u/Logical-Pound-1065

I have a lot on my chest and have some questions and maybe a little bit of venting to do.

I applied for NDO on a whim when my airport was attempting to privatize. I got accepted. All I have to do is accept or decline the offer.

I know I have to be ready to deploy on very short notice for an undetermined amount of time. I worry about the strain it will put on my family, so I haven’t accepted yet. How many of you have done NDO with an infant? My son is 10 months old and I don’t want to throw all the burden of childcare on my wife. Which is why I should probably decline and avoid putting my family through extra stress. At the same time, my son is almost walking. He’s babbling and is a very happy and healthy 10 month old. I know I will miss a lot and miss out on a lot of bonding with him. Also, if he gets hurt or sick, she will have to shoulder that responsibility by herself unless my parents or sister can help her.

My wife is supportive of the fact that this is a unique opportunity to see other parts of the country and see how other airports do things. Along with possibly getting more overtime, room and board, per diem, and her occasionally being able to visit and bring the baby with her. She thinks that we can save some money.

Sorry for throwing all this on you and I know I was all over the place. But I think I can get the most support from my fellow TSOs. Thank you for reading and thank you in advance to anyone who comments.

I’m absolutely shattered. I made the difficult decision to have my dog euthanized. He was a lab/pit mix. He was 13 and his name was Caesar. I had him since he was a few days shy of 8 weeks old. He was one of nine in his litter and the last of his siblings to die.

I’m in tears as I post this. His back legs looked like they were going to give out at any minute and he had severe incontinence issues and would have accidents all over the house. I know he hated that because he was always really well trained and knew he wasn’t supposed to go to the bathroom inside. He also had a bacterial skin infection on his back that was not getting better.

We opted for a home euthanasia with Lap of Love. It was worth every penny. The vet was absolutely amazing. Very professional and compassionate. She explained the whole process fully. After the sedative, he was sound asleep. When she put the fatal dose in his leg, he was gone in seconds. He felt no pain and went out peacefully. But before that, he ate two filet mignons, two cups of ice cream, cheese, carrots, and some chocolate. And he went to the park this morning and ran around like he used to as a puppy. And yesterday, he went to my friend’s house. My friend would take care of him when I was out of town and has his own business where he watched dogs. He ran around and played with several dogs and had no quit in him. I’m sad that he’s gone, but I’m so happy for all the time I had with him. Thank you for being my dog, Caesar.

Good morning. Me and my wife have a 6 month old boy. We are planning to take a trip to Nicaragua, where my wife is from. We will be leaving in September. We should have his passport by then. I hope. Well, I am kind of trying to get everything in order. How did you guys do it? We need to bring his stroller, car seat, enough bottles and food to last the whole way there. We will be renting a car and driving several hours from Managua to her village in the middle of nowhere in Río San Juan. I’m not nervous about taking him overseas, I am more stressed about what we need to keep him and us sane. Any tips, advice, and experiences you have are very much appreciated. Thank you.

I am at a loss with my dog. He’s a 13 year old lab/pit mix. He has been a very good dog his whole life. He has never bit anyone and has always been happy and friendly. He has moved with me several times and has been to several states. He has been there through the best times and worst times. He has seen things that no one else has seen with me. He doesn’t play like he used to and doesn’t have the same energy he used to. Ever since my wife has been in the picture, he has pretty much become her dog. He also loves my 6 month old son and my son loves him. Every time he sees him, he laughs and screeches and tries to get his attention. Age has caught up with him like all of us eventually will experience.

He has become incontinent. He has several accidents inside. He was always very well trained and isn’t used to having accidents inside. He used to go to the door and let us know when he needed to go outside. Now it just happens and he doesn’t warn us or anything. Or he’ll go when he’s laying down. I know he hates it because he knows he’s supposed to go outside to go to the bathroom. He had several seizures last year and I thought that was going to be the end, but he got over them. His vision is worse due to cataracts, but he’s not completely blind. His hearing is still very good. He can still jump on the couch and will sleep all day or lay down all day. I know he has arthritis in his back legs and it’s hard for him to get up and he moves slower and seems like he has to try harder to keep his balance.

He still has a very good appetite and eats two meals a day. He drinks water a lot and is on some medication for a bacterial skin infection. I just don’t know if it’s time yet despite all this. He doesn’t seem like he wants to die yet. His organs are still in good shape, but he’s has some gingivitis. But I don’t want him to get worse or be at the point where he can’t get up anymore before I make that decision. I don’t think he’s in extreme pain. I know dogs hide it well. But I know my dog. I just need advice. Thank you all.