The Part of Your Life that You Never Really Appreciate...
While I have been fortunate enough to not have anyone in my family close to me die, I have sadly had the experience of having to put pets down and let me tell you - it doesn't get any easier as another instance pops up.
We got Zeta, a white shepherd mix last year at the beginning of December as a rescued pet from a farm in mid-Missouriand who I had received an Email about. She has made an excellent addition to our family over the last 12 months. Very quiet, caring, unassuming and always available for a pet regardless of your location in the house.
In August Zeta began to lose some weight and we took her to a local vet that administered some medication for a tick-based infection, but between that and a sadly and wickedly-quick bout with canine hip problems, Zeta fell into a spin that she never recovered from. Shortly before vacation we had taken her to the Animal Medical Center that we got her from for boarding. When we returned to pick her up they were recommending that we use a towel to carry her hind quarters when walking for any distance and suddenly the bell of quality life was again tolling again for a canine member of our family.
The options with cases like this are never easy, and always expensive not only on the pocketbook but also on the lives of the pets and families involved. Surgeries, xrays, medications and more that insurances don't cover cost money and the prognosis regardless of the treatment would never make her whole. Once again, another glaring decision to be made.
I had her put down by a young Dr. named Ryan McCann on Wednesday this last week and - what can I say - it's a terribly crushing experience - again.
I brought the image below for Zeta and after the final shot was administered I set it under her head and told Ryan to make sure it was put with her.
It's just a little something for her to take with her to wherever the good folks go - Molly (our previous dog) and Gloria's Dad Albert are surely there waiting to show her some grand grass-covered hills, overflowing dishes of grub and a never-ending stick-throwing afternoon with a good man.
We love you very much, Zeta, and we thank you for the short but incredibly happy times that you gave our family.
(Smootch on the head).
We got Zeta, a white shepherd mix last year at the beginning of December as a rescued pet from a farm in mid-Missouriand who I had received an Email about. She has made an excellent addition to our family over the last 12 months. Very quiet, caring, unassuming and always available for a pet regardless of your location in the house.
In August Zeta began to lose some weight and we took her to a local vet that administered some medication for a tick-based infection, but between that and a sadly and wickedly-quick bout with canine hip problems, Zeta fell into a spin that she never recovered from. Shortly before vacation we had taken her to the Animal Medical Center that we got her from for boarding. When we returned to pick her up they were recommending that we use a towel to carry her hind quarters when walking for any distance and suddenly the bell of quality life was again tolling again for a canine member of our family.
The options with cases like this are never easy, and always expensive not only on the pocketbook but also on the lives of the pets and families involved. Surgeries, xrays, medications and more that insurances don't cover cost money and the prognosis regardless of the treatment would never make her whole. Once again, another glaring decision to be made.
I had her put down by a young Dr. named Ryan McCann on Wednesday this last week and - what can I say - it's a terribly crushing experience - again.
I brought the image below for Zeta and after the final shot was administered I set it under her head and told Ryan to make sure it was put with her.
It's just a little something for her to take with her to wherever the good folks go - Molly (our previous dog) and Gloria's Dad Albert are surely there waiting to show her some grand grass-covered hills, overflowing dishes of grub and a never-ending stick-throwing afternoon with a good man.
We love you very much, Zeta, and we thank you for the short but incredibly happy times that you gave our family.
(Smootch on the head).
posted by Mike Wilkerson - 2GuysTalking at 12:23 AM
1 Comments:
Mike, I have to say parting with an animal is the hardest thing Amy and I have ever done. We had to put our 12 year old beagle down last year and reading your story brought tears to my eyes knowing what you had to go through and what we went through.
We got Cassi my first year at Mizzou and she has been with Amy and I since almost the beginning of our relationship. This dog WAS our child. I think a lot of non pet owners truly don't understand nor appreciate the special bond these animals have with their human counterparts. She was there every step of the way!
Cassi was old. She still had her spunk but just couldn't physically do the same things as she did before. Her hips were going and the last year and a half of her life she had Cushings disease which required her to take a $5 pill once a week to help her adrenal gland. It was a small price to pay to help her endure her golden years.
Sadly, the last month of her life, we had taken her into the doctor's office because she wasn't acting right. The news hit us like a ton of bricks.
"You guys need to really think about the quality of life of Cassi. She doesn't have much longer to go but she is in pain."
"How much time do we have?"
"You need to make a decision within a week"
I can't tell you how many days and nights Amy and I would find ourselves crying about this decision. We knew the decision we HAD to make. But as if some fairy dust were sprinkled, Cassi got a little giddy yup in her step that week and Amy and I thought, well, maybe she is going to be ok. Maybe she will be with us a little longer?
A couple of days after that, we woke up and Cassi was vomiting everywhere. We let her outside and she sat there and vomited on the grass without moving. I told Amy that Cassi is telling us it is time. I took Wyatt to school and Amy called the vet. When I got home, I saw tears rolling down Amy's eyes as Cassi stood there in our kitchen throwing up clear fluids. Her lungs had filled with fluid. Cassi was dying in front of us.
We get to the vet and they took us immediately into the room. I lifted her up for the last time on the table and held her as Amy talk to her to calm her down. The vet and an assistant said when the shot is administered, it would be quick.
I still can't get that image out of my head. I held her as tight as I could hoping that the tighter I held her, the less it would hurt. I felt her shudder as the needle went in. 3 seconds later she laid down in peace.
Mike, I am sorry for your loss.
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