"Scooby" was named Yukon when he came to us from a local dog warden in Summer of 07 after being chased by the Sheriffs department and DCO for running deer. His previous owner and home life left much to be desired and his behavior was horrible at times as a result.
He loved his new name "Scooby" . He was so happy to be called, period.
Scooby was a small old style pit bull.. so cute. I'm a sucker for the red body suits.
He had some problems with a old leg injury that healed badly and ortho surgery was not recommended by his doc at Cornell... his temperament was similar to a person with PTSD...a little Jekyll and Hyde sometimes too. He got over most of "dementia" with my Steve and the uniform issues too but still had many issues that were unpredictable at times and we had to be careful housing him. It was worth it in the long run. He taught me so much about what could be fixed and what could not .. he was such a little clown when he was "up".
We fondly called him "Smeagal" sometimes after Golem in The Hobbit.. he was quite a character.
We loved him and let him stay with us, taught him everything we could, managed his painful leg and hip until it could not be managed anymore.
This last few weeks he was showing us he was in much pain continually, was losing weight and not resting or eating properly even when medicated, the Cosequin had stopped helping long ago and his other pain and anti inflammatory meds were not helping much. He had trouble getting into position to do his "business". Our only other option was to remove the leg. We opted not to.
Scooby took his last car ride Thursday the 24th, it was a beautiful day. He had hot dogs and ice cream that day.
Scooby even got to see a NYS Trooper up close and personal on the way to the vet because we got pulled over. I held my breath and held on the leash as the Trooper walked up to the car.
I was very proud of him when he grinned broadly from the backseat wagging his tail so proud to be going for a ride on a nice spring day when the Trooper approached our window.
Everyone at the vet loved him of course and wished things were different as I did. He left us in my arms wagging his tail loving all the attention. Peace at last for Scooby.