Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

[drstratton]

I have had enough heart breaking news this year. Maisy is handling her bone cancer on meds and doesn't appear to be distressed much more considering. Mel has had some problems with his hips so we took him in to the vet to confirm what I already had guessed. He doesn't have any cancer but has arthritis on his spine and hip area that is causing him some major pain. I have seen my scans and they are nothing compared to his so he is added to the hopefully control this with pain meds to keep his life as enjoyable as possible. The vet said we should give serious thought to putting them both down but I have had several years of unbearable pain and I never had anyone suggest killing me was a good alternative. I will do what I think is the best for both of them but I will also do my best to not do whatever that is, too soon.

I'm so sorry Mike! You two have definitely had enough heartbreak this past year.

 

[Baymule]

I'm so sorry to hear this. Mel is everybody's sweetheart, just a huge loveable, huggy, giant heap of love. This has to be devasting for you and Teresa. I know Maisy and Mel are getting the best of care that you can provide.

 

[Mini Horses]

Not only is Mel huge, gentle, kind & loved - he's "our family's" remainder of dear Latestarter. The attachment is real, as is our remembrances. You've given him the life he was born for & Latestarter had dreamed for. While I know you will provide the very best, it's a sad thing to grip that these beloved animals just don't have the long lives we all want for them and us, the caretakers. I'm so sorry to hear yet another hard diagnosis for you & your farm.

 

[farmerjan]

@Mike CHS ; Been thinking on the situation as I went to sleep last night. If you are planning on keeping the sheep for more years, is there a possibility of a puppy/young dog in the foreseeable future? For Mel and Maisy to train and teach while they are still able to do so? I don't know the predator load that you have to deal with there, but cannot imagine that you would have gotten a dog to begin with if you did not feel they needed that "safety net". A puppy is a "whole nuther deal", to start with, and with not feeling great, might be hard on Maisy and Mel,.. but sometimes that gives them a second lease on life too....

@Baymule ; too bad Ozel didn't settle to Buford.... did the dog you took Buford to breed... Eric's bitch?.... did she get pregnant?
And maybe there is someone close to Mike that would have a dog.... rehome a younger dog but not a little puppy...

How is Lance doing ?

 

[Poka_Doodle]

So sorry to hear this. Thoughts, prayers, and hugs to you.

Gosh, thinking about Mel, I feel like I've known about him for probably ten years. And it breaks my heart a little extra to hear the news. Between you and Latestarter, he's been given such an incredible life.
Sending love, you've had a rough year already

 

[Mike CHS]

@Mike CHS ; Been thinking on the situation as I went to sleep last night. If you are planning on keeping the sheep for more years, is there a possibility of a puppy/young dog in the foreseeable future? For Mel and Maisy to train and teach while they are still able to do so? I don't know the predator load that you have to deal with there, but cannot imagine that you would have gotten a dog to begin with if you did not feel they needed that "safety net". A puppy is a "whole nuther deal", to start with, and with not feeling great, might be hard on Maisy and Mel,.. but sometimes that gives them a second lease on life too....

@Baymule ; too bad Ozel didn't settle to Buford.... did the dog you took Buford to breed... Eric's bitch?.... did she get pregnant?
And maybe there is someone close to Mike that would have a dog.... rehome a younger dog but not a little puppy...

How is Lance doing ?

We have thought about getting more dogs but we probably will not. We got Maisy when we first got sheep but if we had it to do over again we probably would not have. We haven't had any losses up to this point and with my health condition, if we had losses the sheep would probably have to go.

Lance is doing well but he is also 10 years old so hopefully he can continue to do so.

 

[SageHill]

So sad. Hugs to both of you. Having just lost an oldster and looking at Obi who will be 11 next month - I cherish every day and cringe at the thought of the passage of time.
Hugs and snuggles to Maisy and Mel.

 

[Ridgetop]

So sad to hear about the dogs' medical problems. They have been such good and faithful LGDs and family pets. I often that God's real punishment to Adam and Eve was not the loss of the Garden, but the shortness of life to our wonderful dogs.

Don't write off getting another LGD too quickly. I understand your reluctance to get another puppy. I miss my sweet Bubba all the time but don't want toget another male Anatolian yet. I don't want to compare the new puppy to Bubba or expect Bubba behavior from him. I can wait. However, I do get more dogs while the others are still around. Not only do I have help training them from the mature dogs, but they can develop their own personalities for me to treasure without comparing them to the dog they replace.

Having predator losses is a minor blip that a good dog can cure. Wait to see if you have any predator losses and if so, you can consider a new dog. I have 2 excellent Anatolian bitches to breed so a puppy out of Buford is a good possibility. The bone cancer is worse than the arthritis. Harika had severe spine pain from arthritis and her meds kept her happy (and working) to the end. These dogs live to work and since you have had them for a long time surrounding predators will not bother coming in unless they are starving. Just their warning barks will keep predators out for quite a while. I woud hate to see you and Teresa get rid of the sheep and your dream. We all have to consider the eventual possibility, but not yet.

 

[Baymule]

@farmerjan yes, the female is bred and due in March. I will get a puppy out of that breeding.

 

[Mike CHS]

We finally got our last lambs born yesterday. The ewe had beautiful solid brown twin ewes but there somehow wound up being a problem as one of the lambs got seperated. We went out this morning and one of the lambs was nowehrere in sight so we went looking. Teresa found her quite a way out in the pasture and when she tried to introduce her back to her mom, she was rejected. We have them in out stall and that's where they will stay till we see where it's going. We are bottle feeding the lamb but we will leave them together so we can force the ewe to stand for the lamb at least a few times to see if we can make her accept it.