Our Reggie

February 17, 2000 - July 14, 2015 This page is dedicated to our beloved friend, Reggie. He is in Heaven now, probaby chasing Suzie or visa versa. Or they are chasing rabbits, balls or other things.

Once again my hubby, Rick, and I had to make the extremely difficult decision to put another one of our beloved companions, Reggie, to sleep. It has been 8 years since we had to do this once before with Suzie. Reggie had been in terrible pain for several months, losing weight, going from about 15 pounds down to 9.5 pounds by the time we took him to the vet to be put to sleep. He never did eat very much and only liked dry or table food and treats. He never did like gravy put on his food nor did he like canned food, so it really was always a chore to get him to eat. So the only way to get food into him during the past few months was to give him table food and treats. He would nibble on dry food and eat a quarter of a cup occassionally, but the week before he was put to sleep he would not each much of anything. He loved cheese and would eat it most of the time when we offered it to him, but would turn it down occassionally. We had originally scheduled June 24th to put him to sleep but that did not work out due to scheduling conflicts so he got to stay with us for a little while longer. He was able to go on a camping trip that weekend with us and sit by the fire. He always had his own chair and loved sitting by the campfire. After the camping trip he perked up and ran around and played so we thought he was going to be ok for a while. Unfortunately on Tuesday morning, July 14th, he was unable to get his back legs to work and could not get out of bed. Most of the day he lay around except for struggling with his back legs trying to get from one of his beds in the living room to the other bed, and didn't quite make it into the den. Rick had to pick him up and carry him to his bed in the den where Rick works. Rick did put him outside and he finally was able to walk, but he was dragging his back legs. A short while back we found out Reggie had kidney stones. The vet said we could try surgery, but at his age he may not make it, so we tried meds but it never did completely dissovle the kidney stones so he was still in pain from them. Reggie had lost most of his vision due to cataracts and was almost completely deaf. We also noticed he seemed to be not aware of his surroundings. The vet said he would probably be suffering from a form of dementia. We adopted Reggie when he was about 8 weeks old and he always had a huge personality for such a little dog. He was a great watchdog, and would have no fear of going after a dog that was several times his size. If he didn't know you, he could be a little intimidating, but once he got familiar with you, he was very loving. He loved to cuddle next to you on the couch or the bed, getting as close to you as he could. He really loved going camping with us. His favorite activity was sitting in his own chair around the campfire. We would place his dog bed on the chair, put a sweater on him, and he would fall asleep while we had smores. We tried our best to give him a full and happy life, and he went on many camping trips with us. We have another dog, Molly, who is a Lab-mix and is about 70-75 pounds. Reggie was always the alpha dog, and he kept Molly in line. The last couple of years were hard on little Reggie. He would barely eat, and mostly slept all day. We just made sure he was comfortable and could get to his bed, waterbowl, and could get outside to use the bathroom. Reggie was definitely a unique character and he will really be missed. We love you, Reggie! I am sure you are running around with Suzie. His last couple of months he slept a lot. He was almost unable to get up to walk - we had to lift up his bottom to help him stand and then hold him until he got his balance. He also ate less and less as time went by. It seemed the only thing he liked to do was to sleep, but he did get up and move around and watch both Rick and I when we took our showers. He would always dance when we came home, greeting us at the door. It was a sad sight to see his legs start falling out from under him when he tried to dance like he always did. I made the calls to the vet and the local pet cemetery to make the arrangements. I was never able to finish the phone calls without crying on the phone...This was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. My brain knew that this was the best thing for Reggie, because he was in constant pain and his health was failing due to old age...but how do you make your heart understand that?? Anyone who knows me knows that my dogs are not just dogs - they are my kids. I rarely refer to them as dogs - I always call them my babies. How do you deal with putting one of your babies to sleep?? Rick also had a difficult time with this since he is more pro-life. We decided that we have to think about Reggie, and not us, since Reggie didn't have much of a quality of life. We had him cremated and brought his remains home and placed them with Suzie's. At least that way they will always be with us. There will never be another Reggie, just like there will be another Suzie. May they rest in peace and play until we meet again.

Rick, me, Suzie and Reggie


Reggie with Big Bone



Reggie Camping



Suzie and Reggie enjoying the sun


Suzie and Reggie relaxing

Suzie and Reggie Memorial

Until we meet again..We love you both, Reggie & Suzie..