Cody hasn't been doing well most of this year. It got really bad this past month and today it was time.
He wasn't putting any weight on his right leg and he had gotten so weak that just trying to stand upright made him tremble all over. Earlier this week his back legs spread so much that he couldn't recover and had to have help to stand upright again. He didn't eat his food nor drink any water today. He had cut back on his food consumption and seemed to not be getting nutritional benefits from what he was eating.
I called the vet's and said it was time. At first they said I'd have to bring him in tomorrow because they were booked solid. She was very nice about it and kept saying she was so sorry. I wasn't going to take 'no'. I said Cody had been going to that vet since he was 6 weeks old and he would be 14 in September and this would be his final appointment. They finally said if we'd come right in they'd see him.
My best friends went with me and him. Paula drove and I sat in the back with Cody. The first thing they did when we got there was to put him on the scales. He weighed 56.5 pounds. He'd lost 7 pounds since January and 9 pounds total in less than a year.
He stopped playing so gradually that I can't even say how long it has been. He wanted loving and his treats and he loved for people to visit us. Most of the time he slept. He will be missed by a lot of people. He was a good boy.
It's super difficult to make the call and say when it's time. But when you do decide you just know it's the right thing to do. The vet said he likes to think that doggie Heaven is squirrel hell. I think he might be right.
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4 comments:
Cody was a beautiful animal, and I'm sure, tremendously loved.
I know you'll miss him.
Please accept my deepest sympathy.
My pups are both in my lap as I write this, afraid of the thunder and lightening. They trust us completely, don't they. Cody trusted his Mom to do what was best for him. He knew he was loved!
Oh, I'm so so sorry for your loss. It's a shame they don't live in people years, isn't it? :-(
Thanks, ladies, for the kind words.
I'm having a difficult time "getting over" it. I'll be fine for awhile and then it'll hit me again how much I miss him. I'm used to having something to love and be loved by much less the feeding and taking outside.
I went to some shelters and looked at lots of doggies, but nothing seemed right. The kids tell me I'll know "him" when I see him. The only given right now is that I want something smaller.
I hear that Shar Pei's are great pets as are shih-tsu's.
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/sharpei.htm and http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/shihtzu.htm
In any case, give yourself time to heal from your loss as Cody seemed to be a great doggy woggy. ;)
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