Lost My Best Friend Yesterday.

[Bill D]

I guess I knew that it was bound to happen but I wasn’t prepared for yesterday. I had read an online article a couple of days ago about how you can tell if your canine pet is about to die. The article said that they would cling to you and would also look for dark secluded spots to hide.
My wife and I went out Saturday morning for breakfast with some church friends. I had fixed the morning meal for “Sooner”, my 12 year old male Chow. He was on a special diet because of anal gland problems but loved the pumpkin meals we fixed for him.
Upon returning to the house around nine o’clock that morning, I noticed that he was restless. Then he started following me wherever I went. I thought he wanted to go out so I put him out on the back patio but soon noticed that he was eating grass and attempting to vomit. Soon he was just aimlessly wandering around in circles. I let him back into the house and he began looking for dark, secluded places where he would attempt tp lie down. He would only lay for a few seconds then get up and continue his restless searching for another spot.
We called his vet and got the first available appointment for 11:00 AM which, by this time was only about 45 minutes away. At the appointed time, we had him in the vets office. She listened to our description of his symptoms and asked for permission to get an abdominal X-ray. The X-ray confirmed her suspicions; he had a twisted stomach (there is a medical term for this which I forget) and the only solution was immediate surgery. She sent us to an emergency veterinarian hospital and faxed a copy of the X-ray and her prognosis to them. Although only a five minute drive away, by the time we arrived at the emergency hospital, he was lethargic and unable to walk. The initial exam by the doctor revealed that his heart rate was very high and he was in danger of going into shock. Their primary job was to get him stabilized but by this time his stomach had suffered considerable damage and it was the opinion of the doctor that surgery would be very risky with rapidly decreasing odds for successful recovery.
Because of his age, his quality of life would not be very good even if he survived the surgery. With heavy hearts we made a decision to have him euthanized.
He was a beloved member of our family for over twelve years. He was the gentlest Chow I have ever been around and one of the most patient for putting up with my wife’s ill-tempered cat.
Give your dog a hug and an extra treat. They will be gone much too soon.