And then there was one.

Minutes before we were set to leave yesterday, Meathead got sick. He was hunched over and obviously in pain, and he vomited in the yard. We took him to the vet, but a few hours later he was dead. He had severe pancreatitis (which is what Bernie died of four months ago) and a fever of 106. That's when brain damage sets in. They'd given him morphine shortly before my sister and I arrived, so he was comfortable. He recognized us when we sat in the kennel with him, but pretty soon after that, he slipped away. He was covered in ice packs to try and bring the fever down, but it was pretty obvious there was nothing that could be done for him except euthanasia.

Unfortunately, my sister's boyfriend was at work and not answering his 911 pages. By the time he finally got there, Meathead was gone. It was after closing and the vet had had to leave for a half hour, so there was nothing anyone could do when he started having seizures. My sister held him as he faded away, he drew one last agonal breath and was gone. I think my sister is going to be ok, but it'll be tough for a while. He had a good, long life with us and she says she has absolutely no regrets.

As for Curly Joe, my sister's friends have him for now and will either drive him out here themselves in August, or we'll attempt another road trip in a few weeks. For now, he is having fun playing with their dogs and learning how to pee and poop outside like a big boy.

Paws

I didn't run Thursday. I spent all day at my sister's house. Our dog, Lady, was having a bad day (Cushing's, arthritis). Having trouble walking again. I guess deep down, I knew, but I was in denial about it all night. Finally, at midnight, my sister said we had to take her in. Suddenly, it was Luke all over again. I could see she was dying. We took her to Dove Lewis and they euthanized her. Chris and I were with her the whole time. I had my hand over her heart and felt it stop. She went very peacefully.

Yesterday we took her to Dignified Pets and had what I guess you could call our own version of a dog funeral. We (me, mom, sister) sat with her for a while and tied some fur from our three other dogs plus Chloe, the cat who especially loved Lady, around Lady's leg. We also cut off a small lock of our own hair to put with her. It's something we started doing; just makes us feel better that part of all of us who loved her will be with her until the very end.

I didn't run today, either. I finally got my period and I'm just not feeling up to it. I have no regrets about our life with Lady. Fourteen years is a good run. She had to have been at least 18 years old, but she didn't get old until very recently. It was a good (and dignified) end, but that doesn't mean I don't want her back here where she belongs. She was the glue that held our pack together. The other animals know, too. Bernie, her “BFF,” didn’t eat yesterday. They'll accept it and get on with their lives, but you can't tell me that they don't grieve.

The worst part about having animals (I won't say "owning") is that, compared to our lifespan, our time with them is so short, while our time without them is so incredibly long.


Lady
1992? - 2007

Setback

I shouldn't say setback. More of a delay?

I woke up at 5 this morning, coughing at this dry scratch at the back of my throat and fighting the urge to vomit. Got up at 8:00 to find it 54° (as usual) and overcast. A great day for running, in my book.

I feel like I could run (and I definitely want to), but I'm worried about pushing myself when I should maybe be letting my body rest. I'm not taking my mom swimming today since I started my period yesterday (I use GladRags), so I'm not in any kind of hurry this morning. I might wait an hour or two and see how I feel then. I really don't want to take a day off, not when I only just started Week 2, but I think I should err on the side of caution and give myself a break. This 5k isn't going anywhere without me. I can pick up the slack when I'm feeling better.

So I'm just going to eat a couple of oranges and see how I feel in a little while. I have had so much to do lately, I think I might have spread myself a little too thin.

Also, there's something wrong with Tank. Last night I noticed him whining and he was following me around the house like he thought he was in trouble for something. At one point, he yelped when I walked past him. I let him out and he urinated just fine, but it was too dark to see if he pooped. I brought him back in and examined him. He did seem a little tender when I palpated his abdomen, but he kind of always does that. I moved all four of his legs around and then slowly cranked his head up and back. When I tried to move his head to the right, he yelped.

I've noticed that he doesn't stretch and shake like he used to, and he's not lifting his leg to urinate. I think he either hurt his neck somehow and/or he's got the beginnings of some lovely old dog arthritis.

He ate dinner just fine and isn't dehydrated. I went into the office to watch The Hitcher (Seannnn Beannnn) on my computer and Tank fell asleep next to my chair. He was lying on his left side, and when I reached down to scratch his tummy, he couldn't lift his head up very far.

Definitely something wrong with his neck.

When I woke up this morning, he was in bed with me. I haven't allowed him on the bed in ten years, but I knew he wasn't feeling well, so I let it slide.

I have to return some movies to the library, so I think on the way home I will stop by my sister's and get some of Meathead and Lady's Tramadol. Hopefully that will help. I wonder what he could have done to hurt himself? It seems like he turned ten and then hit the wall. How can this little puppy, who was no bigger than my foot when I met him, be old!? He's such an incredibly active dog, it's hard to see him incapacitated. Last year he got sick and we never could figure out what was wrong with him. He was shaking and kind of lethargic. I think I gave him some subQ fluids and he was better in a day or two. Tank is kind of a wimp when it comes to pain/illness, I think.

I hope we both feel better soon.