This posting actually made me cry. I recently had to say goodbye to my best friend of 13.5 years. Over the last 2 years he was loosing lots of weight. We fed him LOTS and spoiled him with treats and gave him food additives to help his aging coat. Things were going well and then he started dropping weight again and was nothing but skin and bones. Still full of life but something was wrong and he ate like a pig. We took him to the vet on the Tuesday and he found nothing wrong but we figured deworming him, giving him antibiotics for his now chronic diarrhea and updating his shots should be done anyway. After that day he slowly stopped eating, drinking and became very slow. I would need to coax him into the house daily and it became harder and harder. On the 19th I called him to come in the house. He did not come. I had to look for him with our flashlight in our backyard. I found him in his favourite spot lying down and staring at me. I slipped in something and noticed all the grass around me was black. I thought blood, but it was hard to tell. Nash would not get up. I put a leash around him and he got up on his own and started walking very slowly. As I watched I noticed how much pain he was in. He was squatting as he walked like he needed to poop. As we got to the back door I could see him better. He looked horrible. He got in the house all by himself and collapsed on the floor. His backside was wet. I grabbed some paper towel and wiped to see what it was (he was a chocolate lab so wet dark fur could mean he was wet with anything). He was covered in blood. Everything was blood. I realized then that what I stepped in outside was all blood in the grass. I called my mom and then the vet and then my mom in law. I knew this was it. The vet wanted me to bring him down but there is no way I could pick up Nash. He hated being picked up and became dead weight and awkward if you tried. Now he was just lying there looking at me, asking for help. My mom and mom in law showed up (my husband was gone hunting for a week, kids in bed sleeping) and Nash started to become anxious. He new something was not right. He did not get up at all during this time. I stayed right beside him the whole time. The vet came and examined him. Blood everywhere. He looked at his gums and they were white. There was nothing we could do to save Nash. I looked at Nash and told him how sorry I was. I cried.. a lot, and hugged him as the vet injected him. I felt Nash relax and leave as I held him. The vet said it was more than likely a tumor in his bowels that burst. I was upset because Nash was just examined a few days before and he was found to be fine. I also took Nash for regular checkups and he was always fine.
Either way he accepted the injection and left very quickly and peacefully. I miss him terribly and breaking the routine of bringing him in the house every evening for him to eat and spend time with us was difficult.
They say you will know when it is time and believe me, you will. It will be the hardest thing you ever have to do. I am still not over it. He was and still is and will forever be my fur baby.