# Loyal to the end...



## chruby (Sep 21, 2005)

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20080812/NEWS/863952458/1051/WT.tz=-7&parentprofile=-1


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## Crabtree (Jan 6, 2006)

What a sad story.








Reminds us all of what heart this breed has.


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## Superpup (Jun 7, 2007)

So sad, although I have no sympathy for anyone who commits a suicide.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

That's incrediable.


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## Ilovealldogs (Nov 17, 2006)

Six weeks?! Wow! That is a great demonstration of loyalty!


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: Superpup
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Having sympathy for someone that commitd suicide is pointless - they are dead.

But we SHOULD have sympathy for the devastated family and friends they leave behind - both 2 and 4 legged.


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

Wow!! I feel bad for the dog
at least they found them and the dog is back where she belongs


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## GSDolch (May 15, 2006)

Good dog


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## MatsiRed (Dec 5, 2004)

> Originally Posted By: IlovealldogsSix weeks?! Wow! That is a great demonstration of loyalty!


Not to mention a great example of how our dogs do not stand in judgement of us.


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## GSDolch (May 15, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: MatsiRed
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> > Originally Posted By: IlovealldogsSix weeks?! Wow! That is a great demonstration of loyalty!
> ...


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

It's hard to understand why someone would take their dog with them though, if intending to kill themselves.


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## GSDolch (May 15, 2006)

im NOT trying to be offending and im sorry if I am, but, those who are not suicidel wont and cant understand.

Like it was said..the dog didnt judge.


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## Guest (Aug 12, 2008)

Indeed they won't. Mental illness has no sympathy in this country. The comments in this thread just highlight that fact.

I can say that there but for the grace of God, or perhaps more to the point, Odin, go I. When I had lost my mother to a stroke, my brother to a brain aneurysm, and the love of my life all and were gone within a matter of days compounded by the loss of a career and severe PTSD after my return from Iraq I sat there one day with a .45 and contemplated my end. How much easier it would be to make the pain all go away. All that kept me from going was Odin really. He looked at me and I realized that I couldn't leave him alone so I found the strength for him when I had lost it for myself. Later I sought help and that got me past those times.

I'm sad that young man wasn't able to make that kind of a connection, but I have been on the threshold of where he went. I do not condemn him. Instead I mourn that mental illness is perceived the way it is in America. I'm quite certain if it were otherwise he'd be alive today.


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## DrDoom (Nov 7, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Superpup
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And I hope for your sake nothing ever happens in your life that might cause you to change that statement.

_*edited for violation of board rules*_


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## scannon003 (May 21, 2008)

I feel that this is an incredible sad story, and no one knows how that man felt and thought. Is suicide right or moral, no, but how desperate someone might feel that would even consider that alternative. What we humans need to learn is the love and compassion that our animals have, in this story, that Cash has for his family.


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## lcht2 (Jan 8, 2008)

why did he take the dog in the first place?? suicide is greedy, german shepherds are the best!


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## DrDoom (Nov 7, 2007)

Well, if you believe suicide is greedy you obviously haven't ever had to watch a loved one, a man you admired and respected, who'd lived a long healthy life, battle cancer at 77. And how desperately that person would want to NOT be a burden or a drain, and NOT cause his family anymore pain than absolutely necessary. It's a very personal decision, but not one that deserves second guessing. Just because Hollywood has conditioned you that LIFE is always the way. No one who is "good" would ever choose anything but life. Sheep. 
I mean, don't we put our canine friends to sleep when their suffering becomes too great for them to bear? Who are you, to say what level of suffering this man was going through? You're no one, and I reiterate that I hope you get to keep your narrow, insensitive views all your lives.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

how very sad for everyone (( 
diane


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## jake (Sep 11, 2004)

I have never been that close to a "final solution'but would ask posters "{if you had no one who would step up for your dog if something happened to you)might you reasonably want to take him with you-and with the results of a situation wherplaced in animal control situation-MAYBE just maybe they both found best peace together?


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## Cooper&me (Dec 18, 2007)

I was days from taking my life at one time. My last step was to take my dog in to be put to sleep. As demented as my thinking was I didn't want to leave my much beloved dog in the wrong hands. I really thought it was kindest to put her to sleep. Luckily I found the strength to walk out of the vets office and into a psychatrists office.

I wonder what the man thought was going to become of his dog after he died? I have lived enough to know not to judge.


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## Strongheart (May 2, 2007)

It could have been an accident. We don't know anything really except what appears to have happened. 

That dog is one for the history books. Guarding his dead owner's body so scavengers wouldn't get it. That's something. 

What a tale. 

I just wish that guy could have at least left his dog some water and food. He must have not been thinking about that for long. Maybe he had some terrible siezure or something. Too late for an autopsy. We'll never know. Only the dog knows.


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## Qyn (Jan 28, 2005)

I am so sorry that this man got to the point that he felt that his life was not worth living - at that point he probably was not even aware of what the consequences of his actions would be for any other being, he just wanted his own pain to end.

What a loyal dog. Especially, as I doubt her owner was recognisable (by smell) as the owner that far after death. I certainly would not begrudge my dogs a meal off my dead body, if they were hungry.

A very sad situation! I am just glad that Cash, the dog, was found and re-united with her remaining family.


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## MatsiRed (Dec 5, 2004)

_"I am so sorry that this man got to the point that he felt that his life was not worth living - at that point he probably was not even aware of what the consequences of his actions would be for any other being, he just wanted his own pain to end."_

Beautifully said, Qyn, exactly what I was thinking. 

It's the black hole of life, and if you haven't been there, it's not possible to understand it, and therefore any personal judgement is going to be made out of ignorance.

In terms of why he kept his dog by his side, I could think of all kinds of reasons. Nobody really wants to be alone when they're dying, so maybe he chose his best friend to be with him. OR, maybe he was hoping his best friend could keep from pulling the trigger in his weakest moment. OR, maybe he simply wanted someone there who would not judge him or stop him. OR, maybe he planned to take him with him but changed his mind. OR, maybe his thought process was so distorted he barely realized his dog followed him to his death. 

When someone is in that black hole, they already feel detached from the human race. (Could be his dog was his one remaining living being that he felt some degree of attachment to.) They feel unbearable pain and unbearably alone and isolated, and 'trust' is a foreign word to them. They assume others will be much better off without them, (maybe even his dog?) If it's clinical depression that caused him to fall into that black hole, then he has a chemical imbalance that needs to be corrected, (just like a diabetic needs insulin to maintain a chemical balance). He won't 'snap out of it' because he CAN'T. His entire life could be perfect all the way around, but he will still become suicidal if his chemistry sets him up for it. He needs to be directed to professional help and needs a strong support system to put him on a different track.

There are many people around all of us who suffer from clinical depression, who appear to have everything going for them, and they kill themselves anyway. Ever wonder why? The wrong answer is 'because they were very selfish'. The right answer is that they had a chemical imbalance and they were unable to stop themselves. They were SICK. Yes, it leaves their loved ones behind to pick up the pieces and carry the burden. Nobody will dispute that. But people who die from cancer and heart attacks leave grieving loved ones behind, too, but it's more acceptable because it's much better understood.

IF we can all keep an open mind about suicide and spend more time trying to understand it instead of judging it, maybe someday one of us will find ourselves in a postition to save a life, as some of our fellow board members can atest to. AND you never know, someday that precious life saved may be YOUR OWN.


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## GSDolch (May 15, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: mjb03
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> I wonder what the man thought was going to become of his dog after he died? I have lived enough to know not to judge.



Its just a guess, but maybe he didnt expect the dog to actually stay.


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## suerenn (Jul 20, 2005)

Qyn and Donna - Very well said and thank you to both of you for your posts. I have had to deal with a family suicide and it angers me when I read some of the other comments people have posted.


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## Doreen210 (May 28, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: MatsiRed_"I am so sorry that this man got to the point that he felt that his life was not worth living - at that point he probably was not even aware of what the consequences of his actions would be for any other being, he just wanted his own pain to end."_
> 
> Beautifully said, Qyn, exactly what I was thinking.
> 
> ...


 Very well said MatsiRed, when I read this post my first instinct was to pray for him and his family. I saw a picture of the dog with the man's wife and child. It was beautiful. I feel very sad that this man was so mentally sick that he thought his only way out was suicide. It's not up to me to judge anyone, but for the grace of God go I. That dog is incredible.


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## jake (Sep 11, 2004)

siometimes lately the only thing that makes me buck up and go on is that JAKE and i are partners and in it for the long run.,


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## skyizzy (Apr 15, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: GSDadIndeed they won't. Mental illness has no sympathy in this country. The comments in this thread just highlight that fact.
> 
> I can say that there but for the grace of God, or perhaps more to the point, Odin, go I. When I had lost my mother to a stroke, my brother to a brain aneurysm, and the love of my life all and were gone within a matter of days compounded by the loss of a career and severe PTSD after my return from Iraq I sat there one day with a .45 and contemplated my end. How much easier it would be to make the pain all go away. All that kept me from going was Odin really. He looked at me and I realized that I couldn't leave him alone so I found the strength for him when I had lost it for myself. Later I sought help and that got me past those times.
> 
> I'm sad that young man wasn't able to make that kind of a connection, but I have been on the threshold of where he went. I do not condemn him. Instead I mourn that mental illness is perceived the way it is in America. I'm quite certain if it were otherwise he'd be alive today.


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## Crabtree (Jan 6, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: jakesmommy
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: MatsiRed_"I am so sorry that this man got to the point that he felt that his life was not worth living - at that point he probably was not even aware of what the consequences of his actions would be for any other being, he just wanted his own pain to end."_
> ...


I couldn't think of anything to add to this as it has been so well said. If you haven't experienced it then it is hard to understand.
God bless Cash, my condolences to his family.


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## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

Thank you. My father is ninety and going through serious health problems. His wish might be death and I have a Helath Care Directive, however, to actually allow hm to die is so difficult.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: Timber1Thank you. My father is ninety and going through serious health problems. His wish might be death and I have a Helath Care Directive, however, to actually allow hm to die is so difficult.


So sorry to hear about your father. I know what you mean how difficult it is to allow someone we love to die. My mom was on the "Do not resuscitate" list when she was in the hospital during her final days of dying from a chronic lung disease. She also had brittle bone and any attempts at CPR would have crushed her chest. It was really hard but it was the best decision for her and it was her wish.


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