We knew she had a heart condition.
We knew the end would be coming within 6 to 12 months (or possibly sooner).
It was sooner.
But luckily it was fast and she didn't suffer for very long.
She was fine until she stopped eating. A couple days later she couldn't keep water down and became extremely lethargic. The vet had told us back in June that these were the signs that would indicate that it might be "time."
We told the kids that afternoon that if she wasn't better in the morning, I would take her to the vet and we had to prepare ourselves that this might be the end for her.
Sasa didn't end up making it through that night. A little after midnight, she lost control of her bowels and had a hard time getting in a comfortable position due to her weakness.
And then she started crying.
Not a typical whimper like we've heard from her before, but a horrible gut-wrenching sound that told us she was extremely uncomfortable.
I called the emergency vet and we decided it was time to bring her in. We had hoped to wait until morning so that the kids could say goodbye, but knew that it wouldn't be fair to Sasa to make her wait several more hours until they awoke.
Luckily we had our night nurse on duty that night to stay with the sleeping kids so that both Michael and I could go to the vet (at 3:00 am). We decided to bring Potter with us so that our nurse wouldn't have to take care of him (he was wide awake with all of the action going on while we were trying to help Sasa).
As soon as we arrived, the vet immediately gave her a sedative to make her comfortable, but still be awake and alert. Then Michael, Potter and I had time alone with her to hug her, kiss her, tell her how much we loved her, and that she has been the most amazing dog we've ever known. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done.
Then the vet came in to give her two injections...the first was a powerful general anesthetic to put her in a very deep sleep so that she would not feel a thing. The second was a very high overdose of a sedative to stop her heart. It happened within a minute. Her loving heart stopped and we watched as she took her last breath.
We then had some more time alone with her before it was time to go.
The vet made an imprint of her paw for us to take with us as a keepsake. We are so grateful for that.
When we were leaving, we had to carry Potter out the doors, as he refused to leave. He didn't want to go home without his companion.
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| Potter went straight to Sasa's bed when we got home. |
Then today (Sept. 17th) I had to bring Potter to the vet for an outbreak of hives (he's fine...just an allergic reaction that we can treat with Benadryl), but it was a very interesting appointment. Potter has been to the vet one other time after Sasa died to get his final round of puppy shots, and he was his normal, playful self.
But this time, we ended up in the same exam room where Sasa was put to sleep. While in the waiting room, Potter was his usual active and social self, trying to interact and play with all of the other dogs. But once we entered the "Sasa" exam room, his demeanor immediately changed. He lay down on the floor, softly whimpering. In the past, we have NEVER been able to get him to even sit still while waiting for the vet to come in.
After the exam, when we went back out to the waiting room with all of the other animals, Potter ignored them and lay down outside the "Sasa" exam room door. Dogs are incredibly smart. He remembered and misses his Sasa today.
Just like we all do.
