My 17.5 year old Papillon began this past Thursday as usual. Got up, went outside, came back in and crawled into her bed, where she has been sleeping a good part of the days for some time now. She hadn’t been eating much for the past few days, but she had gone through such periods in the past. She’s had CHF for years - she had been stable for a long, long time.
Thursday evening we had been out and when we got back, she was sleeping so I didn’t bother her. She woke up a half hour or so later, and began stumbling and falling all over. I scooped her up and heard the telltale gurgle in her chest. Her breathing was labored and her heart was racing. I tried offering her a bit of roast chicken, her favorite. She put it in her mouth, but dropped it almost immediately.
We both stayed up with her that night. She hated the vet and she cheated him out of one last visit. She passed away on my lap, on the way to the vet. Despite my other dogs, my house has been empty ever since. I finally dreamed about her last night.
Oh, lord...that could’ve been the story of my Minny, almost verbatim.
Now I wish I hadn’t tried to get to the vet because she died on the passenger seat of our cab-and-a-half while I sat behind, cradling her as best I could.
It was hopeless anyway and I’ll always wish I’d just stayed home with her on the sofa.
I can’t bear to drive past that spot on I81 where she left me, even 12 years later.
I’m SO sorry for your loss.
I would be overjoyed if my dogs lived to be that old but I know in my heart, it ~still~ wouldn’t be “long enough”.
It’s never enough.
Oh, Darnright... I’m so sorry. Comfort yourself with the knowledge that your old love enjoyed a good, long life and crossed over to the Rainbow Bridge from quite possibly, the one place on earth she most loved to be. I believe, one joyful day, you’ll be with her again. God bless.