DUNDEE DONE GONE

[Mundo Osterberg]

I know most people who have grown up around livestock know there is a difference in how you feel between the dog or horse that herds the stock and the stock. I've hugged and smooched a lot of good horses and dogs but I've never done the same to a steer or a hog.

Friday I came home in the afternoon to find our 6 year old American Indian dog down. It's not unusual to find Dundee down, with a steady diet of pain killers, morning and night, he's down a lot. Dundee had many problems as a pup.

Six years ago I was looking through the local drive-way newspaper and there was a photo of Dundee at a local rescue home in Sunnyslope. Maybe it was because we had just put down a couple of dogs and our red Lab mix pound puppy was lonesome, or as I suspect, divine intervention told me to get this sad, sick dog, and sick he was.

Dundee had had a very poor puppyhood. His back legs were deformed which made him unable to jump, the fever had taken his teeth and most of his eyesight, and he couldn't utter a noise unless in one of his regular seizures he would give a scream that would bring his two and four legged family running. For the first couple of weeks he would crawl into the bushes, as I always assumed, to die. But with lots of expensive vet bills and the love of a family, he lived and actually grew strong.

For six years we nursed, loved and made him the center of all we did. But in the end I believe all the problems he obtained as a puppy finally got the best of him, and he died in my arms.

I'm sure there is another dog out there for us, but none will be as great a dog as Dundee.

[Gold Lady]

He was beautiful. 

[Gay Mathis]

A beautiful dog with special needs that was loved and loved you back, unconditionally..

[anthony martin]

  Mundo,

     I'm truly sorry to hear about your loss.The ones with major physical issues and cost a fortune at the vet's are the pets that pull most at our heartstrings.He looks like he was quite a dog.

[Stan H]

Mundo

 

My sympathies go out to you. You are a true hero to take in and love Dundee. He and you gained from the experience.

You gave him 6 years that he would not have had without your help and love.

I can see Dundee now, romping around the fileds of Doggy Heaven, healthy and vibrant, looking around for his loving human.

[Morgan]

Sorry to hear that Mundo. I know how difficult it is to loos a loved pet.

[Sue Cauhape]

I'm sorry, Mundo, to hear about your dog. I'll bet he tugged at your heart every single day and will continue to do so for years to come. Among all the animals we nurture and keep in our homes and hearts, there's always one very special animal that will always be with us. Dundee sounds like that kind of a dog, bless him. As Stan says, he's somewhere romping through tall grasses glowing in the sun, waiting for you to join him.

[Nicholas Narog]

I am sorry to hear this, Mundo. It is difficult to lose a special part of your family- especially one that loves you unconditionally. 

I had a pug dog- to me he was like my brother as we grew up together. He even had cancer the same time I did. It cost a fortune to keep him healthy- but we did it because you just don't turn your back on your loved ones. We gave him a great life- just like you gave Dundee a great life.

[Oklahombre]

Sorry to learn of your loss, Mundo. I've had to put down two dogs since October because of cancer and problems of old age (14 Yr). It is hard when you lose a pet. It takes a special kind of person to adopt a dog with all the problems that Dundee had.

[R.M.Cole]

Mundo, so sorry for your loss.  Sometimes it is the pet that is challenging physically that is loved the most.  My husband and I lost our 18+ year old cat a couple months ago, and the husband was extremely grief-stricken about it.  He finally decided that he could not be without another furry friend, so we adopted two 3-year old cats from a local shelter two weeks later.  It was good that we could give these two cats another home after they lost their previous home, probably due to the economy (the previous owners surrendered them to the shelter because they could not continue to keep them as they were moving somewhere and could not take the cats with them).

[Mundo Osterberg]

I want to thank all my friends on True West Forum for your sincere thoughts and stories. Losing Dundee like this has been devastating to us. When we all left Friday morning, Dundee was his regular hungry self, so to have him pass so quickly has really been hard. Maria and I thank you.