This is topic Tillie is very sick! in forum Member forum at The New Huntmastersbbs!.
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Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 15, 2026, 06:22 PM:
She got into something, I assume a Sago because they are very toxic. I brought her to Veterinary emergency Sunday. she has been on IV’s and they will now watch her for 5 more days. She has improved just a little and I’m already $3,500 into it. I saw her to day. Very slight improvement. So, she has not eaten anything since at least Saturday. She is extremely swollen around the mouth and jowels and her ears are am ugly red weeping infected look. extremely lethargic. I went down and saw her today. Being objective, she did look just a little better and barely noticed me. But they are better equipped to force pills down the throat than I am.
That’s all I got for now, I’m going down and visit her again tomorrow. Man she looks like RODE HARD AND PUT AWAY WET. I’m very concerned.
Thoughts and prayers from the Peanut Gallery are appreciated!
Good hunting. El Bee 🐝
Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on April 15, 2026, 07:21 PM:
Get well Tillie !!!
According to a woman I know at the Vet's, most of the plants that we landscape with are toxic to dogs.
Posted by TA17Rem (Member # 794) on April 15, 2026, 08:17 PM:
get well soon
Posted by NVWalt (Member # 375) on April 16, 2026, 01:34 AM:
Very sorry to hear about Tillie. Not much I really can say except that I do feel for you and hope Tillie recovers from this. Sad indeed.
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 16, 2026, 03:32 PM:
I visited her today. She is one sick puppy. They are putting her back on IV’s today. At least they are giving me a senior discount, now that the bill is getting rediculous. I suddenly had a thought about the ads I have seen before for pet health insurance, and that I thought were outlandish, but they don’t seem so stupid right now.
I even brought one of her very favorite treats, a slice of Kraft American cheese. She sorta sniffed at it but turned away. I brought her favorite chew toy, a squeaky Rocky Racoon. Same thing, sniffed it very casually, I squeaked it for her, but she was not impressed. They wouldn’t let me leave in in her kennel, maybe it might have the Cooties? She is not a happy camper. She’s sorta like in a trance, nothing phases her. I sure hope she looks better tomorrow! It’s really odd how swollen and puffy her front fore paws are. right down to her paws and individual toes are so puffy, kind of like a stuffed toy. She just has a blank stare, doesn’t look around much at all. I am extremely worried, at this point.
Good hunting. El Bee 🐝
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 16, 2026, 05:25 PM:
Very sad development. Vet called a short while ago and basically told me that it’s hopeless andI am absolutely devastated! Her organs are severely compromised and I’m getting the advice that her prognosis is not at all encouraging. I don’t know what to do but it’s aparent that she will not get better and it’s time to put her down. It’s so unfair, she is the best dog I ever had, and that’s saying a lot. Man, this is tough
LB
Posted by TA17Rem (Member # 794) on April 16, 2026, 05:42 PM:
Sorry to hear that Leonard. Once the liver and Kidney's start to shut down not much can be done.
I had similar with my dog Jewells and took her to vet they looked into her mouth, and all the skin was white which is sign of kidney shutting down. Vet said they could ship her off to cities or just take her home and let things run its course. things were just too far along. So, I took her home and sat with her in her kennel and just waited for her to stop breathing, it took about 2 hours from time I left the Vet.
That's one of the hardest things to have happen with a dog.
While I sat with her it reminded me of the time I spent with wife in ER. basically, same thing and nothing could be done. Just accept it and try move on. Thats life...........
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 16, 2026, 08:13 PM:
You know what, Tim? I was thinking the same thing! My wife has been gone now 21 years ago and I feel the exact same devastation as that night in ICU waiting for my wife’s heart to stop beating, that flat line on the machine. This was a 3 shot series and she put the stethoscope on her chest and just like that she was gone. A wonderful companion! She was my BUDDY! Man I’m really going to be lonely now!
LB
Posted by earthwalker (Member # 4177) on April 17, 2026, 04:28 AM:
So sorry LB. We had to put our ol' boy down in December.
I was laying in the ER and the other half had to go home to do it.
I'm feeling your pain greatly.
Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on April 17, 2026, 04:28 AM:
I never have the right words.
Just very sorry to hear this. It just sucks and will suck for a long time.
Posted by NVWalt (Member # 375) on April 17, 2026, 06:07 AM:
Leonard my heart felt sympathy is with you. Reading these posts just let me know how so many of us that have suffered the same heart aches with lost loved ones and our pets. I don't mean to sound snarky or unsympathetic but before my wife died she told me to" When I die. Buck up, get over it and get on with your life." It took quite awhile to overcome and I still find myself shedding a tear when I think of her and the same with my dear ClaraBelle. But ,crap I just got all teary eyed.Take care my friend and may God look over you and you find peace of mind.
Posted by www (Member # 3918) on April 17, 2026, 06:53 AM:
There's nothing I can say to make your decision any easier. I've had many dogs through the years and have gone through this several times, it's never easy. I have tears in my eyes now just thinking about some of them.
Stub,Pinto,Abby,Galarte and so many others will all be waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge.
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 17, 2026, 08:37 AM:
Thank you, friends. I’m looking around. Her round bed right in front of my recliner. Her pillow on the sofa on my right. Her food and water bowls by the kitchen slider. I took her pillow off my bed this morning, just put it on the floor while I figure out what to do with it and about two dozen slightly used chew toys.
She was so well behaved, would just stand on either side of this slider, or that one and wait for me to get off my ass and let her out. She would respond in good humor while I would tease her; asking the obvious question: OUTSIDE? And she would give me that coonhound woof with her head skyward, well knowing that I was just fucking with her because we both knew she didn’t “have to” go outside, but I’d let her out, just to look around for the 30th/plus time on any given day. Very mellow, even tempered and patient, she would “click” the glass with her front paw if I ignored her for too long.
Did I spoil the hell out of her? Fuck yeah! She was disciplined enough, that I could leave a cheeseburger on the coffee table right in front of her while I went to the bathroom, knowing that she would be there, burning holes in that cookie or sandwich, with drool, but she never touched any food without permission. Do you think that was the result of my intense training? She was just respectful, well behaved and patient. I never taught her any discipline that I can recall? She was extremely keen to my voice, zero sharp commands but she minded very well, just a complete joy as a companion and friend. Everybody knew that she was my buddy. She hated to see me go anywhere without her.
I don’t know what it cost me to give her a fighting chance, something north of five thousand but she deserved the effort and I clung to hope when I knew 3 days ago that she wasn’t going to make it. The vet told me that I was wasting my money on a hopeless effort. Damn, they had a room set up with a couple candles and stuff, Tillie laying on a plush blanket, and we were on the floor beside while she gave her a series of three injections into the IV duhicky taped to her wrist. She’s did the last one and put her stetha scope to her chest, listening while her heartbeat stopped, and just like that, she was gone. One of the hardest things I have ever done, it was so sad and unfair. My faithful companion, gone.And I’m sitting here with tears running down my face.
Fare well, Amigo!
LB 🐝
edit: I thought about it last night, and also just now, that I wish I had a photo of me with Tillie. Unforgivable!
[ April 17, 2026, 08:52 AM: Message edited by: Leonard ]
Posted by MI VHNTR (Member # 3370) on April 17, 2026, 03:25 PM:
Very sad news indeed. You have my sympathy. That's a very tough thing to do. Remember the good times.
Peace.
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 17, 2026, 08:05 PM:
All day, every time I ate something, the ritual was that I shared a tid bit with her and joked that she got half of everything, even though it was just a little corner of my toast, or to lick the bowl, be it chile or ice cream. Every room has something of hers. It’s been a very sad and lonely 24 hours. She was such a good girl! She knew it, and I told her every day what a good girl she was. A very special dog.
LB 🐝
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 19, 2026, 10:04 AM:
Well, it’s not blowing over. I’m looking at her big round bed in the living room. Walked by her bowls by the door. Walked through the kitchen and notice her box ox Milkbones on the living room table. We had a thing going where if I offered her one she would not take it, I had to toss it20 feet so she could romp after it, the sit in the same spot beside her round bed and chomp on it and lap up the crumbs. Just carefree pure joy.
She has a leash next to the garage, about 25 feet so she could lay in the sun or shade, just so she could see the world go by, mail man and Prime deliveries, she was glad to see everybody, no barking just a tail wag,In my bedroom, she had another dog bed in the lower corner on the opposite side. sometimes, she didn’t stay on the bed, but she knew she was supposed to.
The Emergency Vet has an elaborate program so you can have a private viewing while they cremate. No thanks, and I don’t want to go on the boat where they co mingle ashes with a group of animal ashes. They provide a plaque taken with her paw print, it appears to be some durable material, painted, with a verse. A nice cherrywood box with a clasp. There were various jars and urns, several different boxes, one had intricate carving. I liked the simple box, don’t know why, but I knew the one I wanted before she started explaining a dozen or so choices. Get this, the gal was crying herself, Tillie is still laying on a blanket beside us, and I mentioned the candles in glass, kind of spiritual. This was the reception lady that took my credit card, and had me sign legal documents, I assume that she had done this part often enough, but she was crying right along with me as she explained this final transaction. Maybe she had a loss that she remembered? IDK?
Every night, Tillie was eager to go to bed. I always kept the bedroom door closed. I have a ritual where I close everything up and go to the kitchen to take my pills. She was always on het pillow on the couch, monitoring my puttering and then I called her name and she hustled to the bedroom door and waited for me to open it and the hop on the bed, on her bed.
Then we had a ritual. I would go over to her side and lean forward, because the bed is higher than normal. And I would say: OUTSIDE? If she needed to go, she would hop off and stand at the slider right beside the bed. However, 9 times out of ten, she would answer by studiously ignoring me. This mean; No, I’m ok I don’t have to go outside. Good enough for me! She knew rules and stuff, and if she was telling me that she was good through the night, I believed her. But, many times I would keep asking; OUTSIDE? and she knew I was teasing he, kept ignoring me. I had tried to get her to woof a response, but she prefered ignoring me as the answer. She loved going to bed every night. No matter if I was tired, or stayed up ‘til midnight, she patiently waited on the couch until I was ready. But, I had learned early on that if I left the bedroom door open, she might decide to go to bed when she felt like it. So, I always closed that door and she knew it was closed, until I called:”Tillie” and she would show up before me even though she was twice the distance. She loved going to bed.
It’s hard writing this memorial, stupid tears getting in the way. She knew ‘Good Girl” and Good Dog and she did her best to please me. You can’t ask for more. She was a happy girl, she had a good life and the good die young. She would have been 7 in May,
LB
[ April 19, 2026, 10:18 AM: Message edited by: Leonard ]
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 19, 2026, 01:31 PM:
The DoorBell? So quiet, suprised I actually heard it with out my trusty doorbell announcer? There was a lady at the door with a plastic bag. She said she was a friend of my daughter, Shelley and she was so sorry to hear about Tillie’s death and so she offered a couple of Carne asada tacos from the local Mexican restaurant a couple block from here. I was very moved by the gesture and told her that I appreciated it very much. A little small talk later and I thanked her again. She knew that Shelley lives 430 miles away and can’t be here and I am all alone, and lonely.
So, that was about it. I could only eat one taco, put the rest in the fridge. But that was a nice thing to do, a small favor by a total stranger who said that she was a friend of my daughter from high school that lives a few blocks away. Everybody appreciates a little tragedy and this certainly qualifies.
Damn, even Pinky acts like he knows I’m in mourning, he has a consoling attitude, or it’s my imagination? They quarreled, typical of brother and sister but both knew they were family. I will have to be extra attentive to him because he’s all I have and I am all he has and we need to support each other. So, he’s been getting extra cashews all week. Funny how you can become attached to animals. They ask for very little, just a little attention when you can spare it.
That’s all the news from Upland today.
Take care! LB
Posted by Az-Hunter (Member # 17) on April 29, 2026, 05:25 PM:
I've been in your shoes more than a time or two Leonard, losing a good dog hurts as bad as losing any loved one, maybe more in some cases.
From your stories, It was obvious you were very close to Tilly, going to be big hole in your heart for a long time my friend.
Everyone kept telling me to go get another pup right after my last good dog was shot in Florida.
Might work for some, but I couldn't do it, took me 3 years before getting another.
It leaves a big hole, and takes time heal from a good one
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on April 30, 2026, 08:24 AM:
Hello Victor. I remember the hound you had in McNeal. Some asshole shot her across the road from your place. Are you saying that you had another dog shot by a stranger? If so, you have some terrible luck!
I have not picked up anything, you would think that Tillie is still here, maybe I’m in denial? Got the tears going now.
My daughter flies down from the Bay area every month to spend a week with me. She will be here next week. She doesn’t know it, but when I pick her up, get on I-10 for a mile or so and exit Euclid, instead of turning, I will go straight across to the Emergency Clinic across the street and we will pick up Tillie’s ashes together, because I need the support. They take a paw print after she’s dead and it’s preserved on a vinyl plaque with a verse. Her box will be cherrywood. I think I’ll keep it next to my cigar humidor.
Was her name Boots? I remember she was a good looking hound, like a Walker with a dark saddle, pleasant temperament. I love coon hounds, honest. All American breeds. They deserve to be more popular than they are. I will always remember my Redbone that had the hip replacement. she drowned in the pool because she couldn’t swim. That was another tragedy. That dog loved to get up in trees. My son named her Red, not very original, but <shrug> she was the family dog, but Tillie was different, she was MY buddy. RIP good girl!
LB 🐝
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