Sep 30 2006
Deleterious Two
Thanks, T. - I appreciate the encouragement, I really do. But actually, tomorrow could end up being a totally awful day. Lexie is going downhill really fast and we may be taking her to the emergency clinic tomorrow to see what we need to do. She hasn’t eaten in a few days & she’s not drinking much either, and her breathing seems really shallow all of a sudden. It seems like she can barely stand up and walk at all, plus she had an accident in the house today & Mark thinks there might have been some blood in it.
We were just lying on the floor with her a few minutes ago (after Mark got her to eat a few spoonfuls of food) and we were both just crying and loving on her - it’s like she’s dying in front of our eyes, just all of a sudden.
She’s had this tumor for 5 mos. (that we know of anyway), but she hasn’t really acted sick until now, so I think we’ve pretty much been in denial about losing her. Anyway, I will keep you guys posted. We were planning on going to O’s party tomorrow afternoon, but I guess we’ll have to wait & see. That reminds me, my mom & stepdad are out of town this weekend, so if we do end up needing to take Lexie in tomorrow, could one of you guys possibly watch Ben for us for a little while? Okay, I’m gonna go spend some more time loving my puppy dog before I hit the sheets.
The above is my wife’s Friday night e-mail to a group of friends. It conveys everything I could hope to in even twice the amount of words.
Lexie is our dear dog who has been with us since early 1993, just six months after we got married. She is the first living creature we helped learn to eat, drink, and not mess where she shouldn’t, and the second one to whom we each gave our hearts.
Click here to read my first post on her malady, and some great tributes to her from readers whose lives she has touched.
I also have a small online album of pictures of Lexie.
Mark, Shan and Ben,
Please know that I’m thinking of you today.
Thanks, Linda. We’re taking her the vet at 11:15 this morning to see what they think - we’ll keep everyone posted.
We just got back from the vet and it isn’t a pretty picture, which we pretty much already knew. He basically said she is very sick and he doesn’t think she’ll make it much longer. We were really afraid he was going to recommend putting her to sleep today, but he didn’t. He found some special food he thinks she will eat and pescribed some Cortisone to keep her more comfortable, but the tumor has gotten so big that it is keeping her from being able to breathe very well and he thinks there is internal bleeding in there somewhere, too. He doesn’t necessarily think she is in pain, but she’s definitely uncomfortable and has no energy due to the lack of food & water. He explained to us how the euthanasia will work and what our options are for what we do with her remains - not a particularly fun conversation to have. Please keep her (& us) in your thoughts &/or prayers. We are just going to cherish the time we have left with her and make the most of it. We’ll deal with the rest as it comes.
Linda - Thanks for your thoughts.
This sounds sadly similar to what we went through with our last dog, Sam. We lost her just over 2 years ago. We had her as a baby and she died at 15 years old. I am holding each of you in my heart…I know just how tough it is for you right now. Hang in there.
Hazel Hazel - I know you are going through some very tough times right now, so it means a lot that you took time to relate that.
Lexie ate a good little meal of the new food just about 20 minutes ago.
You have my thoughts and prayers, guys.
I am sorry to hear what y’all are going through especially Lexie.
I have been through a similar situation about a year and a half ago with my Mom’s cat. He was nearly 18 years when I had to make that difficult decision.
I will be thinking about y’all.
Linda and JP - Thanks for your thoughts. We’re just going to try our best to make sure she doesn’t suffer. If only they could just tell us how they feel. She’s never been much of a complainer, so it’s tough.
Poor Lexie!! I hate to hear she’s not doing well…I know this is sort of expected, but still so sad!!
Erica - Yes, and you knew her better than most outside our home ever will. She would have liked seeing her aunt Erica again.
My prayers are with you Mark, Shan and Ben.
The heartbreak of losing a family member is no less because they walk on 4 legs, rather than 2.
Please know I’m thinking of you all.
Dave
I had similar feelings when my very first cat had reached the end of his days. He was nearly 18 years old and it was the only time he ever rode peacefully in the car on the way to the vet — like he knew.
I’ll be thinking of all four of you today.
Dave - Now that we have a child, I don’t think we’ll ever look at a pet the same way again. It’s a whole different perspective now. Nevertheless, we’re both softies when it comes to animals, and might get just as attached to a later pet as we did Lexie.
Simon - Man, that’s rough. I read a story by a guy whose dog attacked his wife — out of the blue — and he had to have it put down. He said based on all the neat things he did with the dog on that last day, he believes the dog knew.
Thanks for you thoughts.
Mark,
My cat was not much of a complaining sort either. Near the end, he showed signs that it was a matter of time.
Having a child will help. My parents had a cat before I was born 35 years ago. They had a black cat named Rascal shortly after they moved to Little Rock in 1965 until a couple of months after I was born. My parents had taken the cat to the vet for a minor operation back in 1971. The cat succumbed to the knockout stuff too far. It was years before we would have another cat.