Trigger

It has been nearly a year since Trigger passed on to the Rainbow Bridge. I have mentioned him a few times on the forum, and kind people have asked about him. Here is his story:-

My son grew up with dogs (Dobermanns) and since the last one passed away at a good age he ached for another dog in his life. Last February (2012) he saw an ad in a local shop window for Staffy puppies, saved up his money, and we went to see the litter. Both mum and dad were there, obviously well loved, and four dog puppies aged 3 months, which all romped together. All were brindle, except one red puppy. The red puppy was obviously the runt of the litter, being smaller and more timid (being pushed out of the way by his more boisterous brothers). When all the puppies plus mum and dad went out to play in the garden, the red one came back to us. This was our "sign" that this puppy was the one for us.

He was thinner and less "thrivy" than his brothers, but we put this down to him being pushed out of the communal feeding bowl (which had Wagg in it) and we felt confident that with good feeding away from his brothers he would soon pick up. And he was such a gentle, confiding little soul. After a few days, when my son had accumulated the asking price for the pup, we brought Trigger home (he was named Trigger by my son, after the character in "Only Fools and Horses"). This was a Friday, and here are the pics (sorry for the quality, he was moving fast!) that I took within 5 minutes of returning home:-







I had already phoned our vet to tell them that we had a new puppy, and was advised to give him the weekend to settle in before we brought him along for his exam, jabs etc.

He soon grew tired that Friday evening, as puppies do, and rested on my lap and on the floor, and it was then, and only then, that we noticed that his breathing was laboured, like a broken-winded horse. The following photo is the last we have of him



Trigger slept at night in his puppy bed, which was on my bed, during the next three nights over the weekend, but he was very restless. Meanwhile, over this weekend, he ate voraciously and did put on a bit of condition.

After this endless weekend, on the Monday he was at the vets and we told them about our concerns about his breathing. We were advised to bring him back to the vet first thing the following morning for tests and x-ray, which we did. And we never saw him again. At mid-day the vet phoned to say that he had congenital emphysema, his condition was hopeless and he was currently in a highly distressed condition and struggling to breathe, and advised euthanasia, to which we had to agree.

Dear little Trigger, he never had a chance at life. I just feel glad that we were able to give him one weekend of good food and hopefully happiness with people who loved him SO much, even for so short a time.

God rest you Trigger, we'll never forget you.

Such a sad story, but Trigger was loved till the end.

Poor wee boy , thanks so much for sharing , RIP xxxx

RIP Trigger , I can't begin to imagine how tough that was on you all , thanks for sharing your story Lynda ><

RIP Trigger That must have been a hard post for you write Lynda >< Thanks for sharing your story xx

I'm so sorry for your loss....he was obviously very loved by you. xxx

That almost made me cry RIP Trigger, too young, but at least he was completely loved all the time he was with you.

Poor thing. Brought tears to me eyes!

RIP trigger you sweet little boy

Jeez that is heartbreaking, I can imagine it was so hard for you and your family.

I'm sure he was glad of the small time he spent with you.

RIP Trigger, what a beautiful boy!

Thank you so much for your kind words everyone. I know it's been a year now, but I still mourn for him, it was so unfair that his little life was cut short like this. And he was SO loved.

Lynda wrote:Thank you so much for your kind words everyone. I know it's been a year now, but I still mourn for him, it was so unfair that his little life was cut short like this. And he was SO loved.

Our first Boxer, Cassie, died before she was two years old, and she was a rescue so we didn't have her very long, less than a year. I know it's still much longer than you had Trigger for, but it's horrible when their lives are cut short and you don't have as much time spent. But being loved is great no matter how long or short your life is.

Thank you Tara. I'm so sorry to hear about Cassie - it's a little life cut short that hurts isn't it.

I'm just glad that we were able to give Trigger some moments of happiness, and I know that you feel that way about Cassie too. God rest them both.

Poor little Trigger what a very sad story his life was so very sad reading that through tears.

Did you inform the breeders what had happened to him ??

Ah yes Kathy we did. Two hours after Trigger was pts we visited them with our faces still swollen with tears and told the wife (hubby was working). She burst into tears (Trigger was their favourite puppy) and offered us a replacement puppy, which is how we came to have Kuchar.

They weren't backyard breeders, both mum and dad were their pets, but they were pretty inexperienced and never noticed that Trigger was ailing in the 3 months since his birth. We didn't notice either (apart from the fact that he looked undernourished) but I have explained that already. The pups were rushing around and excited, so we didn't see his erratic breathing, which was only apparent when he tried to rest. If ONLY we had stayed until the pups collapsed into an exhausted heap - ah well. It wouldn't have made any difference to Trigger, he was doomed anyway, but it would have saved us some heartbreak (and vet bills!). We are just so glad that we gave him 4 happy days (as happy as possible).

The cautionary part of this tale is NEVER to take on the obvious runt of the litter, unless you are prepared for heartbreak.

You've all been so kind - I'm sorry to have upset you.

awwww so sad and so young i loved the pic with your son were trigger looks to be smiling so oviously he was in a happy place

Yes it was lovely little smile Warren wasn't it. Thank you!