# Did you creamate or bury?



## Heracles

Makes me sick having to post about this. I am having someone with a backhoe come and get a plot ready for our ailing herc. 
Just wondering I read alot how having cremation done helps having the same remains close. Never dealt with this..it's rough . .


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## Debanneball

So sorry for your pain. I have Stella's ashes in my bedroom, she slept on my side of the room.


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## onyx'girl

So sorry you are dealing with this. I'm all for cremation. I just had to have an African Grey cremated last week.
This time of year, the ground is frozen, I've had two dogs pass away the weekend before Thanksgiving(different years) and one we buried. It wasn't deep enough, the ground was frozen and hard to dig. After that, I'd never bury a pet again, even in Summer.
I'm fortunate that there is a local crematorium that is fairly inexpensive. 

I have photo's of the pets next to their cremains, though I don't know that I enjoy dusting that top shelf.


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## Hineni7

Losing a loved pet is extremely difficult, watching them decline is even harder... Ice buried all mine, and have little Graves with momentos from their lives. Flowers and sometimes a little grave marker. They are around the arena where I would train, so I know they are always nearby in thought and overlooking an area they loved..


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## Saphire

I have buried all mine but decided the heartache of doing that was just too much for me. I will from now on create then bury the ashes.


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## Zeusthegsd143

Heracles said:


> Makes me sick having to post about this. I am having someone with a backhoe come and get a plot ready for our ailing herc.
> Just wondering I read alot how having cremation done helps having the same remains close. Never dealt with this..it's rough . .


How old was he? ? I'm sorry...


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## katieliz

i have done both. it's never easy but cremation is by FAR easier than burying. the last dog we buried was a very long time ago, i watched my husband dig the grave until his head disappeared...he couldn't stop digging because that would mean that he had to put our Echo's body in the ground. Never, ever again. Ever. If you have a choice, choose cremation and you will never regret it.

I'm so very sorry for your profound loss.

ps...i've looked for a post that says he has actually gone to the bridge, but don't see anything. thinking of you, take care.


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## Nikitta

I'm on my 6th and 7th GSD and I've had a couple buried but I felt better when I was able to spread their ashes over places they loved.


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## Juliem24

We've done both, Huskies in the back under the peony bushes, which are now known by the dogs' names, and cremated. I think the kids "got it" both ways, they would visit the peonies and sleep with the collars of the cremated ones. The beagles ashes went to the local hot dog stand whose fries he adored...I prefer burial for the dogs, cremation for me.


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## Hineni7

I prefer burial, however, we have acreage and soft enough ground (except during winter), as I can make their spot beautiful (we will be getting a gsd puppy fountain (a pup getting a drink from the fountain) for my most recent loss (May of this year)) for his grave. My others have markers and flowers.. They surround me everyday  I have asked the Lord for them to meet me in Heaven, - guess we will see when the time comes  

I don't believe she has lost Hercales yet, he is just on the decline  My prayers are for you and your family and of course Hercales... 

God bless, 
Misty


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## Waffle Iron

I ultimately had Blue cremated when she passed a few years ago. 

I considered burial. But there aren't many pet cemetaries in the area, and the ones that exist charge a very high premium to have a plot there. I considered burying Blue on my property. However, when my grandmother died and her house sold, they developed the spare lot and in the process unearthed 60+ years of cats and dogs that had been buried there. I thought about that and decided I wouldn't want that to happen to Blue if I ever sell and move.


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## JakodaCD OA

I cremate my dogs and cats, have a cabinet with their ashes in it, kinda morbid but when I 'go' those ashes are going with me. 

I'm sorry your going thru this with herc hugs to you all


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## NancyJ

I wound up not worrying about the remains and just paying the county fee, after my cremated ashes wound up in a cabinet and my most treasured items became the pawprint in plaster....

Each of us is different and does what comforts us most.


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## ken k

JakodaCD OA said:


> I cremate my dogs and cats, have a cabinet with their ashes in it, kinda morbid but when I 'go' those ashes are going with me.
> 
> I'm sorry your going thru this with herc hugs to you all



I wouldent say morbid, mine are all on the mantle, when it's my turn, then they will all be with me


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## Heracles

Zeusthegsd143 said:


> How old was he? &#55357;&#56866; I'm sorry...


He will be 11 on March 3rd. Happened all of a sudden. Not sure what it is yet, looks like DM. Primarily impacting his ability to urinate. There is alot of weight loss, and also light hints of DM symptoms on his rear legs- Definitely not displasia.

Hes comfy at home. He mostly just lays down now, I take him out often so he can move. Thankfully i have vacation time over the holidays

Its strange as im not sure if this will come to us deciding his quality of life is gone totally, or if we wake up one morning and find him sleeping. Since the ground is freezing up i had to get the plot set up since I cant call this contact on a whim whenever it happens.

Thanks for all the kind words and support. It helps coming here. Yesturday as he refused to leave my car, I sat with himin there for hours, crying and holding him. I thought we would lose him then. Must of been just after effects of the catheter process/ anesthesia. 

He is peeing so much better with the new medicine dosage, so not as worried about a bladder rupture now. 

I would never want another breed. Gosh a friend was over showing us pics of there 1 year old GSD. reminded me of Herc just so touching when you think of their cycle of life, pretty much like ours.


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## llombardo

We kinda did both for my mom. She was cremated as were all our previous pets. My sister got a capsule like thing that we all could write something on and we put my mom, grandma and the pets in it, then buried that. That way it can be moved. They were placed under a stepping stone/marker in front of a foutain.


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## RunShepherdRun

Heracles said:


> He will be 11 on March 3rd. Happened all of a sudden. Not sure what it is yet, looks like DM. Primarily impacting his ability to urinate. There is alot of weight loss, and also light hints of DM symptoms on his rear legs- Definitely not displasia.
> .


DM doesn't happen suddenly, it's gradual. If it's sudden, it's more likely a spinal issue, a disc injury, possibly lumbar stenosis. Has he been seen by an experienced vet familiar with GSDs? 

What meds is he on? What did the vet say about the weight loss? That is not consistent with either DM or spinal issues, unless it's the wasting of rear end muscles.

My last senior GSD had herniated discs and acupuncture gave her an additional two years. 

I am so sorry. You are not alone. Many GSDs experience spinal issues and some DM. This might be helpful, also the 'quality of life scale' at the bottom:
https://www.avma.org/public/PetCare/Pages/Caring-for-an-Older-Pet-FAQs.aspx


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## RunShepherdRun

About burial vs cremation: 

In the past, the dogs I grew up with and the dogs I had as a young adult were buried in my parents' yard. Both died last year. Now the house will be sold, likely torn down, and a large building put on the whole lot. It pains me that the graves will be disturbed. 

When we knew the end wasn't far and winter was approaching, we dug the grave ahead and covered it with boards. 

I cremated the dogs and cats in the more recent past. I found it difficult when the ashes came a month later. So I found a crematory that returns the ashes within a week at most. They also offer private cremation while you wait. I did this for my last GSD. 

Unless it's an emergency, my vet will come to my house to do an euthanasia. Then you have the choice of keeping the body for a few hours or overnight and bringing the body to the clinic where it will be frozen until the crematory van comes. Or the vet takes the body with her/him. Carrying the body of a GSD takes two people, very different from carrying the dog while alive. I think it helps to understand the procedure and the choices.

And, as I understood Jocoyn said, some people let the body go, and do not bury or keep ashes. Whatever feels right is right.


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## Sabis mom

JakodaCD OA said:


> I cremate my dogs and cats, have a cabinet with their ashes in it, kinda morbid but when I 'go' those ashes are going with me.
> 
> I'm sorry your going thru this with herc hugs to you all


 
Not morbid, the girls are all on a shelf with their collars, tags and some photos. And yes when I go they go with me, it's all arranged.


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## RunShepherdRun

Heracles said:


> ... Must of been just after effects of the catheter process/ anesthesia.
> 
> He is peeing so much better with the new medicine dosage, so not as worried about a bladder rupture now.


So he *suddenly* couldn't urinate and had to be catheterized? That also points to a very painful, sudden injury like a herniated or even ruptured disc, a ligament or severe muscle tear, etc. We once had that happen with our senior spitz. She slipped on ice and tore an ACL. The pain made her cramp up and she couldn't urinate, had to be catheterized at the emergency vet to prevent bladder rupture. 

It's for a vet to diagnose what is going on and give you a prognosis. Iff it's a spinal issues, these can be managed for a while with pain medication, acupuncture, and possibly pred. What does the vet say about the weight loss? Maybe it is, but maybe it's not time for him yet, is what I am trying to say.


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## Cassidy's Mom

Definitely cremate. We don't have enough yard to bury anyway, and what if we moved? Cremains can move with you, and even be buried or cremated with you.


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## SuperG

Heracles said:


> Makes me sick having to post about this. I am having someone with a backhoe come and get a plot ready for our ailing herc.
> Just wondering I read alot how having cremation done helps having the same remains close. Never dealt with this..it's rough . .


Yes, it's rough but unfortunately an inevitability. However, since it comes with the stewardship and sharing your life with a dog, to each their own on how they choose to preserve the memories of their buddy.

For me, my responsibility ended after holding them in my arms for the last time as they were liberated from their suffering and hardship. Once the essence and spirit of the dog has left their body...they are no longer what they were...now they are just flesh and fur.

The memories will always remain close and in my heart regardless of where the remains of their bodies end up...

FWIW...might sound stupid...but my opinion again. Grieving over what will occur in the near future with a dog on a very limited time span, might be something to think about in the most selfless of ways. Since, I choose to believe our furry companions are well aware of our attitudes and moods, telegraphing our sadness and sorrow while the dog is still alive, sends signals to the dog which might not be in the dog's best interests. At the very least, confusing to the dog and at worst, making the dog misconstrue our feelings as the dog has done wrong. I have always tried to steel myself against the inevitable having to say "goodbye" to my dogs towards the bitter end....I'd like to think my dogs, in spite of their hardship, went to the end, knowing how wonderfully happy they made me and didn't have to deal with the burden of my sadness. There is plenty of time for tears and our own personal grief after we have led them to the end with all the love and wonderful attitudes they have grown so accustom to over the years.


Once again, to each their own.

SuperG


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## CheyCher

I either bury my pets at my brother's farm, back in his woods, or have them cremated. I don't keep the ashes. Unfortunately I have had to make this decision too many times this year. The not so fun part of my pets getting old. I love them while they are here, I care for them and give them a good life. They will never be gone as long as I am here to remember them. They live on in my memories


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## middleofnowhere

I've done both. My first pair died when I was renting. They got burried in the yard. (In town.) I didn't know about cremation then, (heck it was so long ago they might not have been offering it), and I didn't have the money. It wasn't until dog #4 died that I knew about cremation. It was winter, the hard ground was frozen even harder. In Arkansas, I had three cremated because I was not going to leave them there in the land of humidity, tick and fleas. 
I found digging the graves for the ones I burried to be what I needed to do at the time. Driving one two hours to the crematoria/um was the right thing, too. She loved to ride, she would have enjoyed the trip if she were alive.


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## scarfish

i was just going to pay the vet to dispose of the body when i lose one. i don't own land and i agree keeping ashes is morbid. i don't think its morbid that other people do but i wouldn't want to hold on to any person or animals ashes. i guess it will be up to my wife though. when the cats go i'll prolly just put thm in a trash bag and put out with the trash.


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## scarfish

my mom keeps my dad's ashes on her dresser and the whole thing creeps me out.


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## shantinath1000

We cremated Prince and scattered the ashes in the yard where he would lounge in the sun.


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## Colie CVT

I agree with a sudden spinal injury rather than DM. Dogs who suddenly start to go down and lose control over bowel and bladder tends to make me think of IVDD with a disc protrusion rather than DM. 

Though I had a plan for 3 years about what to do with my Kenai when I lost her. She was cremated and the urn that I ordered for her is decorated with some of her hair - so the pattern of black on it is a part of her. She resides on my desk with her paw print, the paw print of my parent's golden who was her companion, a picture of my family with my grandmother and the few keepsakes I have that were hers. <3 

I also have a necklace that has a small pawprint urn with some of her ashes within it so that a part of her is with me always. Perhaps some see it as morbid, but I have literally had panic attacks if I misplaced the necklace for a time. It also has a heart with a little fake diamond in it which was the final gift I got from my grandmother the Christmas she passed away a few days later. Both of these things are treasures to me and a part of two of the most influential things in my life. My very first and heart dog, and the grandmother who showed me how to be humble, kind and giving. <3


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## JazzyLuv

We just had our Mono cremated, we have him and our Jazzy on our mantle in the living room...I agree with the people on here who say whatever feels right is right, everyone has their own beliefs, personal ways and such...I'm so sorry you are going through this, my thoughts are with you...


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## wolfy dog

I have buried the dogs since we live on acreage. it is found it a tough but a sweet thing to do. I feel they are still around that way. I couldn't bare the thought of having my sight hounds cramped in a box as ashes. I gave them a soft bed to lie on.


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## Arlene/Archer

In the last five years I have had to pts one elderly basset hound (15) and two old cats ( 21, 22), and I leave their bodies with the vet for disposal. It's a hard day, but we make it a happy one for the animals, and stay with them right to the end, holding them and talking quietly to them until their die. I have never felt any particular qualms about leaving them for disposal though, dead is dead to me, they're gone. I will do the same when Archer's time comes and our last remaining cat dies. I don't usually mention it as people seem to think it's heartless or something, but I feel it's how we treat our animals when they are alive that counts, not when they're dead. To that end, I'm also leaving my own body to science when I die, hopefully I will provide some use that way (my father-in-law is doing the same, so we've talked the process through and it sounds far preferable to a funeral and all that jazz). 

Whatever you decide, it's hard when you know the end of their lives are near, and all I can say is try not to worry about the after and worry more about the now: give them peace and kindness and love them for all that they have given you and all that you can give them, that seems to me a better way to approach that which we must all approach.


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## JojoTobyMax

I have a little doggie cemetery at the rear of my property. Six GSDs and a friend's cat are buried there.


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## Chicagocanine

I don't have a place on my property to bury anything bigger than a rabbit (I do have a pet bunny buried in the yard). I had wanted to bury one of my dogs at the pet cemetery but it ended up that I couldn't afford it, so they were cremated and I have their ashes on a shelf with some photos, figurines, their collars etc...


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## Syaoransbear

I had my dog cremated. I'm pretty sure we won't be living in this house for the rest of our lives so I wanted his remains capable of coming with me.


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## Susan_GSD_mom

I have done both. I currently have two nice boxes with ashes of my two boys we lost a year ago, I don't know what I will do with them yet.

The house we had to leave last year had numerous raised flower beds--with 1 or 2 dogs buried in each one. I think that was what we hated to leave most about that house (it flooded badly in spring of 2013)--our dogs' graves! For about 2 seconds we considered digging them up and bringing them with us--can you imagine?? But we nixed that idea fast. There are many others, including my heart dog, from years ago who passed away while the ground was solid as a rock, and we always wished we could have buried them but didn't have money to hire a backhoe to break through the frozen ground (or weren't yet in a house with lots of land).

Susan


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## NormanF

I'll get the ashes of my late dog back. The humane society performs cremation for free.

And you'll have your beloved dog near you as a keepsake.


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## Chip18

katieliz said:


> i have done both. it's never easy but cremation is by FAR easier than burying. the last dog we buried was a very long time ago, i watched my husband dig the grave until his head disappeared...he couldn't stop digging because that would mean that he had to put our Echo's body in the ground. Never, ever again. Ever. If you have a choice, choose cremation and you will never regret it.
> 
> I'm so very sorry for your profound loss.
> 
> ps...i've looked for a post that says he has actually gone to the bridge, but don't see anything. thinking of you, take care.


I'm just going to tag on here and say yes!

I only buried one day barely a year old and I made a mistake that cost him his life. 

Burying him in our back yard crushed me. And then we sold that house! I was physically and psychologically incapable of leaving him behind! So without a court out he was exhumed by me and put in a box and he came with us! 

My other three we just had cremated from the start. With Stewie I was to shell shocked to think clearly. 

The worst part of owning a dog is the day they leave us.


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## Chip18

Susan_GSD_mom said:


> I have done both. I currently have two nice boxes with ashes of my two boys we lost a year ago, I don't know what I will do with them yet.
> 
> The house we had to leave last year had numerous raised flower beds--with 1 or 2 dogs buried in each one. I think that was what we hated to leave most about that house (it flooded badly in spring of 2013)--our dogs' graves! For about 2 seconds we considered digging them up and bringing them with us--can you imagine?? But we nixed that idea fast. There are many others, including my heart dog, from years ago who passed away while the ground was solid as a rock, and we always wished we could have buried them but didn't have money to hire a backhoe to break through the frozen ground (or weren't yet in a house with lots of land).
> 
> Susan


A brief moment of levity?? As you can see yes I can. Trauma does that to you.


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## NormanF

I think cremation gives us a sense of closure - they'll give you a Rainbow Bridge card with your pet's name on it.

I don't think our pets are gone any more than we lose people close to us who have passed away.

It just won't be a physical relationship.


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## maxtmill

We have had many dogs, and when they die, I have always left the body at the vet to dispose of. Except for our three pugs, two of whom have passed away- my husband, for some reason, wanted them cremated. I do NOT like having the dogs' ashes because it is a constant reminder to me and makes me sad whenever I see them. My heart dog died horribly and suddenly about a year ago, and I left his body with the vet. What I prefer to do, what is comforting to me, is that I have tattooes of my dogs on my back - my Chinese Crested and one of the pugs' faces, the other pug's pawprint, and I have made an inkprint of my remaining pug's nose to be tattooed on my back when she passes away. This is a lasting memory for me. Also, I feel the burden of being responsible for my two pugs' ashes- at some point I may choose to spread them. Everyone has to do what is best for them. I am so sorry your dog is doing poorly!


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## selzer

The vet has an agreement with the crematorium. I pay, I do not ask for the ashes back. I believe that when the die, their soul/character/being goes out of the body. The body is just a shell. 

The vet sent a little piece of curved glass with the name of Arwen and another when Duyba was put down. I have a little figurine of a pup sleeping that I lay between the two of them. I dust that when I dust. 

I have pictures and ribbons from the dogs, lost and alive. I have all of their books -- binders, mostly with a picture of the dog in the view on the front, and their name in the view on the back of the binder, and all their titles, health information, pedigree, certificates inside. The dead dogs or if I sell a dog later on, like Rushie, I turn their book/binder around, so I can fit all the books on my shelf, and snag the one I need if I am going to the groomer or wherever I might need any of the info in there. I have a box for dog tags. I suppose that is sentimental. Maybe my folks will bury them with me. I doubt it. I'm the dog nut in the family. It will probably be something that some hoarding psychologist will be encouraging me to let go of 30 years from now. 

I used to save old collars, but one day, I opened the box of leather collars, and they were foul. So I don't save them any more. Current collars are hung up on my deacon's bench, and I have a few extra martingales and adjustable collars for puppies hanging about the house in various bins or boxes. I usually find them right after the darn pup grew out of it. So much for being organized.


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## selzer

Oh yeah, the symptoms could be a number of things: spondylosis, spondylitis, injury. They are similar to Cujo's. His was a tumor on his spinal cord. Probably more tumors in his body. Cancer. He was slipping a few times, and thirty days later he passed away at the vet before the euthanasia could be applied. Very sad. Spondylosis and spondylitis and even DM wouldn't have killed him. They had x-rayed him and found the mass, but spondylitis can cause masses. Anyhow, the symptoms could have been several things, but the outcome narrowed it down for us. 

It is sad that our dogs are with us for such a short time, really. No matter when they go it is hard. Of course it is hard, the grieving, if they weren't such a wonderful part of our lives, we wouldn't have so much trouble at parting. 

Babsy is slipping a bit lately. She is also leaving food in her dish as often as not (the only symptom Arwen had before she passed). I am trying not to read too much into it. But the thought of losing her is awful to consider. She's over 10. No symptom worth bothering the vet over. She just had bloodwork when her tooth was removed, so, no point doing a senior exam. But the worry of coming home and finding her gone is hard to chase away.

Sorry.


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## NormanF

Chip18 said:


> I'm just going to tag on here and say yes!
> 
> I only buried one day barely a year old and I made a mistake that cost him his life.
> 
> Burying him in our back yard crushed me. And then we sold that house! I was physically and psychologically incapable of leaving him behind! So without a court out he was exhumed by me and put in a box and he came with us!
> 
> My other three we just had cremated from the start. With Stewie I was to shell shocked to think clearly.
> 
> The worst part of owning a dog is the day they leave us.





selzer said:


> Oh yeah, the symptoms could be a number of things: spondylosis, spondylitis, injury. They are similar to Cujo's. His was a tumor on his spinal cord. Probably more tumors in his body. Cancer. He was slipping a few times, and thirty days later he passed away at the vet before the euthanasia could be applied. Very sad. Spondylosis and spondylitis and even DM wouldn't have killed him. They had x-rayed him and found the mass, but spondylitis can cause masses. Anyhow, the symptoms could have been several things, but the outcome narrowed it down for us.
> 
> It is sad that our dogs are with us for such a short time, really. No matter when they go it is hard. Of course it is hard, the grieving, if they weren't such a wonderful part of our lives, we wouldn't have so much trouble at parting.
> 
> Babsy is slipping a bit lately. She is also leaving food in her dish as often as not (the only symptom Arwen had before she passed). I am trying not to read too much into it. But the thought of losing her is awful to consider. She's over 10. No symptom worth bothering the vet over. She just had bloodwork when her tooth was removed, so, no point doing a senior exam. But the worry of coming home and finding her gone is hard to chase away.
> 
> Sorry.



If your dog stops eating for more than 3 days, its a warning sign. If your vet can't cure the illness, its waiting for the inevitable. Sometimes they tell you its their time and nothing you do will change their mind. Your dog is old and you're going to be blessed if she lives another few more years. In the meantime, all you can do is make the most of the time you have left with her so you'll look back on your years together with fond memories.


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## selzer

NormanF said:


> If your dog stops eating for more than 3 days, its a warning sign. If your vet can't cure the illness, its waiting for the inevitable. Sometimes they tell you its their time and nothing you do will change their mind. Your dog is old and you're going to be blessed if she lives another few more years. In the meantime, all you can do is make the most of the time you have left with her so you'll look back on your years together with fond memories.


LOL, Babsy has always been a chow hound. Never leaves food in her dish. She isn't stopping eating. She is eating all the extras that she has always eaten, but she is leaving some kibble behind in her dish. Her mother, Arwen, left a little kibble in her dish the day she died and that was odd. She ran around that day like a puppy, she ate most of her food. Just not all of it. 

I wouldn't let a dog wait 3-10 days without eating at all without seeking veterinary help, whether or not I had already been to the vet about it. It'd be like, "She's still not eating, what now?"


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## Chip18

RunShepherdRun said:


> DM doesn't happen suddenly, it's gradual. If it's sudden, it's more likely a spinal issue, a disc injury, possibly lumbar stenosis. Has he been seen by an experienced vet familiar with GSDs?
> 
> What meds is he on? What did the vet say about the weight loss? That is not consistent with either DM or spinal issues, unless it's the wasting of rear end muscles.
> 
> My last senior GSD had herniated discs and acupuncture gave her an additional two years.
> 
> I am so sorry. You are not alone. Many GSDs experience spinal issues and some DM. This might be helpful, also the 'quality of life scale' at the bottom:
> https://www.avma.org/public/PetCare/Pages/Caring-for-an-Older-Pet-FAQs.aspx


 It does not sound like DM to me either ... Boxer guy and unfortunately I know that well. 

Back on point "Struddell" DM took her two years after she could no longer walk. She is on the shelf next to Gunther and Heidi, Stewie is still in his box in the office.


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## middleofnowhere

OK folks, this thread is a couple of years old, so speculating on the OP's dog's illness... might want to do a search to see what it was


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## Tiptx4

Our last dog was a Lab we had for 13 years. We had him cremated ashes put in a box with his name D.O.B. and his final day on earth with us. We have his picture in a frame next to the box and a flat stone impression of his paw print as I'm sure in 12-13 years from now we will do the same thing for Ranger. It took us over a good year to replace our Lab Hoover but the timing was right for us to get another and so glad we went with a GSD. Our poem goes like this as many I'm sure have heard this .... PAW PRINTS LEFT BY YOU ....you no longer greet me, as I walk through the door. You are not there to make me smile, to make me laugh anymore. Life seems quiet without you, you were far more than a pack or any family member and a friend a loving soul I'll never forget. I will take time to heal with the silence to go away. I'm still missing for you and miss you every day. You were such a great companion constant loyal and true to my heart and will always wear the Paw prints in my heart


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## RuthArt

When Wiena passed in September 2017, I decided there was no reason to bury her, she would be cremated and we actually had
a funeral service at the crematorium with friends where we played music while reading our final thoughts about her and music
that reminded us of her wonderful energy. (Mannheim Steamroller) We got some beads made with her ashes, and a nice German Shepherd Urn which I 
keep on a shelf with several items and photos of her.


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## Thecowboysgirl

I've had 3 cremated in recent years. I considered burying them -- we have acreage and they died in warmer weather. But I've moved so much in my life I feel like leaving their grave and selling the property to someone else would just be devastating. I love it here and don't plan to move but still...

When the first one went and the vet offered the cremation service I was worried-- I asked her 20 questions about how reputable the place was. I don't care what it costs so long as they are really doing what they say they are doing with my dog's body. I agree it's just a body but I still need to know it's being treated with respect. I had to surrender a dead horse to "a guy with a truck" who did god knows what with my horse, because it was illegal to bury the horse in the town where he died and too many neighbors to get away with breaking the rule.

Anyway, I was assured by this vet that they video tape every individual one that they do and it's all very up and up. They do send back a very nice little thing with the paw print and some hair. I believe they will do a private cremation with owner present and I think I will have to do this when my girl goes. I do not think I could let someone take her away. I think I will have to bring her body there myself and be with the body while it is done.


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## RZZNSTR

My last 4 have all been cremated and are in boxes in the Great Room. The plan is when I go they go with me!


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## RuthArt

Here is Wiena's Memorial (I guess some would call it a shrine?) 
Hosted on Fotki
The picture at the top is when we had our last woo-woo's the night before her passing (I have video)
The frame below that is one the neighbor brought over, a place for picture and collar/tags. I love it. I put a rainbow collar around it that we bought in Prescott,AZ. She didn't look good in
it, made her look like a clown or jester, but I think it's place is good.
The top shelf has her Urn, it took me a while to put the ashes in it, I waited 6 weeks until we got the Mini-me Wiena. Closure of sorts.
Also a candle that the crematorium gave us along with foot print in clay. Her CHICO is draped over her photo album (that was the neighbors dog who always barked at her through the
fence....causing her to slam her Jolly Ball into the fence everytime. So when Chico passed, I got her the Cow Squeek toy and she learned to thrash it side to side whenever I said CHICO.
Her collar and tags hang from the toy.
The 2nd shelf holds the cards she got from neighbors and friends/vets, etc. Some day I will hang them from a piece of driftwood we picked up on our last trip to the beaches near San
Luis Obispo. Also, the box I held her ashes in for the 6 weeks (it was a prototype box I made for myself) I keep some of her stuff in there now.
The 3rd shelf, not showing, has training books, a box with her halter and other things like rocks we collected to write some of the qualities we loved about her to go with the
engraved stone we had made from a picture I took when she was younger.
It seems to be cathartic for now, I love moving things around, adding stuff, planning what other memorials to make to her.


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## tim_s_adams

At the end of the day, it's about what makes you most comfortable. Nobody can tell you that...follow your heart!


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## herojig

Just lost my best friend last month, and he was buried out in the hills. But here in Nepal, there is not much choice. Most dogs go to the trash heap, so in my mind, whatever is done needs to be performed with dignity & respect. 

I've always been interested in burial rites; and the strangest I've seen is the Buddhist ritual of letting the body be picked clean by ravens and other birds. Another is the outdoor Hindu cremation, where the ashes are scattered over a sacred body of water. That's how I want to go out...


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## MrSmith

We've cremated all of our dogs. We are at the point in our lives where moving will be common for us for the next 10-15 years. In our current home we cremated Ryker, and will use her ashes to put in a flower bed for her outside in the front yard. But we will keep a portion to always have with us. And we have the plaster paw prints. But we are considering having them cast in metal just in case they break. Currently they are in shadow boxes for both Ryker and Diesel, with pictures and their favorite toys.


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## mandi

Our Maverick just passed away on Sunday and we requested that he be cremated and our 8 year old daughter wants him to come home so that is what we are doing. I want him to be near us and we will put some of his ashes in the backyard in his favorite spot and the rest will be in a box that has pictures of him.


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## tc68

Sorry to hear that, mandi. Mine was put down a month before yours. He had been "fighting" cancer, so I had a couple of months to prepare for the inevitable. Since he was my first dog, I didn't know what the best thing to do was: burial or cremation. I asked around. My friend said she regretted not cremating her first dog years ago. My cousin leaves all her Great Danes' bodies with the vet. She said she doesn't need their ashes; pictures and memories are all that she needs. The vets and vet techs all cremated their pets. Neighborhood pet owners all cremated. So with the overwhelming consensus with the people I talked to was cremation....that's what I went with. I also did not choose burial because there might be a law in my county that prohibits burying on your own residential property. (I live in the suburbs of a major city.) Burying at a pet cemetery is way too expensive. Plus, one day when my parents are gone I'll most likely move away, probably to another state. I'd spend all that money (thousands of dollars) on a plot and casket and then not visit it...makes no sense. The hospital that he was put down at sells a cremation package deal for around 180 bucks - comes with a very nice cherry wood box/urn with engravings all included in that deal. The hospital also made paw prints out of clay for me for free. I had 2 made.


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## car2ner

I guess it might seem cold to some but we think that the body is just the shell. For my past two dogs I let the vets dispose of the body without any ashes coming back or a keep sake box or paw print. We have photos of good times and that is all we need. The good memories have stayed with us. 
We did appreciate the card the vets sent us. Even though we know they do it for all their clients it still felt like a nice personal touch. That I keep.


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## tc68

car2ner said:


> I guess it might seem cold to some but we think that the body is just the shell. For my past two dogs I let the vets dispose of the body without any ashes coming back or a keep sake box or paw print. We have photos of good times and that is all we need. The good memories have stayed with us.
> We did appreciate the card the vets sent us. Even though we know they do it for all their clients it still felt like a nice personal touch. That I keep.


Yeah, my vet sent me a card too.


Not cold at all. We're all different. My cousin and I share the same blood and yet she didn't feel the need to keep all her dogs' ashes while I did. Some feel creeped out knowing that the ashes are in the house. What creeps me out is hearing about some who take their pet's body to the taxidermist and stuffing it into a certain pose and then placing it by the fireplace. But like I said, we're all different.


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## Sabis mom

tc68 said:


> Yeah, my vet sent me a card too.
> 
> 
> Not cold at all. We're all different. My cousin and I share the same blood and yet she didn't feel the need to keep all her dogs' ashes while I did. Some feel creeped out knowing that the ashes are in the house. What creeps me out is hearing about some who take their pet's body to the taxidermist and stuffing it into a certain pose and then placing it by the fireplace. But like I said, we're all different.


I have a house full of boxes of ashes and old collars. One box contains the ashes of an old Golden I found dying in a field. We have never located an owner, I named her Maggie in her last moments, because she looked like a Maggie. 
Someone offered to stuff my Dane, but I kept getting hung up on the thought of someone skinning my dog. I guess it's one of those "to each their own" things.


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## Nurse Bishop

Bury. A dog graveyard is sacred ground.


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