Passing of Samuel

Owning a dog is one of the most enjoyable parts of my life. I had always wanted a dog growing up, but because of sports and school, i was never home long enough. When Wendy and I bought our house, looking for a dog became a priority. I had always wanted an Australian Shepherd. We found a rescue in Turner, Maine, that specialized in Aussies. It took almost a year to find Sir Samuel, but he was worth the wait. We adopted him right from the home that was giving him up. At the time, he was a five year old tri-color Aussie.

As i mentioned in a previous post, just a few weeks ago, I took Samuel to the vet to check on a lump. It tunred out to be cancer. Samuel's health deteriorated very quickly over the past few weeks. Yesterday, I had to make one of the toughtest decisions i've ever made. I knew he was suffering terribly, so I had him put to sleep. It's a horrible thing watching your beloved pet suffer. I will miss him terribly.

Touch Decision

Two weeks ago I took Samuel to the vet for a check up and to get a lump on his rib checked out. Unfortunately, after taking an x-ray of Samuel's ribs, the vet told me he has a cancerous tumor which had already eaten up an entire rib bone. There is nothing that can be done to stop the spread and i must now decide when to put him down. Since then, he has deteriorated quickly. His back legs are starting to give out on him now and i can tell he's really starting to suffer. He's been a great dog ... my first. Everything i ever wanted in a dog. This will be one of the toughest decisions i've ever had to make.