Farewell to my very best friend...
I lost my Barney today.
He hadn't completely been himself since the blizzard a couple weeks ago, but in the last few days he was really not doing well. He was having a hard time keeping balance and it seemed like he had trouble moving around. He hadn't been eating much, and on Thursday night he wouldn't even take his pills in the pill pocket (and he loved them - you never saw a dog get so excited about taking medicine!) I also noticed he had lost quite a bit of weight (you could feel his ribs - and when they weighed him today he was down to 13 pounds.) He was having a harder time getting around this morning, and could barely move out to the car. I carried him into the vet's office and held him on my lap in the waiting room - he didn't even try to jump off. The tests at the vet found that he was in the very end stages of heart failure and had pancreatitis - and they couldn't treat one of these two things without the treatment making the other one worse. The stress of the tests got to him too - he couldn't even raise his head when they were done (although he had been able to walk into the exam room). It was the decision I never wanted to make - but it was the best thing for him. It was time.
Nana was there too (she had an appointment to get her claws clipped) We brought her to him so she was able to say goodbye too. Barney's vet is a high school friend of mine, so it was good that he was the one to do it. David and I were with him until the end, talking to him and petting him and telling him how much we loved him and would miss him. He looked so peaceful at the end - more relaxed than I'd seen him in a while.
Needless to say, I've been a weepy mess ever since. I had him for almost nine years. It wasn't long enough. It never is.
I miss him so much. He was the best dog in the world.
Barney Rosenthal: March 1, 1996-February 19, 2011.
He hadn't completely been himself since the blizzard a couple weeks ago, but in the last few days he was really not doing well. He was having a hard time keeping balance and it seemed like he had trouble moving around. He hadn't been eating much, and on Thursday night he wouldn't even take his pills in the pill pocket (and he loved them - you never saw a dog get so excited about taking medicine!) I also noticed he had lost quite a bit of weight (you could feel his ribs - and when they weighed him today he was down to 13 pounds.) He was having a harder time getting around this morning, and could barely move out to the car. I carried him into the vet's office and held him on my lap in the waiting room - he didn't even try to jump off. The tests at the vet found that he was in the very end stages of heart failure and had pancreatitis - and they couldn't treat one of these two things without the treatment making the other one worse. The stress of the tests got to him too - he couldn't even raise his head when they were done (although he had been able to walk into the exam room). It was the decision I never wanted to make - but it was the best thing for him. It was time.
Nana was there too (she had an appointment to get her claws clipped) We brought her to him so she was able to say goodbye too. Barney's vet is a high school friend of mine, so it was good that he was the one to do it. David and I were with him until the end, talking to him and petting him and telling him how much we loved him and would miss him. He looked so peaceful at the end - more relaxed than I'd seen him in a while.
Needless to say, I've been a weepy mess ever since. I had him for almost nine years. It wasn't long enough. It never is.
I miss him so much. He was the best dog in the world.
Barney Rosenthal: March 1, 1996-February 19, 2011.