The Last Post

On Sunday, February 22nd, 2009 at 6pm, I had to put Andy to sleep. I had a very hard time with the decision, but I know he was hurting and struggling for precious air. His cancer had within a week spread to most of his lungs. My girlfriend Effie was with us. We were referred to a wonderful compassionate DVM who came to the house and allowed Andy to die in my arms in our own home.

I am not ashamed to admit that he slept with me on the bed often. I fell asleep many nights with an arm over him and my nose buried in his neck. He was my best friend for seven years and he had a great life. He made my life bearable in times that I was at zero. He licked the tears from my face and never asked for anything in return. When times were good, he made them even better. Every time I walked in the door, even if I just went outside to take the trash out, he would smile uncontrollably with his face in full wrinkly snarl. He never bit a soul, and I believe he wasn't capable of it. As a guard dog, he was incredible...if the intruder was a dog! I always said that if anyone ever broke in, they had better not bring their dog with them :).

Those of you who knew Andy can attest that he was the the meanest looking total sweetheart you've ever met. He was the kind of dog that close friends would say 'later' to me and hug and kiss him for 10 minutes before leaving. Many people actually told me they were going to steal him when I was on one of my business trips. They were kidding of course, but I always knew that if something happened to me, he would have his choice of about 1000 loving homes.

In October I was laid off from my job, and while It was scary at first, I believe it happened so I could be around almost 24/7. I'm thankful that I was able to spend so much time around him.

On a recent trip to California, I met some great people who had sweet Dobermans and some who have passed. They gave me a poem that was given to them by their vet and it provides me some solace. I'll leave you with that poem and maybe it will comfort you if you ever have to part with your friend:

RAINBOW BRIDGE

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Lastly, I would like to share the pictures of Andy over the years:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reignition/sets/72157600065097913/detail/

Final Days

I know I have been slacking on this blog. I unfortunately have to report that Andy is at the point where his quality of life is well below what we feel he should have to endure. He recently had some heart trouble and is now struggling to breathe, indicating that the cancer has spread to his lungs. This is the hardest decision I have ever made, and I can't even say I'm 100% certain I will go through with it.

A very nice Dr. Lee is coming to the house tomorrow to have a look, but she has told me that given my description of his status, he is probably ready to go and will do it at home. I will let you know more tomorrow.

Suffice it to say that I am heartbroken, and NO amount of preparation can prepare anyone for this.

The Day After

I'm home!  My surgery went very well the doc said and I can't tell you how happy I am to be home.  The bad part is that I have to be pretty still and can't play with my sister yet.  But there's some good parts too.  Dad started to introduce me to the raw diet tonight.  Along with a tiny bit of my regular bagged food, I had partially cooked beef and beef liver.  Dad thinks that humans are vain to think they've evolved us to eat that crap that most us eat.  Domesticated?  Absolutely!  Evolved?  Not for a long long time.  Well, whatever his reasons are, I am all about raw!  Tonight I ate it like I was a wolf.  Some argue for, some against - Dad says you be the judge... Raw feeding FAQ

Right now I'm laying next to Dad's bed and he's always by my side, just like I've been for the last 7 years - can you believe it's been so long?  Here's some new pictures.  3-4 weeks and I'll be like I was before this bad thing came along.  I'm told (by everyone in the know) that this is the right thing to do, and although it hurts right now, I have some good times ahead, and that's priceless.

The Day Before

So not much news to report. I've been eating Thanksgiving leftovers and raw giblets, and Tramadol. I'm told that tomorrow I'll lose this bad leg 'o mine, but won't miss it. 3 weeks and I'll be rockin my 3 legs like a quadroped. I'll have the coolest harness from Ruffwear so Dad can help me climb stairs and boulders. After a lot of research on holistic pet care, I think we're going to start on K9Immunity.

Wish me the best tomorrow and I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Dad here - Vet Visit Today

Well Andy wasn't with me at the vet today so it's me, Dad.  Andy will have his right front leg amputated at the elbow on Monday morning.  I never thought I would be so excited about him losing a leg.  While he's on some pretty good drugs, I can tell by his reaction that he can't stand it.  I can't really explain it other than he looks at it with disdain and knows it's poisoned.  We'll get through Thanksgiving weekend together and we'll all eat really bad, and then next week he'll start his raw diet (which I'll explain later).  Callie can not understand why Andy is getting so much attention and I'm going to take her to the Dog park on Monday while he's gone.  Fingers crossed, have a great Thanksgiving, and I'll update you when I have news.

Scott

My First Blog!!!

A few months ago, I hurt my right leg playing with my Sister Callie and had to go to the vet.  They said most likely a sprain, but they'd treat it and see how I do.  With some pain killers and Rymadil, I got through it.  The swelling went down and I felt a lot better for a few weeks.  I injured it again playing with my sister (she's like 5 years younger - 35 years younger by our standards) and got some more

medication.  The second time, my pain and swelling didn't go away and I went back to the vet.  This time they made me sleep and took a piece from my wrist to send to the doctor.  I have cancer they said, whatever that means.  All I know is this wrist is swollen and is killing me.  I can't help but lick it cause it hurts but dad keeps putting that silly collar on me so I'm trying to be good.

I get the impression that he's really upset but he's being totally positive around me because it keeps me in good spirits.  If there's one thing I know for sure, he loves me to the ends of the earth.  

I overheard him telling his girlfriend that once this cancer thing has appeared, there is a 100% chance that it is everywhere and that time on this earth is very limited.  I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time though because he promised me.

First things first.  Yesterday we went to Denver to have a Veterinary Oncologist have a look and draw some blood.  Dr Robyn Elsmlie at the VRCC was so nice and she gave us the facts and was so kind and understanding.  She didn't sugar coat it, but she had a genuine caring tone with us.  The drugs are pretty good I'll say that much!  She said what my Dad already knew we had to do.  This nasty leg is going bye bye.  Sounds horrible I know, but there's this awesome website at www.tripawds.com.  This website is what convinced my Dad that I needed to have my leg removed.  He also told me this story about a tripawd Rottweiler named Duke that he met in Bethel Alaska about a year ago who was totally adjusted.  The best part is that I'll only have about a week of recovery pain versus three or four months of terrible pain.  Oh yeah, and we watched this YouTube video and he was smiling but I was barking and trying to find this dog behind the screen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6TUn1QIZb0

Today at 3:30 we are going to our local Vet to go over blood-work and make an appointment to get this thing offa me.  Dad's looking at raw and homemade food for me and my sister because he said he believes it can not only help prevent cancer, but might give me some more time to play with everyone.  He started here: http://www.barfworld.com/ 

So with a little help from my Dad, I'm going to take you with me for my last few months before I go to Dog Heaven.  My Dad and I want to do this so that it might help other dogs and their humans cope.  We hope that if you're in our shoes you'll know what to expect and know that you are not alone.

It might be sad at times, but it will be good to have this journal.  We think the information here might help you.