| | Author | Message |
|---|
Crayons  
| | #1 posted October 26, 2009 at 8:46pm (EST) |
http://www.pawnation.com/2009/10/23/baxter-the-the...|aim|dl8|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pawnation.com%2F2009%2F10%2F23%2Fbaxter-the-therapy-dog-dies%2F
I saw this, and I was just like.. wow. I was unconvinced that Baxter really loved all of those poor, frail old ladies. Yes, dogs are cute and having them around is nice and therapeutic, but what about the dog? I just felt like as the dog is laying there next to the bedridden lady, he has no idea what is going on, and he didn't look happy. Was he in pain? Was this weird lady, his owner there, holding off putting him out of his misery just so he could be a therapy dog? The comments all say "Baxter, you are such a sweet doggy, God loves you, blah blah blah." I don't think Baxter is better than any other dog, he doesn't know what he's doing. He's just old and tired and possibly in pain from his condition. He can't run and jump like he once did. And I hate the way the owner lady, with her scary teeth, is boasting "Baxter is the best therapy dog EVERRRR." It almost feels like they're marketing him, using up every last breath. Sure she's not getting paid for the therapy thing, but if they're on TV and all over the internet?
I just find it hard to believe that this bedridden dog would lay there out of the goodness of his heart. Because he's a dog, you know? | llamamama  
| | #2 posted October 26, 2009 at 9:31pm (EST) |
We watched that at middle school youth group the other day...and the whole room was crying. My dog died "fairly" recently..but I couldn't cry..even though I knew it was sad. One boy even had to leave the room because literally that day (or the night before) he'd come back from his grandfather's funeral..and that was too much for him.
| Richard47
| #3 posted October 26, 2009 at 11:05pm (EST)
edited October 27, 2009 at 12:56am (EST) |
I do not know if 'love' would be the right word to use (maybe in its most generic sense) for the connection that the dying woman had with the dying dog. Neither the dog or the woman died alone and I think that is the message of the video. I believe everyone approached this from a compassionate level, not to capitalize or market the dog. The truth is, we do not know how the dog was feeling but he wasn't wimpering in pain, or trying to escape from the poor woman. I choose to believe that they both 'knew' that they did not have long to live and, in some way, it was comforting to be together. But there is no proof of that, just speculation. The dog wasn't being tortured or abused in any way. He was being held...by a woman who had no once else to hold, as she was dying. Maybe there IS something to these therapy/end of life pets that goes beyond our understanding. I am not an expert. This, to me, was a tender experience,,,exceptional, in fact. | llamamama
| | #4 posted October 27, 2009 at 12:15am (EST) |
I think they're on the Internet just to show their cause, not as a marketing ploy. In many ways he probably is the best therapy dog ever. He relates better to these people then most people do to him. And they relate better to him than other dogs do. At the beginning and the end we're pretty much the same, it's the middle that's different. These two just happened to catch-up. |
| You must Sign On before you can post a message to this forum. |
|
- Twitter 
- Facebook 