Our dog took a turn for the worst again this weekend.
Our vet is a saint! He lets me call him at home…on a Sunday evening…and assures me it’s okay that I called him.
My husband told me Molly was looking worse on Friday, but I said she was fine. She just didn’t look as good as she did on Thursday, which was a really good day. She’s gone steadily downhill since.
She is still eating (only the canned ID food…which we dole out in little pieces on the floor in front of her nose)…not a lot, but some. And her eyes track us as we walk around in the room (they didn’t when we thought we were putting her down a week ago). But she just lays on the floor like a sad lump. She needs to be carried everywhere again. Her breathing has been heavy and raspy. And last night we noticed she has a fist sized sac of fluid on her throat.
The vet told me to come in first thing in the morning…and to “prepare everyone.” This was probably it.
I ended up sleeping (or NOT sleeping) next to her much of the night.
I excused my high-school-aged son from school today…my college student was going to skip his first class…and we set out for the vet’s office. But surprise! Her red count was up! Up to 27. But something is definitely making her sicker.
She’s in congestive heart failure right now. We could have put her down this morning (the vet said it wouldn’t be a “wrong” decision). But we decided to try two medications to get rid of all that extra fluid and treat the congestive heart failure. It’s known to cause sensitive stomachs so we planned to get the easiest food for her recovery. The vet said we’d know within 24 hours whether it’s helping or not. If she doesn’t improve tomorrow, the vet says we should probably give up. (In which case, I’ll be excusing my high-school-aged son from school again….I did take him to school when it was clear Molly was coming back home.)
I’ve got five different medications for this dog right now…plus a big bottle of iron supplements. And if she does survive, it’s going to be a real balancing act figuring out how much prednisone to give her vs. how much of the two pills she got today. And then we may have to add potassium to the mix, too. At some point we will have to decide whether keeping her going is really the right thing to do.
I asked a friend of mine yesterday (she’s MAYBE even more into dogs than I am…she’s a regular volunteer at the animal shelter) how do you know when to let them go? She said, “you’ll know.”
I am so sorry. I’ve been through this twice. I know the heartache. hugs.
There have been brief periods where I’ve thought, “this is too hard. We should never have had pets.” But I can’t imagine not having them.
Oh, what a sweet dog. I had a blonde cocker spaniel, Lucky, for ten years. He was the love of my life.
I know this is such a difficult time. I’m sending good thoughts to all of you.
Molly is our second black cocker spaniel. (We had to give the first one away when we moved.) When we got her, we were actually going to look at a BLONDE cocker, but we fell in love with Molly.
Oh, that picture of her tugs at my heartstrings! I’m thinking good thoughts for her, Dori. She is lucky to have your family.
Thanks, Mary Beth! When I took that picture, I thought it was the last one I would ever take of her. But she’s looking better again today. I should quick go take another one!
My heart is with you. It is the hardest thing. It took me 10 years to get over the loss of my dog and get another one. I wish I hadn’t waited so long. I am in love again, but you never forget the love they give us. Never.
God Bless You. Lois
Wow! 10 years??? I can understand that…there have been times during these past two weeks when I’ve thought I didn’t want another dog because I didn’t think I could go through this pain again. But realistically, we will have another one soon. We had been planning to get another one even before she got sick, but we’ve put that on hold for now. We need to get her well or let her go without the stress of a new dog in the house.
I am sorry about Molly. Read the RainbowBridge.com
((((((((YOU and Molly))))))))))))))
Peace to both of you
What a neat thing! Thanks for the URL.
Oh, Dori, I am so sorry!! (((HUGS)))
Well….today she’s better again. I know the end is coming, though…I just have to remind myself she’s had a good, long life. Whatever more time she gets from this point on is, as they say, “gravy.”
As hard as it is, at least you have time to prepare. I lost my cat last year after 17 years, but we knew it was coming and had time to say goodbye.
Be strong!
We have a 15 year old cat, too. But she’s doing just fine for now. It was not good planning to get animals so close in age…I don’t want to go through this with the cat in the near future, too.
I know. It’s so hard. People who don’t have pets have no way of understanding.
That’s right! But it seems to me there are a lot of children’s/YA book authors who DO understand…does writing for kids/teens and owning a pet go hand in hand?
I bet you’re right!
And it’s no coincidence that I have pet dogs in both of my books. 🙂