Tears In Heaven

I've dreaded this entry because it's so damn depressing.
I wrote about a dog last month that we had treated for a severe allergic reaction (and spayed the same day).  During the spay procedure the veterinarian found out that she was pregnant and had to abort her litter.

Her owner brought her back to the vet clinic last week and this time the dog was blind and having random seizures.  She looked horrible and shaky.  We debated whether it was even worth the suffering to have this dog treated--she'd been through so much in her short 7 years.  It seems the allergic reaction that had swelled her head also caused some kind of brain trauma.

Ultimately, we decided to euthanize this poor sweet dog; she was just a shell of the dog that she used to be.  To keep her alive and in pain seemed cruel.  It was the first time I have ever watched a dog be "put down".  She was very calm as she drifted to sleep from the first injection the vet gave her and soon after the second injection her heart stopped beating.

I'm just thankful that I've been able to save 5 dogs from this fate.

_Jon_

"Beyond the door there’s peace I’m sure
And I know there’ll be no more tears in heaven..."

Comments

[Margaret]

*sigh* Poor sweet dog. :o(

[laura]

Euthanizing a pet to relieve suffering is a tremendous act of love. It is sad, but it is the kind,loving, and right thing to do.

Sorry for your loss.

[Eric Potts]

Hi I just found your blog and was surfing around it reading some of the articles. Last year I had to put both my beloved pets down within a month of each other...old age had taken their toll on Shotzie my sheppard/husky mix and cancer had taken over my Golden Retriever Clay's body. It was devestating for our family to say the least. But during that time I wrote the following poem which helped me immensley. I'd like to share it with you all.

Run by Eric Potts

Run Faithful companion run, through the lush green fields
Run Faithful companion run, chasing rabbits hot on their heels
Run Faithful companion run, through the snow cold and white
Run faithful companion run, you’ll never be far from my sight
Run faithful companion run, where the pain is no more
Run Faithful Companion run, God has opened up the door
Run Faithful Companion run, your soul is now free
Run Faithful companion run, but glance back and look for me
Run Faithful companion run, where everything is bright and clear
Run Faithful companion run, you no longer have anything to fear
Run Faithful companion run, God has opened the door
Run Faithful Companion Run, run free for ever more.

[cosy]

What a wonderful, difficult job you are doing. Keep up the great work. It's so hard to say good bye.

Here's a link to my blog with pictures of my Lucy. I'm proud to show her stitches from getting fixed last week.
http://cosy.typepad.com/weblog/2005/06/mending_and_pin.html

[Bryan]

Sorry for the loss. We put out long time and loved pet to sleep this past week. You can check out pics on my blog at www.bko.typepad.com.

[roxanne]

It's really hard to love a pet!my dog was a member of my family for 12 years she was turning 13 years old!I loved very much i got for my birthday when i was 2 years old and we put her down in september 2006!im still not over it!it's not somthing that is easy to do but sometimes it's for the best!I got my dog a while after my birthday because she was born on my birthday!last years on january 24 was really hard for me but i still did the same think like if she was still here!I never really had any friend but her she was my bestfriend!but my familly always say everything happens for a reason!for the people who are reading this and that have lots there bestfriend i understand how you feel and i hope you get trougth it just like im in the process of doing!thank you john for doing what you do!it is a very good thing for animals!
thank you for reading this!
roxanne