I am babysitting my Grandparents'...

[Roon]

deaf, blind, angry,15-year old schnauzer. For the last two mornings she has woken me up barking at around 2:30 AM. She just paces back and forth through the house and barks because she misses her owners. My Grandma is always bragging about how this dog never messes in the house but the last two nights she has pooped and peed on the floor.So I have to be woken up by her barking, only to get out the mop and clean the floors. She is a mess.

She's misrable and she makes the people she's around misrable. Not to diss on my Grandparents but I think it's cruel to let an animal suffer for as long as this dog has suffered. It's time and when my Grandparents come home today I am going to tell them that it's time. I just hope I don't chicken out.

[Spinzonner]

1. It may not help much

but is there anything around with their scent that the dog could lay with for comfort ?

[Roon]

3. Yes

A blanket, when she does sleep, she sleeps on it.

[SoCalDem]

2. Bear in mind, though..

The old girl is comfortable around "her" people, your grandparents..She is probably very disoriented withoout them.. She may be back to her old self when they return..

Also, since they love her, they probably overlook many of her faults..

Since she cannot see, her hearing is probably more acute, and having a stranger in her house (you) is probably setting her off..


I would say nothing to your grandparents.. They trusted you to babysit, and it would be rude of you to ask them to euthanize a pet they love so much.. When the time comes, they will know it..

my.02

[Roon]

4. OK, I am going to take your advice

Thanks for setting me straight. I am just very frusterated, tired, and my nerves are shot. I'm going to keep my mouth shut and suck it up.

[Roon]

5. P.S.

My reward comes today when they come home and take her back.

[SoCalDem]

7. I know how you feel.. Our neighbors keep their yappy dog

in the side yard...RIGHT NEXT TO OUR BEDROOM...and as pissed as we get when he barks, we feel sorry for him to be left outside, so we cut him some slack :)

FWIW.. It's always hard to take care of someone else's pet..:)

You did a good deed to babysit, and give your GP's a little time away from home :)

[Roon]

8. Thanks!

I am not the type that vents, but I really needed to this time!

[eddiebrowns]

6. I had a dog who was deaf and blind

for 2 years and I felt worse about him than he did, I'm sure. As a dog person I can tell you that your grandparents are probably very aware of this dog and his disabilities. A vet has told me that if a dog is still eating and drinking water (yes, and pooping!) that there really isn't a reason to put it down. Once it stops, then the dog is telling you that it's in pain. I have a 2 yr. old dog who spazzes out too when we leave her with relatives because she misses us. Eventually she calms down, but she's only got 2 years with us, not 15. Sorry that the dog is a pain to you, but it is old and very set in it's ways and like a lot of older people, doesn't handle change well. I can tell you that the hardest thing a pet owner can do is to put a pet to sleep; afterwards, you know you've done the right thing and eventually you feel better about it, but the questions are there, especially in the beginning-did I wait too long? did my friend suffer? The guilt can be pretty strong at times. Hopefully your grandparents, with their vet's advice, will know when the time is right. Good luck to you all. Hang in there!

[Roon]

9. Thanks for the shot in the arm!

I live next door to my Grandparents in a duplex. They should be back home late afternoon, so I am going to take her over there around noon or one and maybe there will be just enough familiarity to calm her down some. Then I am camping out on my bed and spending all day watching football!!

[SoCalDem]

10. Mystery solved.. She's at YOUR HOUSE???

I thought you were at HER house.. She's blind and disoriented.. She would have probably behaved fine if you had stayed THERE..

Close your eyes at a strange place, and try not to bump into stuff :)

[Roon]

12. She's not totally blind

she's very careful and negotiates rather well. Her deafness was the biggest issue. She was always a barker, but as she lost her hearing, her barking got louder.

[eddiebrowns]

13. if you happen to catch the Browns-Bengals game on tv

while you're watching, look for me in the dawg pound-i'll be the one wearing brown and orange. . . . . . and drinking a beer-have one with me! Cheers:toast:

[Bunny]

15. Hmmm. You'll be in the dawg pound, wearing brown and orange,

and drinking beer? Boy, you'll stand out like a sore thumb in THAT crowd!!! There wont' be ANYONE else doing that!! ;)

j/k (from a Steelers fan!!)

[eddiebrowns]

17. glad you caught the irony in my post

sarcasm is easier to pick up on in person-so......... come see me in the pound for the next browns-steelers game-we'll have a pint. in plastic cups only though

[Roon]

16. Oh yeah!!

I think I have seen you before!! Wearing brown and orange, woofing?

My team (the Broncos) is playing in Oakland today. Black hole, thrown batteries, most penalized team in the league. Should be a great game.

[eddiebrowns]

18. OMG

a Browns fans nightmare! Steelers and Broncos fans-who'd have ever thunk that we could all just get along-hmmmmmmmm do you think * really is a uniter not a divider?:crazy:

[Roon]

19. THE DRIVE!!

lol

[eddiebrowns]

21. I'm sorry

what is that-I have completely erased that word from my vocabulary-I steer my car, it's a voter registration project, and my children make me crazy.

[Roon]

22. lol!! n/t

[eddiebrowns]

23. p.s.

glad you're feeling better now that you've vented to us-even though you did mention "The &%#$*" LOL

[Roon]

24. I am feeling better

Esp. since it's now close to my normal wakeup time and I really don't feel all that bad.

[Bunny]

20. Steelers and Browns fans getting along?

* is a unificator, indeed!! Good luck today (psst - nobody likes the Bengals!)

[ps1074]

11. It is really hard for the poor doggy

I remember when I was on a 2 week vacation some 10 years ago or so... I left my doggy which was 5 or 6 years old at the time to a friend, so he can take care of her while I was away.

I got a call from him in the midst of my vacation that the doggy is very sick - didn't eat, didn't sleep, didn't drink any water. It seemed like she had decided to die.

I rushed back home immediately. You can't imagine how happy she was to see me. The moment she heard my car (she could recognize my car's motor) she was alive again... She just couldn't live without me.

I'd never left her alone ever since... 13 months ago I had to put her to sleep and it was the most difficult decision in my life. And I still miss her very much.

My point - your grandparents' doggy is not miserable. She is just not used to live without them. Give the poor thing a break.

[Roon]

14. My X-lover and I broke up two years ago..

and I had a cat that was so heartbroken about his absence, he also quit eating and drinking. We immediatly had him move in with my X but that did no good because now I was missing from his world. We ended up having to put him to sleep in the end :-(

Your scolding is valid, I am sucking it up,my Grandparents are coming home today. I am just glad I had DU to vent and get my head back on straight.