It is with a heavy heart, and many tears, that today, we say goodbye to my beautiful Sabre.
My family and I travelled over 4 hours by train, bus and taxi in England to go see him as a puppy. He was 8 weeks old, and when we looked at his Kennel Club paperwork, realised he was born on April 30th, my birthday! We couldn't resist, and took him as soon as we could.
He was the most perfect puppy you could imagine. He never once needed to be housetrained, even on his first night at home he whined until we let him onto his paper to use the restroom. I put the lead on him for the first time, and he walked like an angel, never pulling, or misbehaving.
Fast forward 6 years or so, and I moved from England to the USA and had to unfortunately leave him at my parental home where I lived for a while. As soon as finances allowed, my wife and I paid for him to fly over here, and we were reunited again!
Unfortunately, this also coincided with a difficult time for him. We realised he had an auto-immune disease, which caused a very serious skin problem (lupus) but after a series of vets and many thousands of dollars, we finally found a great vet. They diagnosed the skin problem, put him on Prednisone, and he was happy again. Before prednisone, this beautiful long haired shepherd had bitten himself completely bald and raw on his back and hips. The prednisone was a dream, he went from 67lbs (while he was itchy and unhappy he would not eat) back up to 93lbs as of Thursday.
Thursday evening, I got home from work, and saw Sabre. He was not himself. His ears were kind of flopped over to the side, he seemed a little weak, and just wasn't happy. A couple of hours passed while i monitored him, and he seemed to be getting more and more sick, so we took him to the emergency vet. They weren't completely sure what was wrong, and considered some kind of poisoning. After a night of treatment, with him not feeling any better, we were able to pick him up first thing in the morning and take him to our regular vet.
It was Aspiratory Pneumonia, and he was getting sicker. They took care of him all day, kept him on an IV drip with antibiotics but it didn't seem to be helping. We got back to the vets about 4pm, and were allowed to get him out of the cage in the vets working room, and sit with him, to keep him company until 6pm came around and we were to take him back to the Emergency Vets for overnight treatment.
We tried to walk him out to our vehicle, but he was not strong enough, so we took him by stretcher into the car. When we arrived, the last I saw of him was them wheeling him past on a stretcher into the back room. He cocked his head to the side and looked at me, as if to say "Well... this is different! I'm travelling in style!".
The dreaded call came at 7am this morning. His strength gave out, and he sadly passed away.
Thank you to you all for the advice you've given us in the past regarding his issues, they have truly been a help. I am also thankful that our vets allowed us to spend some time with him, while they had to try and work around us, so we could keep him company. They are very special, and did all they could.
I'll miss him with all my heart. Here is Sabre, April 30th 1998 - March 1st - 2008. May he RIP
I am so heartbroken for you, I know exactly how you're feeling, I lost my 2 old guys just recently, Duke in january and Hansel just 2 days ago . He'll always be watching over you til you all meet again, and he'll have wonderful company til that day comes. May peace be with you and God speed sabre, you are a much loved family member.
I am so very sorry for your loss. It is obvious how very much he was loved. How great your vet is that they let you spend that precious time with him in his last hours.
Run strong and free at the bridge sweet Sabre, untill you meet again.
My heart goes out to you and your family for the loss of your beautiful, beloved boy.
It is my firm belief that you will be reunited with him again one day. Until that time, hold him close in your heart and take comfort in your memories.
I'm so sorry. Sabre was beautiful! I know all to well the dangers of Aspiration Pneumonia and how quickly it can take our companions. Again, I am very sorry your loss. Bless you for loving him and giving him so many years of happiness and health.
I am so sorry for your loss - be comforted knowing that you loved him and gave him a wonderful loving home, and he will wait for you at the bridge....any GSD named Sabre holds a special place for me...
I'm so sorry your lost your beautiful Saber, that was such a heartfelt tribute you wrote about him. My condolences to you and your family. May he Rest in Peace.
Thank you for all your very kind words. It really helps in this difficult time. I was afraid most would not want to read my entire "novel" that I wrote, but when I sat down at the PC and started writing, I could not stop!
Rose - I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your 2 friends
*sends you a hug*
Wolfstraum - That is very interesting that you mention that any GSD named Sabre has a special meaning for you. In looking at your signature, I noticed that you also have a dog named "Basha". It's very strange! We had 2 dogs, Sabre, and a 4 year old Korean Jindo named "Bahsha". Very odd that we have so similar taste in names, haha!
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. He'll always be watching over you til you all meet again, and he'll have wonderful company til that day comes. May peace be with you and God speed sabre, you are a much loved family member.
