Sweet Zoey

On Monday I dealt with something I hope to never have to deal with again.

I accompanied my sister to her dogs' veterinary office in Anna so she could meet with the vet and get an update/prognosis report on her dog Zoey.  

The long and short of it is the prognosis was not good and the decision 

was made to put Zoey down. 

I cannot really explain what happened in detail because I'm not knowledgable 

enough, but I can try to give you a brief explanation.

Zoey had bulging discs in her back.  

They were pushing on her spinal cord and cutting off the circulation to her 

hind quarters.  Because of this, she was paralyzed from about mid-body down.

These discs could have been bulging for some time and just reached a point 

where they caused the paralysis.  We can't be sure.  

What we do know is that although surgery could have removed the discs, the damage to her spinal cord, blood vessels, and nerves was irreparable.  She would have required extensive physical therapy every day to attempt to regain even partial use of her legs.  The surgery and recovery would have been terribly painful, the medicine she would have needed had the potential to cause stomach ulcers, and she would have had to be crated 24 hours a day for an extended period of time so she did not risk further injury as she recovered.  

And those things don't even begin to touch on the frustrations Zoey would have had with the whole situation.  I mean, how do you explain to a dog why they can use their legs, run in the yard, potty independently, snuggle with their mama, and play with their sister one day, but can't do any of those things the next?  

You can't.

The bottom line is she would have had a terrible quality of life with 

no chance at really getting better. 

So, the choice was made to put her down rather than have her go through 

the terrible ordeal of attempting to "fix" her back.

I have to say, too, that I am using the word "choice" when referring to the 

decision to put her down, but there really was no choice.  

Or, maybe I should say there was no humane choice.  

Going through with the surgery would have been a selfish decision.  

Zoey would have been miserable and it would have served only the 

purpose of others not having to say "good bye."  

Ultimately it was AJ's choice and we were going to support her no matter what decision she'd made, but I think I can say we all feel absolutely certain she did the right thing.

But I'll be damned if it didn't about break her to do it.

It was terrible.

Watching her try to say good-bye to her baby while still trying to comfort Zoey so she would be calm and relaxed was heart-wrenching.

I pray to God she never has to deal with something like that again.  

I hate the thought of anyone having to go through it.  

The bottom line is that Jenny loves Zoey and her sister Annie more than anything in this world (except for maybe her two handsome, loving, funny, adorable nephews.  Ahem.), so she did what she needed to do to let Zoey be at peace.

She made the difficult decision to let her baby go.

Afterwards, we took Zoey to the pet cemetery between Carbondale and Murphysboro.  

Zoey was to be cremated, but first they were going to take a paw print to make a pendent which AJ can wear on either a bracelet or necklace.  

It was really nice how they treated both our family and sweet Zoey with such respect.  They quite obviously recognize how much a part of your family a pet can be.  It was a comfort to see how important it was to them to be sure we knew Zoey would be well cared for.  

I know AJ is missing Zoey more than words can describe.  

I am sure Annie is missing her sister, too.

I can only hope that time helps them to hurt a little less.  

I know they'll never forget Zoey, but I hope AJ can feel comforted that 

Zoey gets to run wild, pain-free, in puppy heaven.  

And, I'll bet she can eat dog toys to her heart's content without getting sick.  

That has got to be one of those heaven-bonuses.

This is for Zoey, AJ's angel.  

We'll see you on the other side, sweet girl.