I am not ready to tell my daughter her dog is gone. I am not ready to tell myself my dog is gone. Maggie is my first 'baby'. Maggie is almost 15 years old. I know I should know her age exactly but I don't. I know I brought her home from St. Louis at Christmas time when she was eight weeks old. She was the cutest black dog ever and so very afraid to be in a crate. That never changed. You cannot lock her up, no matter what. I assure you that if you did it once, you would never do it again. It is a very sad sight to see when you get back. When Maggie gets nervous her very delicate digestive system goes crazy. So we never, ever, ever lock her up. We just don't and haven't since she was a few months old.
Very late last night Maggie woke up vomiting and could not walk. It was the saddest thing ever. I got her cleanded up and had her sleep on the bed under the covers with me. She did not move for three hours. Trust me, I know. I don't think I slept from 2 a.m. until 6:30 when the rest of the house woke up. Part of me wishes Maggie would have passed in her sleep because at 4:15 a.m. she was dreaming, barking and clearly running. She was so happy. Maggie did not pass away last night. She woke up and was still unable to walk normally. She would wobble and fall. She could not walk in a straight line. I took her outside and she went potty but came right back in the house. She would not leave my side. I got her comfortable in a cushy bed of blankets and pillows and got ready for work.
Just before leaving Maggie went to the back door so I walked her outside. She walked the entire perimeter of the yard, which is at least 1 acre. She was not steady of straight but that was her daily routine and she did it.
Ellie and Maggie are best friends. Ever since Ellie was old enough to know the difference between our three dogs, Maggie has been her dog. It is an understatement to say this is tough. I went to work and on the way Ellie and I talked a lot about taking Maggie to the doggie doctor later that day. Ellie said she would be sad if Maggie had to go to doggie heaven. I explained that Maggie wouldn't be sick anymore and would chase bunnies all day long. Ellie asked if she could come home then. I told her no it was too far away. How was I supposed to know a three year old would ask "don't they have cars in doggie heaven?" Ummm, no they don't.
We were back home from work within three hours of leaving. We cuddled and stayed with Maggie. Tried to get her to eat some scrambled cheesy eggs, a cheese stick and we even tried to get her to drink but she wanted none of it. We took her to the vet and they really could not find any one thing that was causing the problems. They did an x-ray and blood wook but nothing to explain it. The has some small neurological issues going on but nothing too serious. Their best guess is she got into something to make her stomach upset and a combination of injuring her self vomiting and her back arthritis was making it harder for her to walk. They kept her for a few hours to get her hydrated and give her some anti-nausea medicine.
Rob picked her up and brought her home. I made her some boiled chicken breast with white rice. She loved it. I let her cuddle on the sofa which is a HUGE no-no with white sofas but I did not care. I can replace them but not what could be Maggie's last days. I did not leave her side. I took her out to potty again and then took her into bed again. She is clearly ill but still wagging her tail at times and does not want to leave my side. We take her back to see the vet first thing the morning. They will see if she is improving or if more tests are needed. I am not ready for Maggie to go to doggie heaven but I hope I will be listening when she tells me she is ready go. Fingers-crosssed tomorrow is not that day.
(Sorry no photos today...typepad is not playing nice. I have tried for the past 35 minutes.)