Last Thursday evening, Dottie threw up right around bedtime. She threw up a bunch of grapes. Apparently while she was over at our neighbor's house (where her little brother Pixel lives), she helped herself to some of the grapes growing in the back yard.
We didn't know grapes could be toxic to dogs.
Over the course of the last few days, she stopped eating. She was lethargic and losing weight. She mostly slept. We took her to a vet who gave us some hope. So, we tried feeding her chicken broth with one of those syringe-like medicine droppers, which worked for a while but she wasn't getting enough and then yesterday she just stopped swallowing. We gave her Pepto Bismol (that vet's suggestion) a couple of times, but that just seemed like animal cruelty. She would drink some water, but by Monday her urine would come out pretty clear, a sign of kidney failure.
This morning the vet ran some tests, and sure enough she had super-elevated levels of things a little puppy like her shouldn't have.
We decided to euthanize.
We decided to be present, to be able to give her one last hug before we released her. Rebecca and the two older kids had a tough time. I stayed stoic (I know, typical guy), though I did get sniffly. Angela was very positive, reminding us that Dottie was going to be happy now, no more pain. And James was...well, James.
The vet was awesome (thanks for referring us, Jen). Very personable but very professional. They gave us a nice little cardboard coffin for her.
We took her to Grandma and Grandpa O'Neal's house in Payson. They've got a big backyard. We had a little funeral for Dottie, just our family. The three older kids wrote letters that we buried with her. Here are some excerpts:
From Isaac:
I'm so sorry for letting you get grapes will you forgive me?
From Maile:
I hope to see you in heaven someday Dottie, you deserve the best place a dog could ever have.
From Angela:
I hop that you will hav a grat time up in Hevin. I hope you will make noo frends.
Some of the positives we were able to identify from this experience:
- The kids learned about being responsible (they actually all helped a lot with feeding, cleaning up, etc.)
- ALL our friends who knew about Dottie who have dogs of their own now know about grapes
- The kids get to learn about dealing with loss
- We have great memories of a fun, cute dog that surely brought happiness into our home.
We'll miss you Dottie!
5 comments:
Oh Thomas! I'm SO sorry! I love that you can think positive in a situation like this.
As her grandparents of a sorts we are heartbroken at your loss of sweet Dottie. It is amazing how quickly you become attached to these little animals. We are so glad that you were able to have her in your home for as long as you did. We will miss her too.
That makes me so sad!!! Hope you are all doing OK.
And for those of you who have pets and don't know, here's a list of things to avoid for dogs:
Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pet
- Alcoholic beverages
- Avocado
- Chocolate (all forms)
- Coffee (all forms)
- Fatty foods
- Walnuts and Macadamia nuts
- Moldy or spoiled foods
- Onions, onion powder
- Raisins and grapes
- Salt
- Yeast dough
- Garlic
- Products sweetened with xylitol
- Sugarless candies
This list is based on the Animal Poison Controls list of death and illness in pets.
Dottie can join Cinnamon, Sparky, Penny and Blue Tracy in heaven. She'll have lots of company.
Glad you liked the vet.
:) jen
Sad post but a nice tribute. They are just like one of the family - sorry Thomas! I can lend you one of the twins if it will help fill the void? :)
I'm so sorry! It's amazing the things we learn, unfortunately sometimes it has to come with experience.
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