As last reported, Belladonna had a visit to the vet scheduled for Monday afternoon.
On Friday, Mrs ERJ and I made the executive decision to take Herc to the MSU Animal Clinic. Unlike local vets, they were still receiving patients on a first come, first serve basis.
Herc was declining fast. How fast? The fact that his appointment was for the late afternoon on Monday weighed on my mind.
The diagnosis was not favorable. His liver and spleen were enlarged and lumpy. His bloodwork showed 7X levels of white blood cells and the species of WBC that was abundant indicated cancer.
Yup, the dreaded "C" word.
We had been banished to the parking lot for the duration (7 hours). The last couple of phone reports from the vet were "three-wayed" with Belladonna.
The treatment plan is to give him prednisone, feed him high-end puppy food (high calorie) and give him the best ? number of days in his life.
Given the circumstances, prednisone is like a miracle. A short-term miracle no doubt, but the relief it is giving Herc is a Godsent.
Herc has been getting daily walks out in the fields and is averaging 3 bunny rabbit flushes per walk. We do not rush him. He gets to sniff around to his heart's content.
Belladonna is processing through the grief. Both Mrs ERJ and I advised her to take care of herself and to keep living her life. She has been taking a boatload of selfies with her dog and bought him a steak.
One of the dilemmas involves deciding where to bury Herc after he passes. Does Bella want to remember him as the staunch defender of the home? If so then we will probably bury him near the driveway close to the road where he can keep an eye on things. If she wants to remember him as the great hunter, then burying him near some prime rabbit and squirrel habitat is in order.
Herc is Belladonna's dog. She will make the call regarding when to call the vet. She wants to have him euthanized her at the house. My job is to give her a shoulder to cry on when she needs it and to dig a hole in the spot she designates.
I am so sorry ERJ. We went through this with our previous Lab, Syrah the Mighty. Between the first and second visits it was about six months, but then it was time.
ReplyDeleteOur homes - all that we have lived in - eventually become a form of pet cemetery (someone is going to have a wild discovery one day). This is where they spent their lives, and I like to believe in some way they continue to stay on.
From a Christian perspective, if God made Herc once then he can make him again after the Resurrection. I have no doubt that God will cheerfully accommodate Belladonna if that is what Bella needs to see to be happy.
DeleteERJ, I have never questioned pets being in Heaven. Lewis addressed this beautifully in The Great Divorce.
DeleteIf there are no Dogs in Heaven, I want to go where the dogs went.
DeleteMy sympathies to all of you. The choice that Bella is facing is perhaps the toughest and one of the most important ones that we face as caretakers for our four-legged companions. The hardest part is always remembering that our responsibility is to the dog; and that the decision should be driven by their needs, not our wants. Prednisone can be a wonder drug - but it's not without secondary effects over the "long" term. Peace and comfort to all.
ReplyDeleteWow. It's suddenly dusty in here. I hate reading about this kind of thing. I have three myself and know eventually that day will come for me.
ReplyDeleteHope his last days are great.
I'm a long way from being saint like but even in my sad condition I have heard Him speak to me . Once when I was at a lawyers office to divorce my wife He hollered at me [yes,hollered] to "Get Out of Here" and then about three months after I buried my Sophie Marie GSD and He told me that I would have my critters in Heaven . Don't wanna' argue with skeptics , just encourage my fellow pilgrims traveling and sometimes travailing through this fallen world .
ReplyDeleteYo may want to look into the canine dewormer drug Fenbendazole (sold for dogs as Panacur-C). In particular, one Joe Tippens has made some waves by using it to overcome terminal cancer. https://lifeboat.com/blog/2019/12/how-joe-tippens-beat-terminal-cancer-with-7-dog-medicine-interviewed-by-james-templeton
ReplyDelete-Brutus
Ahh geez that's rotten news Joe, I'm really sorry. Good on you for helping Belladonna through those last golden moments and standing ready to help her through grieving. Dogs are one of God's gifts. We have two, from 5-week old rescue puppies. My wife has never had dogs in this way (as part of the family) and she is smitten. I celebrate every day with our animals - but I know their life is short, maybe because of it. And I know the eventual loss is going to be devastating to her. Godspeed to Herc.
ReplyDeleteI’m sorry for you and your family going through this. I agree, dogs are a gift from God. I can’t bear the grief of losing another. I hope you have more good days with Herc as long as possible.
ReplyDeleteSouthern NH
Prayers for, and tears with, Belladonna and you and Mrs. as well. I had that awful decision 7 years ago with my Jack Russell Toot, who also had tummy cancer. Within a week, it was clear what decision had to be made. It is a source of great comfort to me (though creeps some people out)that her ashes reside in her favorite ceramic treats jar on my bookcase, alongside her photo. It's just another direction to go.....
ReplyDeleteYou're a good Dad.
ReplyDeletereally sorry to hear about Herc. My wife and I lost the dog she had before we were married to cancer a few years afterward. Just be aware, the prednisone is a very temporary reprieve. All of a sudden it will stop accomplishing much and the downhill is very steep when that happens.
ReplyDeleteWe've lost five dogs and four parakeets since we married 30 years ago. Please encourage Belladonna to rescue another dog once she has grieved sufficiently. She will find much comfort upon doing that, and the rescue will be so grateful.
So sorry for all of you.Please have Belladonna give Herc a big hug from all of us.Hope he knows he's loved. Allan
ReplyDelete2.5 years ago, I lost the best dog in the world. He was 13. I spent $5000 to keep him alive two more months. I now realize that I did that for me, not for him. I think he was suffering most of the time, but I couldn't put him down. He did have good days, that I still cherish. Last year, I lost his sister, the second best dog in the world, she was 14.5 years old. Oddly enough, their father, who is now 17, is still going strong. I still think about them every day. The only thing that has helped is a new puppy. He does not make me forget them, he reminds me of them when they were young. He makes me remember the good times, not the bad ones.
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm old, I have had, and had euthanized, several dogs in my time. It never gets easy but I have rationalized that the reason they have shorter lives than we do is so that we can care for more than one in our lifetimes. Most recent was Eddie the Beagle, whom we buried last May. He's out in the back pasture now, under a freshly planted hickory sapling, and a cedar post with his name tag pressed into it marks the place. In July we were given/rescued Ender, the Anatolian Shepherd, who will be two years old in March. Here we go again (smiles).
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry. It's the normal order of things for us to eventually come to this but it's still so difficult. I hope you and Belladonna can come to peace with things, and to be glad for all of the good times and years with Herc. It sounds as though you all are doing the absolute best job with Herc that can be done. (I bought my dog a steak right at the end also)
ReplyDeleteBefore the boating accident, you purchased a Hercules single barrel shotgun for B.
ReplyDeleteHope she got a picture of the 3 of them together.
ERJ, Belladonna has had an excellent example in her life, and I'm sure she will make the hard decision when necessary. I've had to have my share of cats put down over the years, and it doesn't really get easier. If it did, I'd worry.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea of the new puppy. We have never gotten a new kitten after losing one until our last. We didn't even go looking for this kitten, she was sent to us-I'm convinced of that. She did a lot to lift the grief.