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UPDATE:
I just wanted to give an update on what happened to Georgia…
We picked Georgia, Rocco and Olive up from boarding after we returned back from Hawaii two weeks ago. We noticed that Olive was coughing a bit, Rocco had a small case of the runs and that Georgia was breathing short and hard. “Oy,” I thought to myself, “This is what happens when we leave them and go away.”
Needless to say, both Olive and Rocco bounced back quickly, but Georgia’s breathing got worse over the week. I then brought her into Dr. Forsythe’s office and they did X-rays. They said that her right lung wasn’t making any sound and the X-rays showed some congestion and her heart looked like it might be swollen. They said that they could learn more with an ultrasound, so we scheduled that for a week later (Monday, April 16th) and the doctor put her on antibiotics and Lasix. They told me that with Lasix she would need to drink a lot of water and pee a lot, so I stayed home the whole week with her to be sure she was comfortable while Tom took off to Chicago for business.
Long story longer, on Saturday night I didn’t get much sleep, because Georgia was breathing harder and heavier and every time I would hear silence I would think that she was dying, so I would turn the lights on and check on her in her crate. Sunday was the worst… She couldn’t lie down all day and got no rest. She spent the day in her doggie bed in our TV room looking at me while panting. It was awful. I knew she was in pain, so I called the doctor midday and told him that I was worried about her. He told me that as long as she was eating, peeing and drinking water that she would be OK most likely by tomorrow morning’s scheduled ultrasound. I felt better and laid with her throughout the day kissing her ear and scratching her chest as she whimpered slightly.
From the day we got her, I wanted her to know that we loved her. I would always kiss in her ear and scratch her chest, making kissing noises. In return, she would whimper with delight and love and lift her paw up as if to not allow my hand to stop scratching her. I made sure to do a lot of this.
Fast forward to dinnertime at around 6:30pm on Sunday. Georgia was lying in her bed under the TV that is mounted on the wall and I got up and said the trigger word for dinner, “Who’s hungry?” while waling into the kitchen. Both Olive and Rocco followed me, but no sign of Beagliboo (her nickname). I peaked around the corner and saw her sitting there staring at me… She didn’t move. I went back to the bowls and clanked them together – this would always make her run from wherever she was like lightning, but nothing. I knew this was not good.
I fed the other two and called Dr. Forsythe. He told me we had three choices: 1. I could watch her tonight and hope that she’s OK until her appointment in the morning, 2. I could bring her in ASAP and have them put IVs in and keep a close eye on her or 3. Tom and I could make the decision now to slowly put her to sleep and out of her misery. Well, since Tom was on a flight I couldn’t make that call without him and since I knew Georgia was in pain and we both hadn’t had any sleep or rest I felt like number 2 was the best option.
I quickly drove her over to Sonoma from St. Helena about a 35-minute drive and something strange happened… I was able to get her out of the car on her own on the leash and she pulled me over to the lawn. She was walking and pooping at the same time… I knew this was not good. Just as she was doing that Dr. Forsythe came out and said, “If I didn’t know you, I would say that this was a dog that is acting like she just got hit by a car.”
We brought her inside – I noticed after she took her poop that she was losing her balance, so I picked her up (which she hated) and carried her into his examination room. The doctor gave her oxygen while I held it up to her nose while he took her temperature and examined her. He then asked me to help get her back to a wall crate and asked if I had somewhere to go for an hour while he got the IV in and did X-rays. I said yes and went over to Manfred’s house.
Manfred was Georgia’s favorite person – I even think that since we got the two Frenchies, that she loved being with Manfred more than us. I am not jealous of this, because I knew that it made her happy and Manfred too.
Manfred served me a glass of wine and we spoke about Georgia’s condition and talked about her life with us. Suddenly at around 8pm, a half hour after I had left, Dr. Forsythe called my cell and told me that I needed to get back right away. He told me that her health suddenly declined and that she was dying. I gasped and told Manfred… We both raced over to be with her hoping not to be too late.
When we entered the room she laid there with tubes in her mouth with oxygen to help her breath and an IV. Kelly, the doctor’s assistant was great… She told me that she feels no pain and that they are giving her pain medicine into the IV.
It all happened so quickly, but before I knew it I was signing a piece of paper giving permission to put her to sleep. I knew it was best, but so many things were going thru my mind, guilt, sadness, guilt, Tom, would she be able to beat this and then I broke down and start balling like a baby. I was trying to be strong, but I couldn’t. I just let it all out. I then thought about the kisses in the ear. I wanted her to go out with me doing that to her…
I kissed her ear and told her how much I loved her and the doctor inserted the needle into her IV… I asked him how long it would take and he said that her heart had stopped. I felt her softness… Her ears were so soft and everyone always said she looked like a stuffed animal – so cute. I kept thinking she was so cute and so precious sitting there… Just like a stuffed animal.
Manfred really helped me. Between him, the doctor, Kelly and I we all cried and hugged each other. It was very peaceful and I knew that she was looking down on us as she BARROOO’d and did her little gallop without pain and full of unconditional love for us.
Bye Bye Beagliboo! We love you!
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