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Those who love their pets tend to enjoy all animals. Our animal owners are no different. Check in on News-Herald staffers Robin Palmer and Cheryl Sadler as they share their own animal tales and announce upcoming events in Lake and Geauga counties.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Pain is stalking day's possible death watch; linked with Outdoors Blog

Watching the embers of a likely dying beloved pet begin to fade is never easy.

But when you're a hunter whose dog is also a frequent sidekick to outdoor adventures, well, the picket duty becomes all that more difficult.

After all, you've grown up together to be a team, you reading the dog's body language while he or she notes the tone of voice, the nod of the head, the wave of a hand or the short bleat from a whistle.

Call it primeval if you must, as some reckon to do. Call it symbiosis, also if you are so inclined. But a hunter and his dog are more than just "friends." They are fellow travelers - adventurers - along life's unsteady, not-always-plotted path. They've come to depend on one another in ways that most other pet owners could only guess at.

Please see my latest News-Herald Outdoors Blog posting as I comment on the discomfort over watching my 12-year-old Jenny Lynn struggle with the affects of what her vet calls the canine version of a stroke.

There is hope, given that in 80 percent of these identical cases a dog can recover most functions on its own. Yet after 24 hours this hope appears to be waning.

It hurts in ways that I have not felt in years; not since the loss of my last retriever and hunting buddy, Miss Daisy.

In advance, I thank you for your support. And for the hunters who've also been there, done that, I appreciate your silent nod of understanding and your tears of recognition.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com

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