10 replies to this topic

[SincereArtisan]

We lost a dog today at work who I will miss greatly. Her name was Georgia, and she was a BC, one of my very favorites that came in to see us now and again. I was familiar with her from working kennel when she boarded, and she was always wonderful, sweet, gentle, and so adorable carrying around this beat-up old shoe....it was her boy's shoe. Her and this 10 year old boy were very close. Her whole family loved her to pieces....

She'd been in lately, under the weather. Strange symptoms, and they'd tentatively diagnosed her with pancreaitis (sp?) I think....either way, she'd been very ill,and all manner of tests were being done to figure out what was the matter. She'd been in and out for a couple weeks, getting fluids, treatments, etc...

Today she was brought in, he abdomen swollen. She was...so weak. The skin was just hanging off her face, she looked like a shadow of herself. She had lots of fluid buildup in her abdomen, and all I know in between training our new kennel person and running dogs to and fro is that she had the fluid drained, blood drawn for more testing, and she was resting...I was holding a rabbit for some one when I see them rush Georgia into the emergency room. I peeked in the door, watching through the room as they tried everything they could to revive her. ...She just crashed. Gone. Just. Like. That.....It was so sad. It broke my heart for my old BCs all over again. I cleaned her up so her family could come see her, sat with the boy awhile because at first he just couldn't do it....We all cried.

I came home and buried my face in my two dog's fur, loved on them, pet them, told them how wonderful they were...I'm going to miss that sweet dog, and I feel for her poor family. I wish there was something more I could do....that poor boy...

[Shadows Mom]

*cries* I know exactly how you feel.. went through a similar situation with Q, an elderly chocolate lab. EVERYONE cried when he passed, and I'll never forget how quickly he just slipped away. *hugs* Now I too need to go cuddle my girls.

[WyoBC]

I'm sorry. It is very hard, expecialy on a ten yr. old boy. He must have been heart broken. I feel really bad for all of you guys. Maybe it's better that she went fast. Then you know she didn't suffer any.

Rest in peace little girl

[Dixie_Girl]

I know how hard that must have been for you. Re-living all that pain, and the helplessness to be able to do anything. I am glad you have Rune and Idolon to help ease that pain. I'm sure it helped the boy having you with him. RIP lil girl.

[Pat W.]

Its hard enough to comes to terms with the loss of a beloved pet as an adult, multiply that by 10 for a child - poor kid -
. I know from experience with my own kids how hard it is even with preparation, specially my daughter who has already been through it twice once at the age of 4 and then again at 11. Kind thoughts and sympathy to you and the grieving family

[Michelle K]

Oh, how horrible. My heart really goes out to the 10yr old. I remember, all too well, when I was 11yrs old and lost a dog that my parents got when I was only 1yr old. He was an Irish Setter. I was very close to him. My brother wasn't born until I was 8, so I grew up with this dog. During that time, no one really knew much about heartworms and we had just found out that he had them, but the vet didn't think he could survive the treatment. Well, a couple of evenings later, he got out of our fenced in yard and ran right in front of a car. We didn't have an emergency vet, at that time, and by the time the vet called back it was too late. He was already gone. I remember the heartache I felt, so I can only imagine how this poor boy feels. I'm definitely sending warm thoughts and feelings to this family.

[Kat's Dogs]

That must have been horrible to watch. Bringing back all those memories.... Like Linda said, I am glad you have Rune and Ido to go home to and snuggle to pieces.

I hope the family's pain will ease slightly soon.

[Liz P]

You are going to have to learn to deal with your grief if you work at an animal hospital. One of my own dogs donated blood to a Samoyed. I sat with that dog for hours every day and was his personal "nurse." I fed him by hand, helped him outside to go potty, changed his lines, gave him meds, etc. I cried with his owners when they finally gave up the battle after 2 months. Just as hard is watching your favorite dogs grow old then die.

But, life goes on and the puppy appointments always made me smile. There are cases that made it all worth it like the cat with a bite wound that wouldn't heal. We thought it was going to lose its leg. He was super nasty when he first came in with the bite, his owner could barely touch him. He stayed in the hospital for 3 months for treatments. I had to clean his wounds 3x a days, which meant thick leather gloves and lots of yowling. By the time he went home he would beg me to be brushed and follow me around like a dog. His owners says that getting hurt was the best thing that ever happened to him because he went from being a fighter to a lover.

We also revived a BC who had fallen through the ice into a pond and had not taken a breath in nearly an hour. Once we got him breathing and his heart beating he made a full recovery!

Just be sure to find some way to cope emotionally. Vet techs have a VERY high turnover rate because they burn out.

[TracyR]

I can imagine it is hard to work in a Vets office at times but I hope you can see how you truely help both animals and people. I lost my Akita/Malumute mix 3 months ago after 15 1/2 years of companionship...it was very hard. We boarded her at the vets while we went away for our 10 year anniversary. She got tummy torsion that weekend. They couldnt keep her comfortable long enough for me to get home. I knew she couldnt live forever, but I always expected I would be there to comfort her in her final hours. I just wanted to be with her. Karen was the vet tech that called us. She actually came in on a Saturday night when she heard what had happend to Sami. We talked and cried with her throughout the night. Knowing she was with Sami (mydog) was an enormous comfort. She was so kind, and stayed with her till the end. She had known my Sami since she was 5 and they had an affection for each other. It will always bother me that I was not there with Sami, but knowing that she wasnt alone, that she wasnt just another old dog makes a huge diffenence in my ability to cope. As much as I have tried to express to Karen how wonderful she is, I dont think she will ever truely understand what a difference she made for my family and I.

[bexie]

It sounds to me like you did a lot for that boy. You made sure his dog was presentable so he could say goodbye. You sat with him when he needed someone. You cried with them and shared their grief. You let them know that their loss meant something to you, too.
Their dog couldn't be saved, but everyone tried--Georgia mattered.

If the family chooses to get another pet, you will share in their joy with their new selection.

You've done a lot.

[aussiered]

I'm a vet nurse, last week we had a 4 year old BC come in. She had eaten rat bait 10 days previously but then had vomited straight after so the owners thought it would be ok (they thought she'd vomited it all back up). She came in lethargic and pale and with a little blood dripping from her nose. Half an hour later while we were still running her bloods and x-raying her (to look for blood in her lungs) the blood was trickling from her mouth. A few minutes after that while we were in the middle of placing a chest drain into her the blood was gushing out of her mouth and she died in my arms. I'd never met the dog before but for some reason her death really hit me hard, I can only assume that it was because she was 'my' breed. The dog had been for a run with her owner everyday she'd had her, including all of the days after she'd eaten the rat bait and including the day she died. BC's really are a special breed.