Post by deebee on Jun 3, 2015 1:24:21 GMT -8
I was getting ready to leave for my tattoo appointment when I realised it was Candy's 12th birthday and I thought I would give her lots of love and take a photo of her so I could share it with everybody on Facebook. She got lots of likes, everybody we knew loved her so that didn't come as a surprise. She was beginning to age rapidly, struggling to run like she used to and sleeping more etc. Usual signs of an ageing dog. After lots of hugs and loving I said goodbye and I left for my appointment. This was the photo I took of her on her 12th birthday in the morning
I came home and sat at my laptop. Over the last few months Candy hadn't greeted me when I'd opened the door as she was going a bit deaf (as well as blind) and didn't hear me come in. She was asleep in the dining room so I gave her a quick cuddle and left her alone. She did this often so I didn't think anything of it, until Bailey started to whine next to her. At 7PM Bailey lay down with her (which was nuts because Candy never tolerated Bailey and they never really got on fantastically) and cried. Cried and cried and cried. I started to panic I was checking Candy over but couldn't see anything wrong, she just seemed really off. I knew Jack would walk through the door at any moment and when he did I said that there was something wrong and I think we need to get her to a vet. We tried to get her to stand while I was on the phone to the emergency vets and she just collapsed on our dining room floor. Bailey was trying really hard to get her up, it was heart breaking. She was prodding at her and snuffling her nose into her side to try and get her to stand up. I was crying my eyes out at this point. I didn't want my dog to be sick, it's too hard to stomach and worry sets in. I thought to myself though, although she's old she's very happy in herself (as you can tell from the photo taken the same day). She managed to get up and she had a really big drink, which was when I noticed she was dehydrated. While standing up I held her back end to support her. I looked at my hand and it was covered in a fluid and lots of blood, I knew it was bad and I had a feeling of what it could be but I kept saying no, that wouldn't happen to Candy, would it? I got my nan to pick us up and we rushed to the vets which was about half an hour away. Candy slept on my lap the whole way there which was VERY unlike her. She loved the car and she loved to look out the window. She couldn't even lift her head. Her beautiful glossy fluffy curly coat had gone dull and her eyes were fading
When we got to the practice we were realising that we may have to prepare for the worse and the tears came flooding right back. I didn't speak all the way there. The vet checked everything, thoroughly. She had peed on the floor when she walked in, she hates the vets. They took a urine sample from that. She was salivating everywhere too. She told me she was dehydrated, nauseous and her temperature was sky high. We were told what we were fearing, she had pyometra. I burst into tears, again. She was an old dog when we got her and was never neutered, I couldn't do it at 10+ years old because I knew there would be such a huge risk putting her under. It was in its last stages. She had hidden it for a long long time. Her uterus had ruptured and she was very sick. It was poisoning her. She explained the options we had. We could have her put through surgery, which she told us more details about and the costs etc. which wasn't an issue, it had already cost us a fortune up to this point as she was too old to insure when we had her so money wasn't a factor. I didn't care how much it would cost as long as it made my dog better. She told us that Candy needed to be admitted right away as she was too sick to go home. She warned us that she may not make it to theatre, may not make it through the surgery and may not make it through the recovery. If she did, she wouldn't be a very well dog and she may not have a good quality of life. This is where the second option came in, which I was anticipating and didn't want to hear. The kinder and more humane option. Euthanasia. I had made my mind up already when she was telling me about the surgery, but she left me and Jack to talk among ourselves. We cried and cried and cried, giving Candy as much love as humanly possible. The vet came back in and we told her that we would have to have her PTS, we couldn't possibly put her through pain and misery for our own personal gain when it isn't in her best interests. She took her away to catheterize her while we signed our forms, paid our bill (won't state the price but out of hours becomes VERY expensive) and chose what we would like to do with her body. We wanted a private cremation so we could keep her ashes. We chose a beautiful little cask to put her in, with a plaque. Choosing all of this while our dog was in the next room was soul crushing. She came back in, looking fearful. She lay down with her head on Jack's lap and he held her, I held her from the side. She asked if we were ready and we said we have to be. She started to administer the anaesthetic and Jack was talking to her the whole time because I was such a mess and couldn't get my words out. He told her there will be plenty of balls to fetch and sticks to find where she was going, she still pricked her ears up at the words. Then that was it. Like a light she was out. Gone. Our amazing dog was gone. We both lay with her on the floor balling our eyes out and the vet asked if we wanted longer with her, to which we said no. Not because we are heartless, but because we didn't want to remember her like that. I personally can't get the image out of my head
We are expected to have her ashes back in about a fortnight
Here's some photos of her
I got her at almost 10 years old. I know it's only been 2 years and I know I should have prepared for the worst but it's still come as such a big shock. I feel like the earth has been pulled from under my feet. I got her 6 months after I lost my border collie of 18 years, Shep, to help me heal. She's been more than I could have ever asked for and I'm never going to get another like her. She was kind, empathetic, beautiful, gentle and wise. Such a clever girl. She was the light in our lives and she affected everybody around her, everybody loved her, whether it be over the internet or in person. She came everywhere with me, I travelled a lot with her and took her on busses, she was always the topic of conversation. Everybody used to think we were odd for loving our dogs no less than we would love children but I didn't care, they are still such a HUGE part of the family and anybody who wants to tell me otherwise can have my size 7 docs somewhere where the sun don't shine
PLEASE spay your bitches. It is an awful thing to go through and if left untreated, like Candy, dogs will die of septic shock. She didn't show any obvious symptoms up until that last day, right at the end. I explained this to the vet and like our birds, other animals will hide an illness right up until the end. It DOES happen. I always think these things will never happen to me, nothing but horror stories over the internet, but they DO happen. I've had to deal with avian diseases and gas leaks that have killed my birds, never in a million years did I think that would happen
Miss you girl
I came home and sat at my laptop. Over the last few months Candy hadn't greeted me when I'd opened the door as she was going a bit deaf (as well as blind) and didn't hear me come in. She was asleep in the dining room so I gave her a quick cuddle and left her alone. She did this often so I didn't think anything of it, until Bailey started to whine next to her. At 7PM Bailey lay down with her (which was nuts because Candy never tolerated Bailey and they never really got on fantastically) and cried. Cried and cried and cried. I started to panic I was checking Candy over but couldn't see anything wrong, she just seemed really off. I knew Jack would walk through the door at any moment and when he did I said that there was something wrong and I think we need to get her to a vet. We tried to get her to stand while I was on the phone to the emergency vets and she just collapsed on our dining room floor. Bailey was trying really hard to get her up, it was heart breaking. She was prodding at her and snuffling her nose into her side to try and get her to stand up. I was crying my eyes out at this point. I didn't want my dog to be sick, it's too hard to stomach and worry sets in. I thought to myself though, although she's old she's very happy in herself (as you can tell from the photo taken the same day). She managed to get up and she had a really big drink, which was when I noticed she was dehydrated. While standing up I held her back end to support her. I looked at my hand and it was covered in a fluid and lots of blood, I knew it was bad and I had a feeling of what it could be but I kept saying no, that wouldn't happen to Candy, would it? I got my nan to pick us up and we rushed to the vets which was about half an hour away. Candy slept on my lap the whole way there which was VERY unlike her. She loved the car and she loved to look out the window. She couldn't even lift her head. Her beautiful glossy fluffy curly coat had gone dull and her eyes were fading
When we got to the practice we were realising that we may have to prepare for the worse and the tears came flooding right back. I didn't speak all the way there. The vet checked everything, thoroughly. She had peed on the floor when she walked in, she hates the vets. They took a urine sample from that. She was salivating everywhere too. She told me she was dehydrated, nauseous and her temperature was sky high. We were told what we were fearing, she had pyometra. I burst into tears, again. She was an old dog when we got her and was never neutered, I couldn't do it at 10+ years old because I knew there would be such a huge risk putting her under. It was in its last stages. She had hidden it for a long long time. Her uterus had ruptured and she was very sick. It was poisoning her. She explained the options we had. We could have her put through surgery, which she told us more details about and the costs etc. which wasn't an issue, it had already cost us a fortune up to this point as she was too old to insure when we had her so money wasn't a factor. I didn't care how much it would cost as long as it made my dog better. She told us that Candy needed to be admitted right away as she was too sick to go home. She warned us that she may not make it to theatre, may not make it through the surgery and may not make it through the recovery. If she did, she wouldn't be a very well dog and she may not have a good quality of life. This is where the second option came in, which I was anticipating and didn't want to hear. The kinder and more humane option. Euthanasia. I had made my mind up already when she was telling me about the surgery, but she left me and Jack to talk among ourselves. We cried and cried and cried, giving Candy as much love as humanly possible. The vet came back in and we told her that we would have to have her PTS, we couldn't possibly put her through pain and misery for our own personal gain when it isn't in her best interests. She took her away to catheterize her while we signed our forms, paid our bill (won't state the price but out of hours becomes VERY expensive) and chose what we would like to do with her body. We wanted a private cremation so we could keep her ashes. We chose a beautiful little cask to put her in, with a plaque. Choosing all of this while our dog was in the next room was soul crushing. She came back in, looking fearful. She lay down with her head on Jack's lap and he held her, I held her from the side. She asked if we were ready and we said we have to be. She started to administer the anaesthetic and Jack was talking to her the whole time because I was such a mess and couldn't get my words out. He told her there will be plenty of balls to fetch and sticks to find where she was going, she still pricked her ears up at the words. Then that was it. Like a light she was out. Gone. Our amazing dog was gone. We both lay with her on the floor balling our eyes out and the vet asked if we wanted longer with her, to which we said no. Not because we are heartless, but because we didn't want to remember her like that. I personally can't get the image out of my head
We are expected to have her ashes back in about a fortnight
Here's some photos of her
I got her at almost 10 years old. I know it's only been 2 years and I know I should have prepared for the worst but it's still come as such a big shock. I feel like the earth has been pulled from under my feet. I got her 6 months after I lost my border collie of 18 years, Shep, to help me heal. She's been more than I could have ever asked for and I'm never going to get another like her. She was kind, empathetic, beautiful, gentle and wise. Such a clever girl. She was the light in our lives and she affected everybody around her, everybody loved her, whether it be over the internet or in person. She came everywhere with me, I travelled a lot with her and took her on busses, she was always the topic of conversation. Everybody used to think we were odd for loving our dogs no less than we would love children but I didn't care, they are still such a HUGE part of the family and anybody who wants to tell me otherwise can have my size 7 docs somewhere where the sun don't shine
PLEASE spay your bitches. It is an awful thing to go through and if left untreated, like Candy, dogs will die of septic shock. She didn't show any obvious symptoms up until that last day, right at the end. I explained this to the vet and like our birds, other animals will hide an illness right up until the end. It DOES happen. I always think these things will never happen to me, nothing but horror stories over the internet, but they DO happen. I've had to deal with avian diseases and gas leaks that have killed my birds, never in a million years did I think that would happen
Miss you girl
. I have a 14 year old Shepard mix that has developed a growth in his mouth. I adopted him as a senior two years ago when his owners abandoned him when they left for China. He's been on two weeks straight of antibiotics and strong medication for pain. He's due in for surgery soon to see if it's cancerous. I know I will be heartbroken if it is but I'm happy I could give him a home for his last few years of life . 