Trixie unexpectedly said goodbye

[Cindy]

I lucked out with my breeder, and didn't have to wait too long. she was a hobby breeder, and the sire was her champion (his last litter as he was 16...must be in the genes!) and she borrowed the dam. It is kinda like a date/interview because you have to convince them you are worthy of one of their dogs (sheltie breeders usually have lists of people wanting a dog). I was really flexible and even brought a friend and made a day of it. No preference on size,color,sex, etc. All I wanted was the calm one Lucky me, Gavin was a bit oversized even at 5 weeks because his markings were perfect (If he was in size she would have at least grown him out). I think his litter was 4 girls and 2 boys (gavin and one smaller boy). I think I picked him at 2 or 3 weeks; my breeder didn't let you visit or pick until then. I visited again at 5 weeks to drop off a crate and such. I played with all the dogs both times, and Gavin ignored me both times btw, he was more interested in other things. The pickier you are, especially at the outset, the harder it will be. Breeders won't know until after they are born how many, sex, coloring. and even longer for some temperment determination and which ones they want to keep for show (or which one they owe back to the owner of the other dog if that was the agreement). And then there are dogs they grow out for show that develop a fault. I got a 6 month puppy that way once (ears wouldn't tip).

There are places out there that have multiple litters and run a more professional business of breeding (I ran into a few websites) and they are more likely to be able to fit exacting requirements more quickly. Not sure I would call them puppy mills (at least some of them look to be reputable), but it is a different thing than a hobby breeder doing 1-2 litters a year.

 

[Piper's mom]

I agree with Cindy regarding the sex of the dog! Actually I forgot about this but when I was waiting on Piper I was actually expecting a girl. Like you I’d lost my previous girl and told the breeder if possible I’d prefer a girl. The pups were born perhaps a week later and there were 2 girls and 5 boys…perfect I thought! Unfortunately the breeder wanted to keep a girl (and a boy) and she wouldn’t choose until 8 weeks. By 9 weeks she still hadn’t chosen and if I didn’t pick a boy I’d get nothing! I picked a boy and honestly I now prefer boys over girls. Just my preference but my point is that with Shelties there’s really no difference between males and females as there can be with different breeds. It’s more of picking temperament, rather than sex.

 

[Katrina]

I wanted to thank everyone who has been such a huge support system for me to process losing my dog in such an unexpected way. I'm gradually getting better. I will start a new thread about my search and questions.

In that vein, I am still struggling here and there with the reality of her death. I miss her so badly some times. I still think she is at the vet's or something from time to time. I finally dropped off this brand new expensive bag of prescription dog food (I had ordered it just the day before she died and it came the day after). They had given my money back but said I could donate it. A new puppy won't eat it and so, it took me a bit but I wanted someone else to have it so I went back to the vet. I thought no more tears would come but once the receptionist took it and was so sweet, she asked me how I was doing and well, I was ok but teared up.

I finally vacuumed the house. The girls didn't want me to for such a long time because "there will be no more Trixie to leave any more hair" so that's been sad. I haven't moved her things too much because I know that we will use them again for the new puppy. We agreed that January would be perfect but I do realize that's hard so I am continuing to keep my options open as I learn.

Little things like watching for her to make sure she isn't under the chair when you go to lower the foot rest after a movie night. Dropping a crumb while cooking and having to bend down to pick it up yourself ... when she'd usually be underfoot always and sniffing around. (Not that she ate people food normally of course, just talking a crumb). Cooking in the kitchen and not having to step over her ... although most of that has passed and of course sleeping alone as she is no longer at the side of my bed. I am expecting her to not be there now that so many weeks have gone passed. It just was such a shock. I still have flashbacks to the morning she came over to me to get a pet and looked at me one last time. Boy, that is hard still.

I've become more thankful and anticipation is growing as we all look forward to a puppy in the coming months but that doesn't replace my dear little girl whom I adored. It will just stretch my heart to add another little best friend. In the meantime, this is the only place for me to talk about my grief. Thank you for listening.

 

[KarenCurtis]

I wanted to thank everyone who has been such a huge support system for me to process losing my dog in such an unexpected way. I'm gradually getting better. I will start a new thread about my search and questions.

In that vein, I am still struggling here and there with the reality of her death. I miss her so badly some times. I still think she is at the vet's or something from time to time. I finally dropped off this brand new expensive bag of prescription dog food (I had ordered it just the day before she died and it came the day after). They had given my money back but said I could donate it. A new puppy won't eat it and so, it took me a bit but I wanted someone else to have it so I went back to the vet. I thought no more tears would come but once the receptionist took it and was so sweet, she asked me how I was doing and well, I was ok but teared up.

I finally vacuumed the house. The girls didn't want me to for such a long time because "there will be no more Trixie to leave any more hair" so that's been sad. I haven't moved her things too much because I know that we will use them again for the new puppy. We agreed that January would be perfect but I do realize that's hard so I am continuing to keep my options open as I learn.

Little things like watching for her to make sure she isn't under the chair when you go to lower the foot rest after a movie night. Dropping a crumb while cooking and having to bend down to pick it up yourself ... when she'd usually be underfoot always and sniffing around. (Not that she ate people food normally of course, just talking a crumb). Cooking in the kitchen and not having to step over her ... although most of that has passed and of course sleeping alone as she is no longer at the side of my bed. I am expecting her to not be there now that so many weeks have gone passed. It just was such a shock. I still have flashbacks to the morning she came over to me to get a pet and looked at me one last time. Boy, that is hard still.

I've become more thankful and anticipation is growing as we all look forward to a puppy in the coming months but that doesn't replace my dear little girl whom I adored. It will just stretch my heart to add another little best friend. In the meantime, this is the only place for me to talk about my grief. Thank you for listening.

❤❤❤❤ I still miss my Sandstorm

 

[Sharon7]

This is a good space to share your feelings of loss and grief, almost all of us have been exactly where you are. And I know the habits of 13 years or so are hard to break. I saw Brooke everywhere out of the corner of my eye for the longest time after she left us. Brings a lump to my throat still.

I have come to believe that getting another dog is simply paying the love forward. I can't imagine my life without Shelties in it. Good luck on your search for a new friend who will, indeed, stretch your heart.

 

[danisgoat]

Oh gosh. I am so so sorry. This really hits home with me, as I lost my Dandie on July 13th. I haven't really posted publicly about it. She was 12 years 8 months and seemed perfectly healthy too. I took her for what I thought was a routine teeth cleaning. She died during a tooth extraction. My vet said he tried to revive her for 35 minutes. I am devastated and know the heartbreak you are feeling all too well. She had so much spunk the morning before I took her. Its a gut punch for sure.

 

[Chris]

Oh, I know this pain. Losing Layla and Beckon so close together was devastating, and I’m still not over it. I’ve found it comforting to grieve in steps, like remembering them at the Sunnybank Memorial last August.

Welcoming puppy Asher will be helpful, too. Yet there is some ambivalence as well. We never replace them. We only honor their amazing lives.

 

[woof]

l know this is an old thread but reading through it reminds me of why so many of us or at least me love shelties so much. They just integrate themselves into our lives so completely, they look at us with that unwavering look that just penetrates. I don't know maybe some of it is because they are herding dogs and that is inbred in them but when they trust you it is completely and that is a responsibility that we all fail to live up to in the end. We just can't fix everything. I have lived with other breeds of dogs and wouldn't trade a second with them for anything but my time with shelties is a step beyond.... dogs are most often the best people in the world.

 

[Katrina]

Oh gosh. I am so so sorry. This really hits home with me, as I lost my Dandie on July 13th. I haven't really posted publicly about it. She was 12 years 8 months and seemed perfectly healthy too. I took her for what I thought was a routine teeth cleaning. She died during a tooth extraction. My vet said he tried to revive her for 35 minutes. I am devastated and know the heartbreak you are feeling all too well. She had so much spunk the morning before I took her. Its a gut punch for sure.

I am so sorry you as well has this happen to your little friend. How are you doing now that time has passed? We are finally feeling better and ready looking for a puppy. It's been a difficult fall and Christmas without our Trixie. The thought she is still here arises from time to time still (like feeling the need to check under the chair before lowering the foot rest) but time has helped more. The void of not having a pet is still deep and the girls speak about how hard it is to answer a simple question a peer asks like do you have any pets? And it feeling bad to say Well, I used to have a dog ...
We are going to change that soon with a puppy but it still won't be Trixie. Then there is the whole matter of selecting a name ....

 

[Katrina]

Thank you for posting this. I came back to my thread because I am feeling much better. If I didn't have this place to talk through my grief initially, getting through this would have been so much more difficult. The people here helped me through what was the hardest few weeks of my life. I'd much prefer disease rather than no notice. I think! Then I'll say that and go through that and say, nope it was better this way. Either way, death sucks.

It's the same with people.

Oh well, anyway ... I love love love Shelties! My daughter got me a beautiful hand felted Christmas ornament that is a Sheltie and looks exactly like Trixie this year and we all cried. We love it! They truly are the best dog breed ever. We are so excited about finding our new puppy now.
- Katrina

l know this is an old thread but reading through it reminds me of why so many of us or at least me love shelties so much. They just integrate themselves into our lives so completely, they look at us with that unwavering look that just penetrates. I don't know maybe some of it is because they are herding dogs and that is inbred in them but when they trust you it is completely and that is a responsibility that we all fail to live up to in the end. We just can't fix everything. I have lived with other breeds of dogs and wouldn't trade a second with them for anything but my time with shelties is a step beyond.... dogs are most often the best people in the world.