bob's tribute
bob's kidneys have been failing for sometime now. he was on special food, and we were giving him IV injections of lactated ringer (saline solution) every other day to help keep his kidneys flushed out. on a vet visit a few weeks ago, they noticed a heart murmur for the first time. wed june 24, he stopped eating. on friday night we went to the vet. she gave me a different food to try. he didn't eat that so on her advice i watered it down and force fed him. on saturday we were given leave to let him eat anything he would, regardless of what it was. if i shoved his face in the plate, he would eat a few bites of tuna and then walk away. we took him to the vet and they kept him. but as the vet told me his heart was showing signs of weakness and in trying to get his kidneys going again, that put tremendous stress on the heart.
we saw him on sunday june 28, and he wasn't too bad. i stopped by on monday after work and i knew then that this would be the last week.i spent quite awhile with him. i had a long talk with him and gave him permission to go. i told him not to hang on just for me that i would be ok. and that grable and speedway (another cat i used to have) were waiting on him. he had no energy. just laid there, and even cried when you picked him up as if it hurt.
on tues the vet called me at work to say he had taken a turn for the worse. i went straight there after work. what she didn't tell me on the phone, because she wanted to do it in person, was that he had passed away that afternoon. they had moved him from the medical ward to the emergency treatment area so that he could be constantly watched. when the vet techs noticed him having trouble, the vet said he was gone before she could even get there. but she said he died peacefully, and he was not alone. two of her best techs were there. in fact, she said that if she had to pick two of her staff to be with a dieing animal, those were the two she would have picked.
i regret that i was not able to be there in his last moments, but i had already said my good bye the night before and as i said, had given him permission to go in his own time if he wanted. i truely regret that albert did not get to say good bye to him. i am having him cremated and will bury him in the back yard next to the dog, along with his favorite blanket. i feel that i have yet to honestly grieve but know that in time i will. to be blunt, i don't think i've fully accepted that he's gone yet. the house seems quite lonely and empty now. for the first time in 18 years, i'm pet-less