Today, we had to put our 13year old Duncan, an Akita/Labrador mix, to sleep. The past month or so, he’s has some incontinence issues and we feared he was having kidney/bladder issues. The vet ran some blood work and did a urine exam and diagnosed him with Lyme disease. One more reason why I hate the deer in the Poconos.
Several medications later, it still wasn’t helping. Some dogs develop severe progressive kidney disease as sequelae to Lyme disease. This severe kidney failure is difficult to treat and may result in death of the dog. Some dogs may also develop heart problems or nervous system disease after being infected, in addition to lameness, swelling in the joints, swollen lymph nodes, lethargy, and loss of appetite.
This morning Duncan kept falling as he was having issues using his back legs, and then he was having breathing problems. He laid on the floor, covered in his quilt, and just looked at us. Kensi, who is his biggest fan, knew something wasn’t right. She leaned down to give him one final kiss, and he finally accepted her love’ns without blinking or turning his head. While he loved her dearly, he’d struggle accepting her affection by running from it – which only made her chase him more. In the end, she finally won out. She'll no longer be able to hide the fact that when she doesn't want to eat something, she sneeks it to him, and he covers for her.
Chris and I fought back the tears as we knew this was the end, and so did he.
Chris went and started the car, letting the seats down to make room for him. Duncan tried standing up, but kept hitting the wall as he attempt to walk. I scooped him up and walked up the snow filled driveway and placed him in the back seat for his final ride, the ride that brought him to all of the other puppies in the sky.
We'll miss you Lil' Man!
September 21, 1997 – December 27, 2010
8 comments:
Oh no. What a lousy year it must have been for you all. My condolences and sympathy for whatever good it does.
I lost my Kato two years ago and even though he was "just a dog" and I was already a father it still hit me like a ton of bricks. Time will heal the wounds and you'll be able to enjoy the memories, but not for a while...
I wish you a wonderful 2011 that will make up for all the heartache you had to endure in 2010.
I am so sorry guys. It seems you have been through a lot this year. My thoughts are with your family.
Take care,
Brandon
What an horrible year. I hope 2011 brings you a much better year.
So sorry for your loss. My heart is still broken from having to put my beloved Chopper to sleep several years ago. The one bad thing about getting a dog is, you're pretty much GUARANTEEING yourself a loss... they just don't live as long as us. Duncan was a beautiful dog and he was lucky to have you all.
Losing a pet can be very hard, harder than you might expect. I lost my beloved cat of 13 years in July. It took us by surprise, I cried for days and wrote about four blog posts about my poor dead kitty, wiggum. I still miss him.
I am sorry for your loss.
I'm so sorry to hear about your doggie. It sounds as though you made a good decision, albeit a very tough one. Thinking of you all.
I hope that 2011 is full of all of the joy and happiness that you guys deserve.
I just happened across your blog and saw this and just wanted to say I'm so sorry for your loss. We lost our old man on Dec 25th... seems like it was an end season for a lot of good old dogs. It sounds like Duncan was very well loved. Thinking of you guys.
I'm so sorry. I've lost pets in the past and it is never easy to say goodbye. Thoughts and prayers going out to you.
Post a Comment