Hansel
Some of you will remember when we adopted Hansel back in October of 04. We knew he was an older Basset who wouldn't be around for too awfully long but he and Gretel needed a good home after being neglected where they had been.
He took right to living with us. He loved sleeping on the couch and going for walks and the treats G would give her when she thought nobody was looking. Once he started having trouble getting up on the couch, he would just walk over to it and lay his chin on the cushions for a few seconds. Then he would look around the room to see if anyone noticed. Once we did, somebody would pick him up so he could nap on the couch. He started having a lot of trouble climbing the stairs at night, too, so I carried him. (He loved to sleep with Aaron, our youngest. They were best friends.) If Aaron went to bed before I did, Hansel would walk over to the stairs and then look around to see if I was coming to carry him. Whenever I walked over to him, though, he would give me these quick little wags of his tail because he knew I was coming to pick him up.
Recently Hansel had started to slip a bit when he would walk on the non-carpeted floors in the house. Nothing huge, just that his back feet didn't seem to be as steady as they used to be. Coupled with this, his hearing and eyesight had obviously declined over the last six months or more. He could still see well enough to know when I walked into the room, though, and always gave me a wag or two.
This last weekend, Hansel stumbled coming down the stairs. I suspect he had experienced some kind of neurological malfunction that caused this. For two days after that, he was very unsteady on his feet and couldn't do the Basset shake without falling over. I carried him outside when he needed to go and we didn't let him go upstairs for fear he might fall again coming back down. He wouldn't eat or drink anything, though. There had been a time or two when he would go off his feed for a day or two before. This time, he didn't turn around. Babe tried everything she could think of, from pork chops to broth to his favorite treats but nothing interested him at all. He had been slowly losing weight over the last several months anyway so he didn't have any extra to lose now. He also stopped barking at anything and wouldn't do much but sleep.
I spent the afternoon sitting with Hansel on the couch, scratching his ears and giving him rubs. We took Hansel to the vet where we discussed everything that had happened. She agreed that it seemed like Hansel had decided it was time to go. He was put to sleep at about 1730. We think he was about 13 years old and I know he enjoyed the last few years of his life. I sure miss him, though. At least i know he has good company waiting with him at the bridge.
He took right to living with us. He loved sleeping on the couch and going for walks and the treats G would give her when she thought nobody was looking. Once he started having trouble getting up on the couch, he would just walk over to it and lay his chin on the cushions for a few seconds. Then he would look around the room to see if anyone noticed. Once we did, somebody would pick him up so he could nap on the couch. He started having a lot of trouble climbing the stairs at night, too, so I carried him. (He loved to sleep with Aaron, our youngest. They were best friends.) If Aaron went to bed before I did, Hansel would walk over to the stairs and then look around to see if I was coming to carry him. Whenever I walked over to him, though, he would give me these quick little wags of his tail because he knew I was coming to pick him up.
Recently Hansel had started to slip a bit when he would walk on the non-carpeted floors in the house. Nothing huge, just that his back feet didn't seem to be as steady as they used to be. Coupled with this, his hearing and eyesight had obviously declined over the last six months or more. He could still see well enough to know when I walked into the room, though, and always gave me a wag or two.
This last weekend, Hansel stumbled coming down the stairs. I suspect he had experienced some kind of neurological malfunction that caused this. For two days after that, he was very unsteady on his feet and couldn't do the Basset shake without falling over. I carried him outside when he needed to go and we didn't let him go upstairs for fear he might fall again coming back down. He wouldn't eat or drink anything, though. There had been a time or two when he would go off his feed for a day or two before. This time, he didn't turn around. Babe tried everything she could think of, from pork chops to broth to his favorite treats but nothing interested him at all. He had been slowly losing weight over the last several months anyway so he didn't have any extra to lose now. He also stopped barking at anything and wouldn't do much but sleep.
I spent the afternoon sitting with Hansel on the couch, scratching his ears and giving him rubs. We took Hansel to the vet where we discussed everything that had happened. She agreed that it seemed like Hansel had decided it was time to go. He was put to sleep at about 1730. We think he was about 13 years old and I know he enjoyed the last few years of his life. I sure miss him, though. At least i know he has good company waiting with him at the bridge.