Petey has gone to the Bridge

On July 28, 2009, just before nine o'clock, our Cattle Dog Petey stepped on a rainbow. His health had been failing over the last few months and everyone knew it was time to say goodbye.

The last twelve months had not been kind to him. It started last summer with a back injury that resulted in several months of rehabilitation with a wonderful veterinarian, Dr. John Sherman of Vethab in Raleigh. Dr. Sherman would play an even bigger role in Petey's life a few months later.

About the time Petey finished his rehab, he ran head first into a bout with Vestibular Syndrome. He lost control of his motor functions and couldn't walk without help. He also quit eating for almost two weeks. We thought we had lost him but we learned that while very frightening, Vestibular Syndrome usually passes in a couple weeks with no long term effects. An so it was with Petey.

The came the Big One. While chasing our Weimeraner mix Tater Petey fell backwards and dislocated his hip. After consulting with the surgeon we decided that Petey probably wouldn't live through the 3-6 month recovery period. We called Dr. Sherman to let him know what we had decided and he asked that we talk to him first.

He had been thinking about an experimental procedure that he thought could be used to help dogs with hip dysplasia and thought it would help Petey. We consented and Dr. Sherman, despite being sick to the point of spending the next few days in bed, stayed late that night to perform the procedure.

He placed three steel pins in Petey's back, one on the top of the relocated hip and two positioned on the opposite hip and pelvis which were triangulated to hold the relocated hip in place for the next month and then used Therabands to apply enough pressure to hold the hip in place.

It worked! One month after the procedure the pins were removed and Petey was walking under his own power and with no pain. So we owe Dr. Sherman for giving us another seven months with Petey that we didn't expect to have.

But age finally caught up with Petey. He had been going downhill over the last few months and today it was time to let him go. We sat with him in the yard for a while and when he went to sleep we took him to his vet and said goodbye.

We buried him next to his BFF Pork Chop, our lab mix who preceded Petey by about eighteen months. He was buried with his favorite frisbee, his Cuz, a few treats and a plush toy. He was three months short of fourteen years.

While we knew the time was coming when we would lose him it's still damned hard. I guess one of the things old dogs teach us is that while love can last a lifetime sometimes a lifetime is way too short.

So we said goodbye to a really good dog. He wasn't the best dog ever but he was close...

Petey 1995-2009

Petey passed away on July 28, 2009 just short of his 14th birthday. He was well loved and is sorely missed.

My Tail of Devotion for Petey

This is a special Tail of Devotion

See All Tails of Devotion

Well, it's finally happened. I'm old...

Last week I hurt my leg playing frisbee. It's the second time this year I've hurt myself. Now the vet says I'm too old to play as hard as I do. Mom and Dad won't throw my frisbee any more and all they'll do is let me carry a ball around. Getting old is no fun.

The Lactating Duck or how I survived the acupuncturist.

I'm getting a little old and my old bones don't hold up as well as they used to. I'm almost 10, darnit! So I can't play as hard as I did when I was a young stud. A couple weeks ago I was chasing my favorite ball (the one with little legs that Mom and Dad call my "cuz") and the darn thing bounced wrong and I fell and hurt my hip. It hurt really bad for a minute or two but then it got better and, other than a limp, I felt ok enough to play. Dad said no, though, so we had to quit.

Mom and Dad, being the overprotective parents that they are, decided I needed to go to a doctor to see if they could fix my limp. I HATE DOCTORS! And this one was even worse, in a weird sort of way.

It started out like a normal doctor visit, but then it turned into something from the Twilight Zone. The doctor began sticking these needles in me and saying things like "this one stokes the fire" and "this one is called large intestine number four". Now I'm no expert, but I thought dogs only had one large intestine.

Once he stuck needles in and said "these release the wind and the heat". Oh great. The last time I released wind and heat, Dad got mad at Mom for feeding me brocolli!

The final straw, the one that caused me to black out the rest of the visit from my memory like a bad memory, was when the doctor grapped my chin and my neck and started moving my head up and down. He said, and I swear this is true, "this is called the Lactating Duck". I couldn't believe my ears. I just wanna be a dog who catches frisbees and balls. And I'm a boy dog! I'm not lactating anything!

The next thing I know I was in the truck and Dad was telling me what a good dog I was. We'll see if he changes his tune when the "wind and air" are released...

What I did on my Christmas vacation

Christmas 2004 was very exciting for me. I got to go with my humans to see my human grandparents and my "sister" Jessie. This fall Jessie went to live with my grandparents in Virginia because she couldn't get along with the other dogs. I missed her alot. When we got there she was as excited to see me as I was to see her. We wrestled and played and Jessie showed me how she helps her new "parents" with chores. We went down and helped feed the goats and got to go for walks in the pasture.

After our trip, we stopped at PetSmart. I'd never been in a store before. It took me a few minutes to realize the floor was very slippery and my old legs started to wobble. Mom and Dad had to pick me up and put me in a shopping cart and push me around. Boy, did I feel funny! But everyone I saw wanted to snuggle me and I enjoyed it alot.

After that we picked the other dogs up from Doggie Camp and went home. I was ready for it. It had been a long three days and I needed a nap.