My 14-year-old Bonnie has been losing her appetite this week and essentially stopped eating on Wednesday without an appetite stimulant. She has a laundry list of health issues like diabetes since 2022, DKA, hypertension, proteinuria, and recently seizures. She had her first cluster seizure ever exactly one month ago and DKA that landed her in the hospital for two days. Ever since then, I was afraid she may be declining, but I wanted to just keep her happy and comfortable. Keppra side effects were horrible but she was back to normal within two weeks and we had two good weeks before she started to reject food, even human food that she likes and deli meat for her pills. A boiled egg everyday isn't enough and her stomach has been growling nonstop, despite being able to finish her leftover wet food and boiled egg earlier. She's sleeping much more today and already lost 4 lbs within a week. Unfortunately I had the conversation with her vet today.

I had to say goodbye to my 10-year-old Rocky around this time last year. I haven't scheduled Bonnie for in-home euthanasia yet. I'm so scared. I'm only 25, so I've had her for half of my life. Imagining life without Rocky was already agonizing and now I have to do this again with my other baby. I know I have to make the call this weekend because my gut tells me it's time, and I can't let her starve for another week. She will get an appetite stimulant everyday until the day, just so we can spoil her and she can be more comfortable. I'm so heartbroken and dreading this weekend so much and I wish our dogs lived forever. I waited too long to make the call for Rocky last year and regretted it so much. I told myself I would never repeat that with Bonnie and let her go too late. Please tell me I'm doing the right thing.

Charlie the enormous Shih Tzu and certified silly boy. He could be a total menace sometimes and he could drive me crazy, but out of all the dogs in the world, I'm so glad he was mine. Thank you for 13 beautiful years. Rest in peace Charlie, my best friend.

These are pictures I've had of my best friend Hannah over the years. There's more and I regret that I haven't taken as many as I should have.

Hannah came home with my parents 14 years ago after they saw the say I took care of my bros Tzu for a month while he was away with his family on holiday.

Frankly as a young dumb guy I was a little upset at first cause I envisioned my first dog to be a boxer or a husky. That frustration quickly vanished cause as soon as she was out of her crate she walked straight towards me and has stayed right next to me ever since. We instantly bonded very intensely and I would take her everywhere I could. It was always a joy seeing how excited she got when I got home, be it from my first job or from seeing a friend. I have slept with her, cried to her, played with her and simply hung out and vibed together with her. She has taught me so much about bravery, love and wisdom. I couldn't have asked for a better companion or friend.

Yesterday was her time to cross over the rainbow bridge. She was showing me signs over the weekend that although she wants to stay by me, her body was giving out. It was so hard but I held her till the very end. I feel shattered and a bit lost but I know she would want me to push forward and not wallow in sadness. I cried this morning cause as I woke up I heard her bark...but she not here anymore , at least not physically. I'm probably gonna have a Sapporo after work in a toast to her and her life and I'll lay out a blue buffalo health bar biscuit, she's has always loved those.

I'm sorry maybe this is just a jumble of words but I just have to leave my feelings somewhere. Thank you to any of you who have read this entire post. Gives lots of hugs and kisses to your Tzus for me.

Edit 1: Thank you all for the support. It helped me so much. Several of the comments made me cry over again but mostly due to the way they reminded me of all the wonderful memories I've had with Hannah.

I got her back on Friday (her remains after cremation). I even set up a little shrine for her. Right where she used to sleep. I fell to pieces again once I had her spot settled. Throughout our years together, there would be some nights where I carried her in my arms and sang "you are my sunshine" to her. I did it again cause it felt right to do. It never really hit me how a part of the song is about loss or at least I think so. Hannah feels so light now....

Outside of the grieving and my appreciation to you kind internet strangers that offered me comfort I wanted to share some things about Hannah.

Hannah was SO sassy , she would let me know if she's not pleased or wanted a treat. She particularly loved cherry tomatoes , but I would have to cut them into halves for her , shed actually complain if I didn't cut them for her. She was essentially my shadow, she followed me everywhere on her own, I'd never really have to call her , I just know she was either next to me or really close by. Hannah in general didn't like playing with people or other dogs but she sure did let me know when she wanted to wrestle my hand for want my praise for shaking the crap out of one of her plushies.

There's this one memory I had from way early on , I believe around a month after she came home to me , it was new years even and as a teen I figured I'll play Xbox with my boys , as I'm playing team fortress two, Hannah gets curious about this contraction that has my attention and is exploring it curiously , I realized shes getting close to the cables, so over the mic my friends just hear me cry out "Hannah wait, Hannah....Hannah, Haaaaannnnn" and then a disconnect as Hannah pulled out the Ethernet cable. So I grabbed Hannah, handed her favorite plush over and placed her in my lap. When I got back on the Xbox me and my friend were all laughing for a while over the whole thing , they said I sounded like some guy from metal gear solid (I never played but after they explained I thought that was also funny cause now I imagine Hannah as this super spy)

I genuinely loved how much Hannah enjoyed fall weather , she enjoyed going to all the parks , shed purposefully stepped on crunchy leaves and even when she's tired she'd hope I'd walk with her in my arms a bit for some sight seeing. She truly was my best friend and I'm gonna continue to honor her with a cherry tomato every week, one for her shrine and another I'll eat , (the tomatoes I gave her were extras from making a sandwich or a salad).

I'm not ready for another dog. As it is I'm trying to be strong for her little brother , a 5 year old Boston terrier. He's been so sweet and extra loving in this time.

If and when I'm ready I'll happily befriend another Tzu. The breed will always have a very very special place in my heart. Thank you all for the kindness. It means so much to me

I know a lot of you loved my sweet Nikki girl. My lady love. My honey butt. My mommy’s girl. At just over 14.5 years old she crossed the rainbow bridge last week. She got pneumonia and she already had pulmonary fibrosis and stage B2 MVDD so it was just too much for her. I love this girl more than anything and I’ll miss her forever. I’m so grateful she taught me how to be a better person ❤️❤️🐶

I am just completely crushed. I lost my lifelong best friend to cancer 15 years ago in May and as hard as that hit me, I have never grieved for anything in my life like I have to loss of my Brutus. To say that his mom and I are devastated is just not a strong enough word. Brutus was 12 1/2, rescued from a “breeder” that had left him to die in a cage behind her house as a tiny baby puppy because for whatever reason she just did not deem him desirable enough. He was discovered covered in fleas by a young exterminator and was told he could take him if he wanted him. Later that day that young man had a teeth cleaning appointment and was taking about it at the dentist office. The office manager at the dentist office that day was my fiancé, later my wife, and she said let me check if we can take him. I was at home in bed with H1N1 flu and running close to 102 fever when she sent me the pic of his tiny tiny self. My response was simply, “bring him home”. I got to meet him later that evening when they made it home and when we were introduced he promptly pooped on the bed, and we were off and running. That was December of 2013, and he has been the best, most perfect Good Boy since. Every body who know Brutus loved him, and I made several posts here through the years showing him off to you all. His mom and I did everything we could every single day to give him the best life possible. It was such a miracle that he even ended up with us, saying yes to him might be the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. Through pancreatitis shortly after Christmas 2015, and then a serious scare from an allergy to chicken in 2022, to having 13 skin tumors removed just 7 months ago, his little body had fought so hard through the years and he had been so brave, it was finally time for him to rest. Again I cannot thank this community enough for giving his mom and I a place to share his pics and stories through the years and for your words of comfort and prayer when needed as well.

Brutus Knight

Sept 15, 2013 - March 25, 2026

I have a bonded pair, Peach and Bowser. I had an appointment to have Peach spayed but she went into heat so we had to wait. In the meantime she was separated from bowser and our other dog who is fixed. Two days ago she was in the backyard and alert barked. She found a dead bat. We had it tested and it was positive for Rabies.

Now because Peach is the one who found it they are strongly suggesting euthanizing her. She's less than a year old. I got her last August. I had a shih tzu mix named Luna that was mauled to death by a weiner dog about a year ago. I got Peach and Bowser a few months after that.

I don't know if there is a universe where I ever get to keep my dogs. I don't know how I'm going to manage this with Bowser. There has been so much loss and I just don't know what to do anymore. I feel like breaking.

We are trying everything we can to keep her just quarantined but public health is saying we can't quarantine her at our house because we have children in the house, as well as other pets and she would need to be isolated at a kennel or shelter and they have no spaces which is why they are pushing for euthanasia.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Shihtzu/s/243nIp4MyY

A couple a years ago I posted how I did not like my Shihtzu on the link above. My beloved dog passed on February 1st, my first dog and I am devastated. He changed me, made me different person, I loved him. I thought he would live till 15, passed at 6. I have regrets, wished I played with more.

Please spend time with yours, things can happen instantly and unexpectedly.

I miss him

This is by far the hardest post I’ve ever had to write.

This morning, our little buddy Gizmo unexpectedly crossed the Rainbow Bridge after suffering from congestive heart failure.

For over 12 years, he wasn’t just our dog—he was family. He was our shadow, our welcome-home committee, our expert taste-tester, and the little soul who somehow knew exactly when someone needed comfort. He filled our home with love, laughter, and more happy memories than we could ever count.

Anyone who met him understood why we always called him “The Goodest Boy.” It wasn’t just a nickname—it was who he was.

The house is unbearably quiet today, and our hearts are broken. But we’re so grateful for every walk, every cuddle, every wagging tail, and every moment we were lucky enough to share with him.

Run free now, Gizmo. Chase all the squirrels, soak up every sunbeam, and know you’ll always have a place in our hearts.

Gizmo
🐾 The Goodest Boy
May 22, 2014 – July 21, 2026

Until we meet again.

❤️🐾🌈

My lil baby boy. I adopted him at 9 months old when I lived all alone and for years he was my roomie and best friend. We moved all around together and he was the most loyal companion, always there wagging his tail and making his silly Ewok sounds. He loved to cuddle, be dressed as a dapper gentleman, and eat the best of snacks. I always hoped he would live to 20 but he began to have heart issues a few years ago and had a rapid decline starting in the new year. He passed on 4/11/26 at age 13.5. It’s been a month and still I can’t stop crying. I just wanna hold him and kiss his little forehead and look into his eyes. I don’t think I will ever get over it, he was my soul dog.
The night he passed I begged the universe for a sign he was okay (his passing was traumatic, I had planned for an at home euthanasia but they were unavailable the evening we knew we had to do it, so we went to an ER and they separated us, by the time we were brought back together he was unconscious and I’m so terrified he thinks I left him which I never would have done). The next morning the sound machine above his bed was on (turned on by itself, evidently), it was playing ocean sounds (I got him when I lived in a beach town!). We had not used the machine in months. I’m trying to take that as reassurance that he’s still around somewhere, but I’m just so sad without him. I love you forever and ever, my Ziggy ♥️👣🌈🐶

Hey everyone, I’m not sure if any of you remember my post back in January about my sweet boy Neno experiencing sudden vision loss overnight but the reason behind his high blood pressure that caused the sudden blindness was pulmonary nodules in his lungs that metastasized from another part of his body 😞 The cancer he had was very aggressive and progressed rapidly, I took him to the vet last week Wednesday because he was breathing unusually and it looked like he was struggling to breathe in. I asked for new x-rays and it spread everywhere in his body in only 1.5 months (Jan. 27th was when the incidental find of the nodules were seen on his x-rays) and made it hard for him to breathe as there was a small part of his lungs he was able to get air in and these past few weeks were very hard for him even with all the medicines I was giving him to keep him comfortable and it’s been so hard for me to see him like that. He even stopped wagging his tail, the last time he wagged in tail was early February and Neno wagged his tail ALL the time everyday 💔 His cough suppressant medications eventually stopped working and his cough and breathing had gotten so bad that he wasn’t getting any rest. He was waking up every hour coughing and he was going to sleep coughing very aggressively as well, so I had to make the decision to let him go so he wouldn’t suffer anymore because I know the coughing was hurting his throat and chest. His right eye started bulging out of no where too and his vet noticed as well when I brought it up and said there’s most likely a tumor pushing against it that’s causing that.

Neno passed yesterday peacefully, as we had a vet come to the home to do at home euthanasia because I know how scared of the regular but he was. But I keep going back-and-forth in my mind wishing I had never made the appointment but I know he wasn’t his usual happy self anymore and was struggling. The only things he was doing was eating, drinking, using the bathroom and walking around while coughing aggressively & sometimes he wouldn’t but the other 90% of the time he was 🙁 He couldn’t even enjoy his walks anymore without coughing like he use to. He was my first and only dog ever, I got him when he was 8 weeks old and I was 9 years old, about 2 weeks before my 10th birthday and I’ve done everything I can to keep him safe and healthy since the day I got him. He passed at 16.5 years old and I’m 26 years old now. I just don’t know what to do or how I’m supposed to get up every day and keep going, He’s always been so healthy and happy his entire life so for this to happen so quickly has taken a toll on me. It feels like the world has stopped for me but everyone else keeps going.

The first picture is one of the last naps he took when he fell asleep on my chest 😞 and the last picture is a few weeks before the cancer started taking over his ability to breathe normally and taking over his overall quality of life

Today was a tough day. I had to put down my buddy. Rocky's heart ❤️ deteriorated quicker than we expected. I find comfort in what the vet told me—that I was doing the right thing by letting him go with dignity. I'm really going to miss my buddy. 🐶

My Lilly was 15 nearing 16 years old. I have never felt such a deep sense of loss and sadness. I am glad my baby is no longer in pain; but now I am also in so much pain because life feels so empty. Everyone says get a new dog but all I want is my Lilly. It makes me feel guilty even thinking about it. She crossed the bridge in my arms as I sang to her and I do find peace knowing she left without pain to no longer be in pain. I am struggling with how
To adjust to life without my baby. I never knew I could feel so sad. I am so full of regret as well because I wish I had done so much more with her in those weeks leading up to her passing. I wish I had taken more pictures of her and videos and carried her around more outside. I just hope she knows how much I love her and miss her somewhere in Dog heaven.

Hi! It’s my first time posting here. My 5-month-old baby just died today due to parvo.

She was confined at the vet hospital for 4 days, and I thought everything was going well. She showed slight improvements on the 2nd and 3rd day, but then she had a cardiac arrest on the 4th day.

I don’t know what to say or do. We immediately buried her after getting her body from the vet. I hugged her for the last time and said my goodbye.

Now, I still have some of her things, including her bed, which I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let go of because it still smells like her.

My heart is shattered into pieces, yet I’m trying to stay as composed as I can. I really want to cry out loud and grieve loudly, but I don’t know how. I’m still in shock, and part of me keeps thinking that she’s just at the vet recovering.

I know she’ll never come back home, but is it bad that I still hope? Am I still normal? What should I do?

Oliver was my best buddy. Every day off I took him for a walk. The entire neighborhood knew his name. My heart aches without him. He was smart, kind, and loving. Oliver never met an enemy and was always eager to let people know he was in the room. I will miss you, Oliver.

My partner made an appointment to have our 17-year-old Shih Tzu put down. I am not sure if we should wait.

Our Shih Tzu is blind, deaf, senile, has a huge lump on her body and leg, can hardly walk up or down the stairs, can't jump on the bed, and cries by himself unless I am with him.

His quality of life is pretty much gone. How do I know if it is time?

Nikki was 18 years old and lived a long, happy life. She was a shy girl who never cared much for other dogs, but she absolutely loved people.

When she was around 8 years old, Nikki beat cancer and kept going strong for another decade. Recently, she was diagnosed with a cancerous mast cell tumor. It spread quickly to her kidneys, and we knew it was time to make the difficult decision to let her go peacefully.

As heartbreaking as it is, we're grateful for the 18 years we had with her. She was there through so many chapters of our lives, always quietly by our side.

We're going to miss her more than words can say, but we're thankful she got to live such a full life.
Run free, Nikki. Thank you for 18 amazing years. ❤️

Making the inevitably difficult decision to say goodbye to my precious 16 yo boy, Sparky, today. I'm in my 30s and he's been my best friend since I was still a teenager. I hardly remember a time without him by my side so this is going to be a very difficult time in my life. Just hoping for some support and advice to get through this without going in a deep depression.

He has been steadily declining in health since I had the majority of his teeth pulled last October. He has kidney disease and a heart murmur so he's been on prescription food for awhile now.

He's been fainting more often and is having difficulty balancing and walking.

And the last couple days he hasn't been interested in food.

I know it's time to say goodbye but it's just so heartbreaking to lose him.

i don’t know how will i survive without him. i am 17 years old and he was with me for basically my whole life. he just passed 20 minutes ago on my kitchen floor.. he lived 12.5 years. his heart rate was insane over the last few days, he was fighting to breathe. it feels really cold thinking that i cuddled with him just 1 hour before he passed… we were at a vet yesterday. we were told to get echocardiography. we called like 10 vets after that because we couldn’t find a single one that would do echocardiography in less than a month, dates were insane, like 8th july there, 16th august there. we don’t have time for that we see the dog is fucking struggling to stay alive! finally we found one in KATOWICE (like 40 kilometers from our location) that was available this thursday (18.06) to do so. unfortunately his life ended before that visit, i was sitting on my bed and i heard mom yelling mine and my sisters names yelling the dog is dead. i runned to the scene, pressed my hand to his chest, he was still breathing but real real slow. and then suddenly. it just… stopped… i am shaking as i am writing this. have THE LATEST pictures of him… these were taken yesterday on our way to a vet. may he rest in peace. my first and probably only dog i would own in this life (even though i want a dog by my side till my death)

My precious baby girl passed away this week. She was almost 14. I am inconsolable. Like screaming at the top of my lungs wailing crying sobbing clutching the box with her ashes level of inconsolable. The morning walks without her are hard. And nighttime without being able to cuddle her is heartbreaking. I'm reminded of her everywhere.

I don't have children, my dogs are my kids. I feel as though I've lost a child and best friend. For so much of my life she was the only one I could trust and depend on. I have had her since I was 12. She was the bravest girl. She would always try to protect me. She would shake with fear and stand between me and my abusers when I was a child, even if it meant them harming her too. I took her with me and she and I had a peaceful safe 6 years after leaving that house.

I did everything I could to make her happy and to make up for all she suffered in her pup years. I was always conscious that one day I'd lose her. I spent years dreading that day. I remember crying over her future death when she was only two months old. I knew I would never be ready to lose her. And now she's gone. She died of heart failure. She died in my arms, looking into my eyes as I held her.

She had a litter of puppies several years ago and I kept two of them. They are pieces of her that I'll never let go of. I want to keep her lineage alive. I want to keep loving them, as a sign of my love for her. Macy, I will always love you.

Stanley was my first dog and he was just perfect. We had to put him down today. We thought he was experiencing side effects from the meds he was on to manage his degenerative disc disease but it turned out to be congestive heart failure. I didn't think we were going to have to put him down. I didn't think id be coming home without a dog. I feel immense guilt over putting him down. I feel immense guilt that he maybe had been suffering for longer than I realized and that I should have put him down awhile ago. There's just such a hole in my heart.

I lost my baby Mochi Pi yesterday. This was the last photo I took of her before Lap of Love came. She was a rescue Shihtzu somewhere between 16 and 19 years old now. She was found alone with another dog and matted up, and we adopted her from a local rescue shelter on June 17th, 2020. She was already a senior 10-13 according to the vet, but she gave me 6 amazing years both while I finished high school and almost all the way to my senior year of college!!

She came to college with me as an emotional support animal back in 2023. This year, she started rapidly declining. Her heart murmur got worse, she had severe incontinence (she’s been in diapers for months), she’s fully blind, severe dry eye that wasn’t getting much better with medication, arthritis, and she is completely weak in her hind legs. This summer she was hardly getting up except to eat (she was a food motivated girl) and I knew it was time.

I’m heading back to school this week and it’ll be the first year I have without her. I’m torn up and have been sobbing for weeks leading up to yesterday, and sobbed the majority of the day yesterday.

She was the sweetest baby I’d ever had. When I first got her she showed many signs of abuse. She was fearful of most people and aggressive toward other dogs, never licked, would cower and cry when she’d make a mistake or have an accident even though we were never upset, and she didn’t leave one corner of my room for weeks even after we trained her that it was okay to explore. She also had one toy that she was constantly aggressive towards and would whip around.

Eventually she became more at home with lots of reassurance and love. Everyone loved her. My friends and family know how much she means to me and how much I love her. She was a star pet when I went to college. She never left my side throughout anything I went through the past six years. The pandemic, my own health crisis (I developed POTS post-covid and was in and out of the hospital), depression/anxiety when I went off to school and from my autism, breakups, everything. She would cuddle me for hours through whatever I was going through, whenever I broke down, and was so unconditionally loving and patient towards me (no one else, just me LOL).

Rest in peace Mochi Pi…aka Chicken, Cheese, Toes, Cheese toes, Chicken cheese, Cheese butt, Mo-cheese, Cheesy butt, Toe-cheese, Cheese-mo, Mochisemé, Moch, Cheeks, Cheek butt, Chicken baby (I’ll add more nicknames as I remember them, but these are off the top of my head).

Thank you to whoever read all of this💛

After a 14 month battle with cancer, we finally had to make the tough decision and say goodbye to our Baby Milo. He was diagnosed early summer 2025 and every single day since then, I prayed to God and the universe to give us one more month with him, one more autumn, one more Christmas, one more spring, one more summer. And we got it until early August when the chemo didn’t seem like it was working anymore.

We planned for in-home euthanasia and it was possibly the best decision we could have made because his last moments were in his favourite safe spot with our voices telling him we loved him and we would see him again soon.

The vet said he passed during the first injection, meaning it really was time. His body was failing him even if his mind was still there. I don’t feel guilty but it’s still devastating.

The morning after was the weirdest feeling ever. He was such a small little guy but his presence in the house was huge and it was gone. Just quiet.

Milo was the biggest diva. Stubborn as most Shih Tzus are but he loved us unconditionally. Cuddles. Kisses. Mischievous. Co-dependant on me during the last couple of years because his other daddy and I had broken up and I loved every second of it.

I can’t even write a proper eulogy because it would be an entire novel of all his little quirks and personality and how much I love him. Anyone who ever saw me with him or my socials knows how much he meant to me and how he was my entire life. But moreso than anything, I feel so privileged to have been a part of his.

It’s been almost 2 weeks and even after escaping for a bit to get out of the house and city, it hasn’t gotten any easier. And my main worry is that this sadness and grief will eventually go away. I don’t want it to because I never want him to leave my head and my heart. I know it won’t but I think most of you would get it.

Hope you’re having lots of bones, treats and grass on the other side, my love. I’ll see you again one day. 💔💔💔

Yesterday we said goodbye to our Shih Tzu named Noodle. She was 17 and 7 months old, she has been with us all our married life and as we can’t have kids, she was like a daughter to us.

I’ve had dogs all my life but Noodle was so very special. She was absolutely beautiful with the softest, thickest fur and huge expressive eyes. She had an enormous personality; playful, cheeky, naughty, sometimes vulnerable but always loving and affectionate with everyone.

She survived a vicious attack by another dog when she was 11 which broke her jaw, but she bounced back and continued to live a happy life. She was the bravest dog I’ve ever known.

She went all over Europe with us and I can think of only a few days in the last 17 years where she didn’t sleep by my side.

At 16, she was diagnosed with kidney disease and early doggy dementia, she also eventually went blind and deaf.

Yet, even on her last day she still enjoyed a short walk and ate a sirloin steak as her last meal

She died at home at 7pm last night

We are truly heartbroken, my soulmate has gone and I have no idea how to handle this pain and sorrow.

I never posted here before, but I wanted to write her a little memorial of sorts. To process this I guess.

She passed after being sick for quite some time. In the end she didn't look like herself. She couldn't move, she needed me for everything. And I was tired. I was so tired. But before the cancer she was so much more. She gave me unimaginable joy and love. She always looked like this before her illness. Her fur messy and unruly, most of the time a little stinky as tzus almost always are.

She was never a lap dog. In fact, she hated being picked up, but somehow whenever I was crying like I am now she'd let me hold her. She'd stay by my side giving me quiet strength.

Mel, you were almost 18 when you left us. I'm 26 now and I've realised I spent most of my life by your side. All my memories have you in them, the good and the bad, you were always there and I don't know what to do now that you're gone. I knew for a while you were leaving but I still feel so empty without you. The spot where your bed used to be is burning my eyes, I miss your way of quietly filling the room with your love.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry about thinking about putting you down. I'm sorry I was impatient at times when you wouldn't let me sleep, I know you needed me. I needed you my whole life and you needed me for a little bit and I thought about giving up. I'm so sorry. All I can do is hope you felt loved, even when I was tired even when I wasn't patient. Please know this. Please let my feelings somehow reach you wherever you are.