How Much is YOUR Yorkie Worth?
 

My name is Marty. I retired from the USAF a few years back after 28 years in uniform, with a pretty serious heart condition. I got quite depressed, and my beautiful children bought me a Yorkie pup last year who changed my life. I named him Bentley. He was born on February 13, 2012. Last week Bentley swallowed two of my wife's foam earplugs. She is a nurse and has to sleep during the day. We have been careful with these earplugs and still don't know where he found them, but he did. And it wasn't the first time. This was the 3rd time he'd somehow found an earplug and swallowed it whole. Two previous times he vomited it up. This time, he acted sick briefly and vomited it up -- that was my first indication something was wrong, which was last Saturday. I DIDN'T KNOW HE'D SWALLOWED TWO THIS TIME. He seemed to be doing better after vomiting that earplug up, but late Saturday night he began acting very lethargic and we got concerned. We read on the forums that maybe he still had more in his stomach that needed to come up. We gave him a teaspoon of peroxide and he vomited again, but nothing came up. We took him the the Emergency Room a few hours later, in the middle of the night last Saturday night. They did an x-ray and located a second earplug lodged in his small intestine. They did immediate surgery. Bentley made it through the surgery, the earplug was removed, but his heart gave out after the surgery and they began doing CPR. He did not survive. I am a 52 year old man, and I am completely crushed with this loss. I am not a sissy, I have a black belt in karate and I have been through some awful things, such as watching my brother die before my eyes in 2002. This dog did not need to die from such a simple, Yorkie-like behavior.

Losing Bentley this way has completely broken my heart. It was my fault completely that he died. He should have been at the vet ER the moment he started vomiting last Saturday, not suffering while I looked all over the internet for advice. I can't get him back. All I can do is share with other Yorkie owners just how fragile these beautiful little animals are, and I BEG anyone who has an animal showing symptoms to get them to the vet SOONER, not later. Yes, it's sometimes expensive. I am a broke disabled veteran, but I would give anything to have Bentley back. I failed him so badly, and he was one of the brightest rays of sunshine I ever felt on my skin, he made me smile every day. He loved me, he followed me everywhere, he was part of my family. I don't care what anyone says about "keeping pets in perspective... they aren't people... blah, blah, blah." This dog meant the world to me and me to him. But I lost sight of that for a few critical hours when I was too damned CHEAP to get him to the HELP he needed and probably hastened his death and even caused him more suffering by giving him peroxide when he was dying.

I don't honestly know how I will ever forgive myself for being such an ass. For not realizing how priceless this little creature was to me and accepting the responsibility to care for him with due diligence. So I say to other Yorkie owners out there who might be like me, or have a husband like me: Don't lose your precious dog like I did before you admit to yourself how much they're really worth to you. I spent $2,000 last Sunday to take home my dead Yorkie and bury him in my back yard. Now I can't even go out there. I can't stop thinking about him and how he deserved so much better than I provided.

I write all this not for any absolution or sympathy. I write to the person out there who tends to be CHEAP, like me. Someone who hesitates to take their dog to the vet when they know they should, simply because they might have to drop a few hundred dollars. Due diligence. I would give anything to get a "do over," and RUSH Bentley to the Emergency Room and give him the BEST chance to survive such a simple mistake. I am so sorry, Bentley - you were pure love to me and I will never be the same.

Hug your Your Yorkie for me today. Take care of them. They really do deserve it and they really are worth it.

Oh my Dear one; thank you so much for your post. Your warning words are so very wise.

And while I know you don't want sympathy from us, you do have mine. Please forgive yourself. Simply put we do all make mistakes. Sometimes with awfull consequences.

I am sure you are a wonderfull dog owner and guardian, even if you don't think so now. When our wee ones get fixated on a particular "thing" like ear plugs, we do need to be extra vigilant to put them into a drawer away from inquisitive noses.

But none of us are perfect, after all we are just human. I have now had three "discussions" with my husband about moth balls. I have rid our home of moth balls three times, and I finally went ballistic on him. You know I don't care if a $1000 suit gets ruined, bloody hell we have plastic suit enclosures, cedar chips and other things not so toxic to dogs and or cats. So mayhap we were lucky, and maybe not, because our cat died earlier this year of fibrous sarcoma. Did Karma, play with or ingest one of those moth balls; before I had rid the house of same?

I will never know........

I feel your pain and may your broken heart be healed!

Dear fellow AF vet and Yorkie lover. Sending out lots of prayers your way and thank you for taking time to remind us how precious these babies are.
Hugs

I am so sorry that your baby did not survive. Please stop blaming yourself-you made a decision based on past experience. It sounds like you got him to the vet as soon as you realized something else was going on. He may have had underlying issues that hadn't been discovered yet, considering the fact that he did make it through the surgery only to have his heart fail. For such a young pup I think that heart failure is pretty rare.
I'm sure Bentley knows how much you loved him. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Shannon

To answer your question...priceless!! There is no amount of money that could buy or replace either of my boys if anything happened to them....and lord knows, there's lots of dangers out there when you have a dog that's 5 lbs and thinks it's bulletproof.

I am so sorry to hear about your loss, but grateful that you shared your story. Unfortunately, a lot of these little guys do tend to be fragile. It doesn't take that much to upset their little systems. My little one is like a little hoover vacuum and I worry all the time about him picking up something he shouldn't...especially since the kitty likes to knock everything off tables, shelves and anything she can get her paws on. I even worry about him eating his hair clips.

It sounds like you loved Bentley a lot!! Yorkies are definitely amazing little creatures!!

My heart goes out to you on the tragic loss of Bentley. We all do the best we can with the information we have and past experiences. Unfortunately, these terrible things happen and you can't understand why. Thank you for your service to our country.

Thanks for sharing your story. It brought tears to my eyes as we all have guilt when we lose a pet so unexpectedly. Please try to remember all the great times and let your heart heal. Sending prayers and hugs

So sorry for your loss. Please try not to blame your self we all make mistakes. I have a little 5 pound yorkie and she is also a little hoover vac I worry all the time that she will get something that will harm her. When I say my prayers at night I always ask the Lord to keep her in good health and out of harms way. I never believed I could love a dog the way I love my sweet little Dolly lost my husband 4 years ago and now she is the love of my life a long with my family

I am so sorry for your loss. My heart was breaking while I read your post. This is so incredibly sad. Rest in peace sweet Bently, Prince is looking for you.

I am so sorry to hear about Bentley! It will take time to heal. Bentley sounds like my little boy, Oreo, who happened to be born on Bentley's first birthday. He can find just about anything that he's not suppose to. I am around your age, divorced, with three yorkies. My first little girl was my empty-nest baby, when my youngest left for the Army. My Crew (yorkie family) mean the world to me!!!! They are the ones that have kept me going through the rough times. I can't truly express in words how they make me feel or what they mean to me. Nobody, but a yorkie parent would understand. I, too, would be devastated if I lost one. I am sure Bentley is in a better place, looking down on daddy and smiling. Me and my Crew are wishing you the best, sending hugs to comfort you, and hoping you'll remember the good times with your baby!

I am very sorry for your loss of your precious Bentley. Praying for your comfort.

Thank you for having the courage to share your story and for cautioning others not to hesitate to go to the vet or ER. The outcome may not have been different, but it is the best chance for survival. You honor Bentley with this message that may help others.

Rest in peace, Bentley.

I am sorry for your loss and thank you for sharing your story. Morgan is priceless to me

First off, THANK YOU for your service!!!!!!!!
And thank you, thank you, thank you, for sharing your touching and sad story openly and honestly with us all. What a terrible situation for you to be in. It breaks my heart to hear of your big loss. It certainly is a reminder to keep a keen eye of our Yorkie's surroundings. They sure can pick things up before we have any time to take it away. I certainly concur with everyone here that is saying not to blame yourself!! It is easy for me to say, I know, as I am not in your shoes. I can honestly say that you seem like such a strong man, who's soft side was touched by Bentley. Please know that Bentley knew that you loved him with ALL of your heart and soul and that you did the best that you thought at the time. As someone else posted here - we all have guilt over an unexpected loss of a pet. 20/20 is viewed many times in our minds. May time make these thoughts get less and less as time passes, and that in time you will heal and perhaps, open your heart to another Yorkie. They certainly wins the hearts of all that meet them, that is unless they think they are rats:( In that case they have never had the pleasure to own one. Sincerely, ALL the VERY best... and don't forget to give yourself a break!! You've already been through so much and beating yourself up won't help you any. We all feel the terrible pain you must be feeling. HUGE HUGS from Canada!!!

I am so sorry to hear your story. It is a good reminder. Gizmo is always getting into stuff and my husband and joke that he has a steal stomach since it all just seems to come out the other end the same as he ate it. Thank you for reminding me that we may need to be more careful and keep our eyes peeled for any irregularity in his behavior.

Don't beat yourself up, you are human we live and we learn. You will not make this mistake again and your next little fur baby will be better because of it.

I am very, very sorry for the loss of your Bentley. I know what if feels like to have lost your precious pet because of a decision that you made. Please forgive yourself. You did what you felt was best at the time. I have no doubt in my mind that you loved him with all of your heart. I pray that you will find peace and the strength to be able to let your heart heal so that you may move forward, in time, and be able to give your love to another yorkie. Bentley will always have a place in your heart.

I, too, would like to thank you for your service and the sacrifices made by you and your family.

You will be in my thoughts and prayers. God bless you!

Rest in Peace, Bentley. :rbyorkie:

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Please go easy on yourself. Heart failure could have happened even if the surgery had been done earlier.

Did you ever notice how loyal and loving dogs are? An owner can beat their dog with a stick and it will still come back and lick the devil's hand.

You have learned a valuable lesson by what happened and you have hopefully saved more than one Yorkie's life by sharing your painful story.

Now, remember that your little guy does not hold anything against you. These babies know we are not perfect and they love us anyway.

I firmly believe that God has a special place for our loyal pets when they pass over. He's not suffering now.That spirit that made him what he is was not just a body. The body is just a bunch of cells that house who we are. I'm not trying to give a theology lesson but I know you could not look into his eyes and believe he was just a bunch of cells loving you and being your friend.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to forgive our selves. I guess we need to take some lessons from our pets on that.

Marty, thank you for your USAF service.

I am deeply sorry for your loss of Bentley, and also deeply touched at your telling us how much he meant to you. We all understand how these little furry beings mean the world to us.

This was an accident and I pray that in time your heart will heal from his loss.

Your story and your love for Bentley really touched my heart. Thank you for your wisdom and for your service. I agree I with Ellie May. Please be kind to yourself. Had you known he needed immediate care, you would have done anything to save Bentley. He will live forever in your heart. I am deeply sorry for your loss.

Im so sorry for your loss

I am sorry for your loss, Bentley sounds like he was a wonderful boy.

Prayers and good thoughts with you and please know that what happened was an accident, it could have happened to any of us. Please take your time to grieve Bentley and remember how happy he was.

I probably shouldn't have read this first thing this morning. Poor Bentley and I'm sorry for your family

First, I thank you for your service to our country. Second, you did what you though was best at the time. We all wish we could do things differently. I know this won't bring Bentley back but you had good intentions. I hope and pray that you will find peace. He was a very blessed dog to be loved like that.

My first Yorkie, Lexie, died last January of her liver shunt. I was beyond devastated. I went out of town the day we brought her home and buried her. When I returned the next day my husband had purchased another Yorkie and surprised me. At first, I was angry because I did not want a dog to replace Lexie. However, when I picked up Lacy (8 weeks old and 1.7 lbs) my anger melted away (He knew me better than I knew myself) and she has been a huge comfort to me. I hope in the future, when you are ready, you get another dog to love like you loved Bentley. It is very healing.

Am so sorry to read your post and had tears rolling down my face. Prayers for you and your family.

:hug: keeping you and bentley in my thoughts. i'm so sorry, but thank you so much for sharing this story!!!

I could hear your hurt in your words....You did what you thought was best at the time. If your words may save another yorkie and I hope you can find some comfort in that. Bentley was loved and you will miss him, may you find the courage to fall in love with another one..........God Bless!

Your story breaks my heart. For you. I am so sorry for your loss. I know how these little ones can wrap themselves around your heart. We have been in emergency a couple of times for various things. I cried all the way home one of the days I had to leave Copper overnight. I thought we were going to lose him and I blamed myself although I have no idea what he ate that caused the symptoms he had. We picked him up the next day. He was weak and tired but ok, thankfully. I cried all the way home in relief. It could have easily gone the other way.

It may be too soon, but please consider another companion. Forgive yourself. I will pray for your hurting heart.:animal-pa

(((Marty))) so sorry for your loss!

Marty, welcome to YorkieTalk. Thank you so very much for sharing Bentley's story with us. To answer your question, my family of Yorkies is priceless. I hope that your heart heals quickly from the tragic loss of Bentley.

Also, a special thanks to you and your family for your service to our country.