just have 3 hours till the vet arrives. This is so hard, I started to cry while I was building it for her, when one gets a puppy so young, they become so much a part of you, just like a child. I did not think I would be taking this so hard, she is my partners dog because when I brought her home I already had 2 dogs and he did not have any. But she is still my baby girl. I am going to miss her so much, I am already crying so I know I will be worse when it comes to let her go. This is the third dog that Chelsea has watched me dig a grave for and I can tell that she knows what I am doing. This will be the fourth grave for dogs that I have dug in less than a year, two of ours and two of my clients and that does not include my pigeon, 2 of my rabbits and 2 chickens and a rooster. I really hate being an undertaker, I do not know how they take it, they must have a high suicide rate. I will put a copy of rainbow bridge in with her, her food bowl, a large bottle of water, food, treats, a couple of tennis balls, her collar and her blanket. We will put a 1992 dollar coin in her grave on top of her coffin for the year when she was born. Thank you all so much for being there for me in this tough time .

Martin

Oh, Martin. I have been thinking about you off and on all day. I knew this would be a tough day for you, but I had no clue that you weren't having the vet over until so late in the day. We did a "scheduled" euthanization one time. It was very weird and hard knowing that it was Whiskers' last day on earth, digging his grave the day before, as you did.

You have lost too many animals this last year. Going from four dogs down to one has got to be very odd too. Chelsea will get lots of love and attention in the coming days.

Thanks for taking the time to check in. I'm sharing your sadness on this day.

Thank you Pam and every one else for your support in this difficult time. It was weird knowing that she would be going and digging her grave and building her casket in advance. The vet is a very humane vet, Dr. Trobutz gave her a shot to cause her to fall asleep and then he gave her a large dose of the euthanasia drug and she was gone in 7 breaths. We put her in her casket with all of her supplies and laid her to rest in the front yard that she loved so much and planted a dragons claw willow over her. I thought that I would be balling my eyes out, but right now I feel relieved that she will no longer be in any discomfort or pain. Chelsea is an odd dog, she watched the whole procedure. She is very aware of what is happening around her at all times. She gave Ursa a kiss before the vet put her down. Ursa went to Rainbow Bridge at 5:36 pm.

If any one doubts the bond possible between someone and their longtime companion, they have but to read your thread, Martin.

I am so sad for you at this rough time. Time will lessen the hurt.

Fifteen years ago this spring, around the Easter holiday, I found myself too, digging a grave for our beloved rescued cat, Valentino. Valentino got his name from a heart-shaped patch of black on the side of his completely white fur. I brought him home to my fiance, at the time, for Valentine's day. He had a very "human" personality except that he loved to fetch things like a dog, for me, and me alone. We became very close. He would wait for me to showup at the door every day after work, and coincidentally, loved to jump up my leg into my arms when given "the signal".
When he died unexpectedly, I took it pretty hard. I never would have thought that I'd miss the little things that transpired between him and I throughout each day. Burying him with his belongings and "our fetch toys" was one of the toughest things I've ever had to do. Many tears, many tears. I'm glad you have Chelsea there with you, and she is lucky to have such a goodhearted and understanding master.

Take care of each other,
Frank

Martin,

Sorry for your loss. I am sure Ursa is in a better place now, living without pain, and waiting to see you again.

I have a hard time reading posts like these, as my old cat will turn 14 in a couple of months, and he has been my best Buddy every since college. Similiar story to yours, I saved him from a friend of mine who was going to shoot him the next day, due to he was a stray kitten living under his trailer. Funny things is I did not even like cats, but could not stand to see it killed being only a few weeks old, and on it's own.

Now I cant imagine him not being around.

Wherever I go, he is their. But alas, the years are starting to take a toll on him, and while he is still mostly healthy, his eyes are no longer clear, but instead covered with catarats, not as agile, and he sleeps so much more. I know the day will come when I will be going through losing my best friend also, and hate the thought of him not being there to greet me each morning, and follwoing me to bed at night.

I know one thing for sure, Ursa could not have had a better friend on this earth. Remember the good times, and I know Ursa appreciates what you did and was glad you were their for the last journey.

I could not sleep last night and finally fell asleep around 4 am. Earlier , I checked on Chelsea and I could swear she was sobbing, I did not know a dog could sob. That set me off and I started to cry. All night Chelsea kept going to all of Ursa'a favorite spots in the house and would lay down there and mope. She moped when Oshota had to go last year too. If Chelsea seems lonely in the next 4 weeks or so , I may break down and get a new puppy or young dog. The house was so quiet without Ursa's light snoring or her panting as she would walk from room to room. She also insisted on sitting in front of a running fan all the time so we always had fans going in three different locations to keep her confortable, now we don't need to run them all the time. Ursa had one favorite food that was unusual for a dog, she loved tomatoes, though she would eat just about anything, she was never picky. Chelsea on the other hand is extremely picky, she has to have her food seperated into small bites and no two different ingredients mixed or touching each other in her dish, and her favorite food is steamed white rice with no seasonings, she will even eat the rice before any kind of meat.

This is the Dragons claw willow that I planted on Ursa's grave, I put her in the middle of a new garden area that I am working on in the front yard. The front yard was her favorite place to go . I have many plants that I started that are ready for planting in this new garden.

There's no doubt in my mind that dogs mourn for their furry siblings, or humans if they are so unfortunate to get left behind us. I'm not surprised that seeing her reaction was the thing that made you break down.

You don't have the only tomato loving dog. Our dogs both like them, but with Shimmer it's more like ecstacy. Her eyes roll back and she savors them. It's the only food that makes her do that.

You know your dogs well and take superb care of them, even after they go. If I get reincarnated, I'd like to be your pet.

We had a day of heavy wind and hail today, the kind of day good for going through old photos. I found some pictures of Ursa when she was younger, like 2 and 3 years old. One can see the same McNab body build in Ursa as well as in Chelsea. It is still hard to adjust to Ursa not being around, we had been helping her get along for well over a year, maybe more like a year and a half. Oshota's illness came as a surprise and so did her having to go, we were already prepared to let Ursa go, not Oshota. Ursa was the old one with a long list of illness's. When these pictures were taken I lived in the mountains in homemade tent on 26 acres, we lived in the tent for 2 years till we saved enough to build a structure. We raised livestock and vegetables.

The first picture is Ursa at 6 years old, the second is Oshota and Ursa at 2 and 3, the third is Oshota at 12, Ursa at 13 1/2 abd Chelsea at 4, the fourth is Ursa at 2 and Oshota at 1; they hated and loved each other, the last is a picture of the 14' by 14' tent I built and we lived in for 2 years with Turkey Lurkey, Oshota and Morgan; Oshota was 2 and Morgan was almost 12. I had a whole managerie on that property and was an assistant bird breeder for the property owner. I was in animal heaven.

I have'nt been online for a few days so this is the first time I've seen this post. I feel so sorry for you my heart hurt when I read your post:( Pam and I have 7 dogs and at least 5 cats buried on our place. And I still miss each and everyone of them. And as Pam stated our old girl is getting up there, we also have a cat who will be 18 this year. We are already dreading when we have to do this again. Our younger girl is going to take it hard also, they've been buds for the last 4 years. Once again I feel your pain I have tears for you as I write this:(

I got Ursa on May 2 1992, she was 9 days old. I was dragged along by a neighbor to their friends house and all the little kids were playing with her. I noticed that she was not getting any rest, so I put her on my lap under my cap. The kids older brother told me that the mother only had her and that he was going to put her down the next day with his 22. That resolved everything for me. I stuck Ursa in my jacket pocket and took her home with me. She has been one of the most loyal dogs that I have ever had. She is the only dog that I trained to jump into my arms. At 6 she was diagnosed with Lymes disease and after a cortizone shot she suddenly developed Lupus. At 8 she went from a jet black to a brindled black and white. Now she is almost all white, the disease that caused her to change coat color is Cushings disease, a tumor on the base of the brain , it is behind the tale of a person seeing a ghost and having their hair turn white. The last week has been a down ward spiral for Ursa. She has more trouble getting up and cannot walk more than 6 feet and she has to stop and get her breath, the lupus makes her very thirsty. We do not want her to suffer this discomfort anymore so we called the vet and he will come to our house and put her down tomorrow in the late afternoon. She would have been 15 on the 24th of April. We love her very much. We know that we are doing the right thing. Today I dug a 5 foot plus deep grave for her and tomorrow we will build a casket for her, that way we can bury her right after the vet leaves.

Martin,

I am so sorry that you had to do this. I don't even want to think about it with our animals. I'm glad that she had a peaceful end and such a wonderful life with people who obviously loved her very much.

A friend of ours made this pillow for us with a printable fabric, she knew how much we loved our dogs. I found Chelsea asleep with her teddy bear and the pillow this morning. I imagined her dreaming of Ursa and Oshota at Rainbow Bridge.

That is such a sweet photo.

Wow. Dude, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. My family experienced a loss last year on August 31st when our Rat Terrier, Mowgli, was killed by a rattlesnake. Mowgli was trying to save our other dog who had been bitten in the side, and he got bit in the face at least three times. We had him snake trained, but our rescued dog Sparkle was in danger and he felt he needed to save her. He did. He died three hours after getting bitten, and Sparkle survived.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c144/My03Tundra/Family%20Pets/Mowgli-in-Bed.jpg

Here is a video of Mowgli
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c144/My03Tundra/Family%20Pets/th_CLIP0009.jpg (http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c144/My03Tundra/Family%20Pets/?action=view&current=CLIP0009.flv)