Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

[stylynjm]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

Oh Bill,
You will know, with Otis's guidance, when the time and pup is right. You will just feel it. good luck There is no right or wrong.

[jesse girl]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

its when your ready bill but i don't think timing will diminish the Os memory . he is one of a kind

you do have to think about if your ready for a challenged dog . fostering would be a good way to see if its something your up to doing . don't feel guilty if it doesn't work out thats why its called fostering its not permanent unless you want it to be . you have been through allot with Otis . not saying that was a bad thing but it does take a toll on us if not we would not be humane

[Rubytuesday]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

Good job listening to your feelings Bill. It would be terrible if you didn't and then resented the little guy. I know it is hard to imagine, but when I lost my Abby girl I still had her two boys one of which was my forever dog. when I lost Abby I resented the others so much because they were here and she wasn't.

It is nice that when your working with a rescue you know that your saying no doesn't mean the end for the dog, otherwise you might really feel compelled to do it regardless.

Tara

[Danielle N]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

I got a response from the MidSouth Pug Rescue the morning after I filled out the online app. We went back and forth with emails till I guess they were interested enough to want to meet.

They have a little guy named Bruno, about 3 years old, they wanted to bring by. The people who are giving him up said he had "eye issues", but they didn't have any details. There is a local veterinary ophthalmologist who helps them out by donating his services who will be seeing Bruno in the next few days to see what's going on with him.

I realized, when the rubber was getting ready to hit the road, it's a bit too soon for me to do this and told them I need a little more time. Just didn't feel right about having another pug in the house so soon after Otis left. I'll see how I feel about it in about a week.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I did something similar when I lost my first little guy. It's like you just don't want to feel the pain of that loss, it's human nature to try and stop the emptiness and fill the void. Your heart will let you know when you are ready. Grief is necessary to heal.

[Soaphie & Sydney's Mom]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

Bill, thinking of you and our little buddy, Otis, today. I hope you are able to cherish your wonderful memories with a smile...

[momofdecker]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

These milestones. Doesn't seem possible that a whole year of 'firsts' has passed. I don't think we ever miss them any less, rather in time we learn to adapt to what has become our new normal.

Thinking of you today. Though I never met Otis, I miss him through all you shared about him. You were both lucky to have had each other.

[Judi]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

a year. thinking of you and Otis today Bill.

[farrwf]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

Thanks for thinking of us, guys. I stopped by the site earlier and was going to post something, and decided to wait a while.

It's been a year since Otis went to heaven and, believe it or not, I still get the "wet eye" most of the time when I think of him. I sure miss him, and guess I will till the day I join him. I enjoy having Sonny here to care for, ... he's a great little guy, but is in no way a "substitute" for Otis.

As many of you know, when you lose someone very dear to you, they're not replaceable. You just have a part of you which is full of great memories as well as a "void" where that special someone resided in your being, which nothing else can fill.

I know Holli has Toby & Kinser and Tami has Soaphie, but like me there's the big void which was left when Decker and Sydney passed over to that better place. If there's one good thing about this diabetes disease, it's that it made it necessary for us to develop much more intimate relationships with our our dogs / patients than we would have had otherwise.

Most of my friends know I cared a lot for Otis and it had a major impact on me when he passed, but only the people in this forum can appreciate the depth of the loss. We pay so much more attention to our furry family members out of necessity because of their chronic condition than folks not in this situation.

[Cara Sandler]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

It's been a year since Otis went to heaven and, believe it or not, I still get the "wet eye" most of the time when I think of him. I sure miss him, and guess I will till the day I join him. I enjoy having Sonny here to care for, ... he's a great little guy, but is in no way a "substitute" for Otis.

I believe it. I think when you have such a wonderfully close bond with your baby, it hurts forever.

[amydunn19]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

I know Otis hit you so hard - there are times I look at Maggie and I can't even breathe with the thought of losing her. I have lost several pets and most of my family so you would think I would be prepared a little for it. What is it about diabetes and our almost obsessive love for these guys?

Are you still caring for Sonny? I hope that at least losing Otis is a little easier to bear at this point for you. You still have so much to give, Bill.

[farrwf]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

Sonny's still here and will likely be a foster failure. Had a couple of situations with him which made me take a second look at the deal.

A couple of months ago he began to growl when I would give him his shot. Didn't think much of it because one of his quirks is at little "rattling" type growl when he tries to get my attention. He has his tail wagging when he does that, though. Then, he snapped at me a couple times during the shot process, ... after the growl didn't stop me. I was astounded. In over 14 years Otis never growled or snapped, ... not one time. This happened when I ran out of my 31 gauge syringes and was using the 29 gauge the rescue brought when they dropped him off at my house. Once I got more 31's the growling at shot time stopped.

Talked to the people at the rescue about it and was told the previous owners told them he would growl when he didn't feel well. That was the second significant thing the rescue "forgot" to tell me about Sonny. They also told me he was "regulated" when he came to stay with me, ... the vets said he was never regulated until he was with me. He was on 5 Units when he arrived, drinking water and urinating like a maniac. He's at 9 Units now, and seems to be doing much better. Last curve he was in the mid to low 200'a. He was in the high 400's when he arrived.

So, ... I really don't know what to make of his growling and snapping. He's a loving little guy, ... after he's growled and snapped at me, he'll come up a few minutes later and lick my leg and want to be right next to me??? He'd been fine for quite a while until I was going to clean the skin fold over his nose and I got the growl / snap. I walked away from that episode, and a few minutes later he was licking my leg again wanting to be recognized. I have a feeling there is much more to his history which I don't know.

He went "unadopted" for quite a long time apparently because no one wanted to deal with a diabetic dog. He was the best looking pug, by far, they had available for adoption, but others were being taken all around him. I'm going to give him as much room as I can because he does need someone in his corner, and outside of that situation, he's great.

[Cara Sandler]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

Have you considered consulting a professional trainer for this? This problem can't afford to go on for any amount of time due to his medical issues. If you do decide to consult a trainer, please make sure to ONLY use one that uses positive, reward based training.

Also, while most people think that tail wagging means that their dog is happy, it actually just indicates arousal - whether it is happy, joyful arousal or stressful arousal. Just something to keep in mind.

[Judi]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

Bill: we had about a week where Jenny snapped and tried to bite us at shot time (she got my husband) and she is normally the sweetest dog who's aim is to please whatever people are poking or prodding her.

For whatever reason the shots were hurting. To this day I don't know why.

We muzzled her for that week. It didn't stress her out, it confused her. By the time she was starting to figure out she was actually muzzled the shot was done and I yanked it off.

The fact that he doesn't growl with the shorter needles tells me you are on the right track.

These are the syringes that hurt Jenny the least: http://www.overstockdrugstore.com/pr...-syringes.html Barb sent us some after Abby passed and they really seem to help.

After Jenny's week of being a jerk she realized that she is never going to win the insulin shot battle, and I do try to mix up where she gets her shot as her right side seems to be more sensitive than her left.

I think you are on the right track and I'm glad you may be keeping this guy. It's a nice legacy from Otis.

[jesse girl]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

pugs can be a bit feisty especially boys

my daughters dog snapped at me while taking care of him a couple times . i was upset jesse would never do something like that .

dogs can have different temperaments for many reasons . you are allowed to correct the behavior if needed as judi suggested a muzzle can be helpful

be careful comparing to otis . otis spent a lifetime with you . he probably will never get to where ottis was but he can still have a special place in your heart .

parents say they dont have a favorite child but they do. it doesn't mean they dont love there other children and they do very much just sometimes you have a better connection with certain souls

[amydunn19]

Re: Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

Unlocking the keys to a rescue dog's actions, it is so hard to know exactly what road they traveled. Some have behaviors for very valid reasons - my schnauzer girl is a prime example and she will never fully trust humans and I can't blame her one bit.

We have done positive reinforcement training and she has made more progress than anyone expected, even the trainer, but I just accept her fears and vow to not give up on her. She will scream in pain if our feet come close to her so I am grateful every day she is not the diabetic one in the family because she would never be able to endure what Maggie does.

I am glad you were willing to take him on - the rescue probably had no real diabetes knowledge and figured if he was getting insulin and still alive, he must be regulated.