Posted on 02/23/2015 2:06:06 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine – A beloved K9 suffering from seizures and arthritis received a final salute and a police escort, with lights flashing, to the Maine vet clinic where he was euthanized.
Dozens of officers and firefighters turned out this month to pay their respects to Sultan, a 13-year-old German shepherd who sniffed out drugs and bad guys with the Yarmouth Police Department.
Officers gave a last pat or scratch to the dog. Then they provided an escort for Sultan's final trip to a veterinary clinic.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Ping
Touching.
We once had a dog that had about one seizure per year. It also had arthritis later in life. Put her down? No. She still loved life and wagged her tail.. Put her down? No way. I don’t know about this particular dog, but sometimes the decision to put a dog down is made too hastily. This dog walked the parade walk along a row of his fellow officers.. Was he really too sick to live?
German Shepherd Ping!
Reminds me of the dog on the Austrian police procedural Komissar Rex. It was revived later in Italy under the title Comissario Rex. He was named Rex.
What a brave and noble dog. RIP.
I am confident this was a decision not made lightly by all involved. . .and it was the right decision.
RIP.
German Shepherds can suffer from hip dysplasia and crippling arthritis in late life.
The question is the quality of the dog’s life. Sometimes it cannot be improved with medication or exercise and the dog is in such pain prolonging its life would increase its suffering.
We are all sorry to see Sultan go but the vets made the best possible decision under the circumstances.
Its sad to lose him though and you never want this kind of day to come as a dog lover.
Wonder how many errorneous swat raids this dog was involved in? They are WRONG 60% of the time. Poor animal should have had a good home to start with, instead of being used by para-military authority figures...
He had outlived his usefulness to the police. Sorry, Rover.
K9s are excellent police dogs.
German Shepherds are fearless, obedient and incredibly loyal.
They stick with you through thick and thin.
Creepy.
They are WRONG 60% of the time.
Please tell me how you know this.
Its moving.
He was a courageous police officer and he paid his dues.
We salute him and offer him our respects as we would to a human law enforcement officer.
Sultan earned it.
For a large dog such as a German Shepard, 13 years is a long life.
If the seizures are infrequent, that is one thing. If they happen on a regular basis, that is something completely different.
I had a boxer that started to have bad seizures, and when he came out of them was prone to snapping, even at me. Not good with toddlers in the hours. And the anti-seizure medicine case him to act lethargic. So we had to put him down. Hated the choice, but it was the right one.
I still miss that dog...
house, not hours
Address it to the other poster.
I did not think it was meant for me.
Sad. Just looking at the title made me cry.
13 years is old age for this breed. If they live to 15, its exceptional.
Your case illustrates that when meds don’t help, you have to put your dog down.
Its not about what’s right for you, its what’s right for the dog and he deserve the same compassion you extend to your own family.
And sometimes putting your dog down is the right call.
I’m with you.
We had a female mix, greatest dog ever. We had to give her painkillers, and wheel her around in a wagon near the end. We’d wheel her outside to answer nature’s call. Sometimes she didn’t make it, and we’d have to clean up.
But she died peacefully at home and is buried under a cluster of birches in her favorite watch spot.
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