Wednesday was the day. The day we had to put Vader down, our "puppy" of 13 long years. I talked in a previous blog about the fact that he had a bad heart, and mostly about the expense of it all. So here we are, almost 5 months later. That was five months of very expensive heart medication! We managed to cut back on how much he needed, which saved money of course, but it was still pricey.
So the decision to finally do it came a couple of weeks ago. His cough was getting bad again (which signaled the fluid in his lungs was building up again), and he was having more fainting episodes, which was something the medications were initially helping. We knew the vet had said he would deteriorate, despite the meds, and we honestly thought he wouldn't last this long.
DH was distraught. He cried and sobbed all night long, the night before he took him. Then we had to get up and tell the boys what was happening that day. They already knew it was coming at some point, but they didn't know when. L cried a lot. R cried for less than two minutes and was over it. I wasn't surprised; he was never very attached to Vader. L cared for him more, so is missing him more. I cried a little, the day of. I find I miss him at certain times of the day. Like when we come home from being out (and he would come greet us at the door) or at lunch time (when he would come out from wherever he was sleeping and wait patiently under the table for all the food to drop from the messy children.)
It was a rather long and stressful day. This is our first experience with having to put an animal down. And not the last, I'm sure. We still have our guinea pigs, so that will be another death we will one day have to face. And I don't doubt that one day we will get another dog (although it won't be soon, and I'd really like to avoid the puppy stage if possible.)
On a completely different note, I'm sorry I haven't blogged for a while. I also haven't been reading other blogs either, so if you are one of the ones I follow, I will be catching up on your adventures soon! And since I haven't been looking, I realized today that I have two new followers, which is very exciting!! Welcome! Now I feel all this pressure to write something good. I hope I don't disappoint you.
Awww...I'm sorry. My dog died 3 years ago, but she died in her sleep at home. It was the worst thing to wake up in the morning to a dead dog on the floor at the end of our bed. I was pretty upset, and surprisingly my hubby was too. He was never too fond of her, but I had her before we met. She was acting weirdly the night before and I said if she still was like that the next day then I would take her to the vet. She never made it to the next day. I wish I had the chance to put her down because I worried she suffered through the night while we slept. Many people have told me it is way worse to put them down because they feel like they are "killing" them. It sucks either way. We haven't got another dog yet, although I would love one. We did get a puppy a couple of years ago, but the stress of it literally made me sick. The kids were still soooo young and going from an older dog who lazed around to a psycho hyper puppy was really tough. We gave her back to the breeder. I would love to get an older dog, but we'll see.
ReplyDeleteMy deepest condolences go out to you. I'm so sorry. My heart sank when I read this. Relish the 13 happy years you had with your dog. I'm sure you have plenty of memories.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry I missed the day. I hope you gave Vader that pet from me. Pass along my condolences to the husband, the kids and to you. There are days when I still miss Buffey.
ReplyDeleteLisaDay