Life Span
 

I was lying in bed with Brownie last night and was watching a film called Quill, which is a Japanese film about the life span of a Golden Retreiver who was raised and trained as a seeing eye dog. Please see link below:

http://www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=10717

This is a tear jerker, so be warned!!! I enjoyed the movie a lot, but it at the end, the dog dies and I bawled my eyes out. This isn't the first time I've seen this movie and it gets to me every time.

My Brownie is only 4 years old, but after I finished the movie and though about when it's time for her to go to Rainbow Bridge and I couldn't imagine what it is like for those of you who have lost a loved furbaby. Hopefully, I'll have another 10 years or more with her....... :cry:

How many years is the average life span?? How many good years did you have with your baby until he/she went to Rainbow Bridge??

My first yorkie was 13 1/2 when she went to rainbow bridge, she was only 2lbs 8ozs til she turned 11 then she started putting on weight When she passed she was 3lbs 5ozs. She had many puppy days at 13 but she also had many bad days.
1 she was considered over weight
2 she had some problems breaathing (do to her size)
3 she had seizures and was on meds for the last 4 years of her life to help control her seizures.

R.I.P. my little Candy Mint

Regarding the seizures, did she have them all her life or did she just get them in the last years in her life? What caused them? My Cece, who is 7 this year also has seizures and she's had them since she had her first and only litter, when she was 2 years old. Any help on this would be appreciated.

She had her first seizure when she was almost 10.

Her breathing was bad the first 5 months I had her, then got better then when she turned 11 1/2 (I believe) she started having problems again.

My first yorkie live to be 17 years old. Max was very healthy till his last year. His Kidneys started to fail. I did what I could to make life good for him that year. He brought so much joy to my life and will always have a special place in my heart. I am now blessed to be owned by three yorkies. Max was cremated. When we evacuated for Rita, in a rush I had forgot him and thought about him when we were all filling our cars and told my family I had forgot some important document, but really went to get Max. Call me crazy but he is more important than any thing else I had in my house.

Was Max regular sized Yorkie (7lbs) or a smaller one (3lbs)? Is it true that the larger Yorkies live longer?

He was around 6lbs most of his life. Dont' know if size has anything to do with life span.

It is a shame and not fair that our "best chums" don't live as long as we do. I have lost so many dogs during my "long" lifetime. I still remember and love the dogs I had when I was a child. They never do leave your heart.

I lost one of my favorite dogs about 6 months ago, and I can't describe how much I will always miss her.

It is certainly sad to lose our little pets -- but I'm sure almost all of us have lost more than one.

There is nothing we can say or do about this - except that it certainly can be heartbreaking.

So - let's take good care of our little guys and spoil them rotten.

Carol Jean

That has brought tears to my eyes, 17 is a fantastic age and you are definately not crazy, i would have gone back to get him too.

This is a powerful thread....I have lost 2 stepdoggies to RB...my husbands 2 cockers ....and we still have my Tessa the cocker, but she is ten now....and I know we're on the downside of years left with her which makes me so sad to think about.

With my yorkie girls ...since they're my first yorkies... I just DREAD the day and wish I could stop them from aging NOW......I always try to read the RIP section here even though it's upsetting.... and can't imagine the pain of losing one of these precious yorkies....I already know my heart would never be the same without either of them in my life....which is why I try to make the most of what I have NOW and spend so much time with them.

Yorkies are a truly special breed.....and dogs in general just grab our hearts and don't let go.

I don't know how long I'll have Mitzi, I hope she lasts the 17 years and maybe more :) I guess, as Villette said, all we can do is love them while they're here.

I sure am enjoying having Mitzi :D She has enriched our lives better than we could have EVER imagined.

God bless those who have lost their little babies, and may the ones still with us live a long and happy life :D

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: VERY nicely said.....

Noone here would EVER call you crazy for that, I think we all would do the same.
I can't imagine the day it is time to go to the RB.. I experienced it 2 years ago w/ my 16 year old cat, which I told myself then, I will NEVER go through this again,, and here I am. :rolleyes: But I know the good outweighs the bad by far, and as BAD as the bad is.. and as hard as it is. We always get another pet.
I do think I would do cremation, also, I wish I had thought of it with my Maxie, but for some reason I didn't, at the time. :( But of course I wont have to worry abt that for another 20-30 years.. I wish!

Oh Rhonda...I know what you mean....

to lighten up this thread a little....I also had a cat, Midnight, for 16 years.....He finally was diagnosed with feline lukemia when I was 32 years old.....The day I took him in...I was SO upset I ended up in my car blubbering and waiting for it to be over....I had brought a sleeping bag to put him in and intended to cremate him...but when they came out to find me I couldn't do the cremation....I went in...paid...and TOOK HIM HOME in the sleeping bag.....

He and I spent the whole night at my kitchen table drinking beer...(ok...ME doing the drinking) HE in his sleeping bag ....and me crying and talking to him about what a great cat he was. ALL NIGHT LONG till about 6am till I realized I had to do something with him....

I finally had to call my ex hubby and have him come help me bury him and you should have heard his reaction to me staying up all night talking to my dead cat.

Then to make matters worse - the auto sprinklers turned on and my husband got drenched while he was digging ...(he was dressed for work) and all he did was cuss me out the whole time....but he DID help me lay my baby to rest...while I hit my moms WINE and cried more. I was totally useless.

Needless to say - I had the hardest time getting over all that...and one of the worst hangovers I ever had in my life. I STILL visit his grave...he's under a gorgeous tree in my moms back yard and I still miss him.

wow - did I write a book here or what ? That is the story of My Cat and Me on his last night on earth.

Tough thread, but its reality and we all have to deal with it at some time in our lives.
We have 3 special yorkie-angels that are now at the RB looking down at us, they know they are loved, and will always live in our hearts. Yes its hard when its time for them to leave us, but its comforting to know that they had a GOOD life, we spoiled them as we spoil Chelsey & Chanel, tho in those days we didnt get all the fancy dog clothes and toys, they for sure had our HEARTS and still do. All 3 turned 14 years. When our last baby passed, i swore i could NEVER love another baby as i love them, but its a blessing that time is a healer or else we wouldnt have these little girls we have now.

We had them cremated and now they own a special place in my home with their pics, candles and flowers, its comforting to know that i can go there anytime i want to.

OM! Villette, I know it wasn't Funny at the time ( I've been there) but I can so see ya sitting at the table, drinkin' and talking to him.. I was cracking up. But I can completely understand,, Mine was similar, I took Maxie to the vet she was bad,, hadn't eaten in like 2-3 days, real dull coat, stayed in her room mostly, so at 16years old, I had prepared myself,, so the vet tells me she had breast cancer, which I didn't doubt her tummy had always been sensative to touch. So rather than prolong her pain,, I decided to do it then,, called Jim at work, ( my work too) boss answers, I'm crying so bad he can't understand me, but he caught the Jim part,and he got on the phone, so anyhow,,, he comes over stays in the room with me, (which later he tells me he wanted to leave but he was stuck in the corner and couldnt get out, ha)
So he's on his lunch hour and its like 95 degrees this day and way humid! So he's diggin' and sweating, and I'm sitting in the shade bawling. He gets it done,and has to go back to work,, and I said " No way I'm not going" I go inside the A/C and cried and looked at pictures all day and night, I didn't think it would ever end.. THAT is when I should have started drinking! LOL

LOL sorry Villette, but i sat here reading this and i just couldnt help myself from cracking up!! At least the beer & wine softened it a bit for ya!

Oh Rhonda...I KNEW we were alot alike....I can just see YOU too girl.... :( and Mandy...I still remember that day like it just happened....it was probably my first real encounter with losing a loved pet and one of the hardest things I ever had to do....but looking back - I can laugh about it now ....and my ex husband ALWAYS tells that story when I see him with LOTS and lots of Eye Rolling :)

I WILL be telling this story on the next boring Birthday party i have to go to and feed them wine lol

Thanks to all for sharing your stories with me. I know what to expect and how to handle the situation a bit better now. In the meantime, I will love and cherish Brownie, Bobo and Cece till it's their time to go to Rainbow Bridge.

I pray for all of our pups to live a long and healthy life!!! :aimeeyork :aimeeyork :aimeeyork

Gracie is my first dog, so I have never experienced a loss like that. I fear that day...
Thank you all for sharing your stories.