Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Goodbye, Copper



Our dog Copper made it much longer than the pathology report predicted; 18 months ago the diagnosis was malignant fibrosarcoma, median life expectancy 4 months. We got a lot more time than that. Still, it was really hard to let her go.

We picked her up from the kennel yesterday after our vacation, and the staff noticed that in the last day or so her abdomen had swollen up. Sure enough, she didn't look good - sunken eyes, dry mouth and nose, general signs of dehydration plus the swollen abdomen. Uh-oh. I called Loren right away...our vet was closed for the Pioneer Day holiday. He said she'd be OK until he got home in a couple hours, and when he looked at her he agreed it wasn't good. However, he thought she'd be fine overnight, and we really wanted to take her in to our own vet who knew her history, etc.

He called first thing this morning to get her in to the vet. Meanwhile, the kids and I said our goodbyes, knowing this might be the last time we'd see her. I took the kids to day care & summer camp, and Loren took Copper to the vet. The vet took one look at her and knew it wasn't good. He tapped her abdomen and it didn't look good, and he felt a large mass on her liver. He discussed it with Loren and they agreed that euthanasia was best at this point.

It's been hard on all of us. I couldn't focus much at work, and Loren didn't even go in (maybe he was the smart one there...). We'll be OK, but we miss her.

1 comment:

Harriet said...

Yes, it is always tough when a beloved pet dies.

I am sorry.