R.I. P. Murphy, My Beautiful Boy
Murphy, my Sheltie, passed away March 7, 2007 peacefully, in his sleep. He was 15 years old. I got him the winter of my senior year in vet school from a breeder in Esparto. All my good pictures of him are pre-digital, so I'll have to scan some in later.
I thought I'd be a basket case after Murphy died. Instead, while I miss him, I know it was his time. I guess I got all the tears out of the way over the last three years. I remember sitting and hugging him several years ago, just dreading the day he would need to be euthanized. The last few months, I'd hug him and tell Honey "Now, Honey, don't be jealous; We're not going to have Murphy much longer" (I hugged her,too!) She was such a jealous dog but she got vastly better over the last 5 years. Instead, I am mostly torn up over her death - I had promised Honey that it would just be me and her after Murphy passed away - I wouldn't get any more pets until after she was gone. And then I didn't have her for more than a couple weeks.
I am so glad he just went gently. He was in his normal sleeping spot by the sofa when I found him Wed. and there was no sign of a struggle. Honey was apparently not concerned at all- well, that's the way dogs can be - they are not like us- death doesn't mean the same thing to them.
Murphy was a great guard dog; he took his duties very seriously and patrolled even up to his death. He was deaf for the last 3-4 years, so he looked to Honey to alert him to noises - he relied on her a lot the last couple years.
He was weak and slow from his thyroid condition even on medication and had lots of lipomas (fatty tumors) and any pain meds other than aspirin gave him diarrhea. He had a food allergy but did well on Z/D diet. He had a yeast infection that was controlled with medicated shampoo and a chronic cough from bronchitis. Other than that, he was very healthy - bloodwork, u/a completely normal, xrays normal. 4 months earlier, he had handled a dental better than many dogs younger than him.
He was mostly incontinent and maybe a bit senile, but I had the diaper routine down to a science although I freaked out a bit when the store I bought the Depends had stopped carrying the type I needed. However, all was well after I tried one of their newer designs. I had had to use corn starch and frequent baths to control the diaper rash when I tried using a doggie diaper plus an insertable pad - when I started just using a diaper that would go all the way around, he stopped getting a rash.
Note to anyone with an old, incontinent dog - don't use generics - Depends are the only brand that will contain the urine without leaking.
I am hoping to post some pics soon. He was such a cute puppy and stayed cute his whole life, even when he was old and grey. He loved his ball, although he wasn't very deft- he dropped a bunch of balls. I had him trained to retrieve the ball or frisbee then place it in my hand before I would throw it again. If he didn't, then fine, he didn't have to but we were done with the throwing session. That kept him from getting burnt out,too.
I also used to play racquetball by myself on an open handball court at the local high school and Murphy would retrieve the ball and bring it back when I missed - well, he did that until one caught him the eye socket one day and then he didn't think it was fun anymore. Sorry, Murphy! (His eye was ok.)
There was the time I took him up the Oregon coast and I tried fishing in the rogue river and he jumped in the water - the deep,raging wide river - my dog that hated water and never swam - to catch the red and white ball on the line - yikes, I thought he was going to drown.
He was first in his class in puppy school and I took him to one obedience class but he got dinged for my handling errors ( I gave double commands when heeling) so his score wasn't as high as it could have been - I was planning to try to qualify for the Dog World magazine award for dogs that get over 195 out of a perfect 200 for each leg for the CD- I think he had a 194 and a half - so I lost interest in even getting his CD if I couldn't qualify him for this award. I think he was perfectly happy with that - he was much happier fetching the ball anyway. He always was a perfect gentleman when I'd take him for walks. When my various boyfriends would help walking the dogs, I'd give them Murphy and tell them - "he's cruise control" because he would just come along, whereas Honey would be all over the place.
I thought I'd be a basket case after Murphy died. Instead, while I miss him, I know it was his time. I guess I got all the tears out of the way over the last three years. I remember sitting and hugging him several years ago, just dreading the day he would need to be euthanized. The last few months, I'd hug him and tell Honey "Now, Honey, don't be jealous; We're not going to have Murphy much longer" (I hugged her,too!) She was such a jealous dog but she got vastly better over the last 5 years. Instead, I am mostly torn up over her death - I had promised Honey that it would just be me and her after Murphy passed away - I wouldn't get any more pets until after she was gone. And then I didn't have her for more than a couple weeks.
I am so glad he just went gently. He was in his normal sleeping spot by the sofa when I found him Wed. and there was no sign of a struggle. Honey was apparently not concerned at all- well, that's the way dogs can be - they are not like us- death doesn't mean the same thing to them.
Murphy was a great guard dog; he took his duties very seriously and patrolled even up to his death. He was deaf for the last 3-4 years, so he looked to Honey to alert him to noises - he relied on her a lot the last couple years.
He was weak and slow from his thyroid condition even on medication and had lots of lipomas (fatty tumors) and any pain meds other than aspirin gave him diarrhea. He had a food allergy but did well on Z/D diet. He had a yeast infection that was controlled with medicated shampoo and a chronic cough from bronchitis. Other than that, he was very healthy - bloodwork, u/a completely normal, xrays normal. 4 months earlier, he had handled a dental better than many dogs younger than him.
He was mostly incontinent and maybe a bit senile, but I had the diaper routine down to a science although I freaked out a bit when the store I bought the Depends had stopped carrying the type I needed. However, all was well after I tried one of their newer designs. I had had to use corn starch and frequent baths to control the diaper rash when I tried using a doggie diaper plus an insertable pad - when I started just using a diaper that would go all the way around, he stopped getting a rash.
Note to anyone with an old, incontinent dog - don't use generics - Depends are the only brand that will contain the urine without leaking.
I am hoping to post some pics soon. He was such a cute puppy and stayed cute his whole life, even when he was old and grey. He loved his ball, although he wasn't very deft- he dropped a bunch of balls. I had him trained to retrieve the ball or frisbee then place it in my hand before I would throw it again. If he didn't, then fine, he didn't have to but we were done with the throwing session. That kept him from getting burnt out,too.
I also used to play racquetball by myself on an open handball court at the local high school and Murphy would retrieve the ball and bring it back when I missed - well, he did that until one caught him the eye socket one day and then he didn't think it was fun anymore. Sorry, Murphy! (His eye was ok.)
There was the time I took him up the Oregon coast and I tried fishing in the rogue river and he jumped in the water - the deep,raging wide river - my dog that hated water and never swam - to catch the red and white ball on the line - yikes, I thought he was going to drown.
He was first in his class in puppy school and I took him to one obedience class but he got dinged for my handling errors ( I gave double commands when heeling) so his score wasn't as high as it could have been - I was planning to try to qualify for the Dog World magazine award for dogs that get over 195 out of a perfect 200 for each leg for the CD- I think he had a 194 and a half - so I lost interest in even getting his CD if I couldn't qualify him for this award. I think he was perfectly happy with that - he was much happier fetching the ball anyway. He always was a perfect gentleman when I'd take him for walks. When my various boyfriends would help walking the dogs, I'd give them Murphy and tell them - "he's cruise control" because he would just come along, whereas Honey would be all over the place.