Message #481949

[t-dog]

You know, I am about to lose the best catch dog that I've ever been in the woods with. Not just because he's mine or because he is from my line of catch dogs but because he is just awesome. He is eat up with cancer. We have more than a couple hunting memories. I didn't hunt him at all through this past summer as he is nearly ten years old. He's the dog that is out running loose when I am home and there isn't a step that I make that I don't have to look first to make sure I'm not fixing to step on him because he is gonna be right with me. It's a love love relationship. About six weeks ago, our next catch dog had a cut that was about a week old but still sore. Vegas spoke up and it was cold so I loaded him. It was like he had been hunting everyday, he didn't miss a beat. Handled like a dream and caught perfect. As I was loving on him, I found some lumps in his throat. Today I will have to put him down because he has stop eating, can't breath very good, and weighs about half of what he should. He's like my child. The most comforting thing I have going for me is knowing we had that last hunt together. I could see the satisfaction in him that day. It wasn't a trophy hog or one of his acrobatic catches that makes that the hunt that I will probably always think of first, it's that knowing that I was able to make him happy one last time. Personally, it would have been a lot easier to lose him doing something he loved than this. Just my opinion, we all have to live with our choices in life.