October 21st, to be exact.
We absolutely didn't see it coming. Coop's been so up and down with things that I guess she just flew under the radar.
One of the pups had been sick the last half of the weekend. We thought it was Scout who had been eating all sorts of stuff he wasn't suppose to. It turns out it was Maggie. We just assumed wrong. It wouldn't have mattered anyway.
When she woke up on Tuesday, she just was not well. She wouldn't eat anything, she immediatley threw up what little water she drank, and she suddenly looked very thin.
Ben got an appointment scheduled for her right away.
Henry was worried. He just stood in the garage watching the truck as Ben loaded her up. As I dropped the boys off at school I assured him that Maggie was fine, that she must have just gotten into something. I meant every single word of it.
I met Ben up at the vet, still thinking it was just an upset stomach. When the labs came back, however, I knew it wasn't good. Her kidney's weren't functioning properly. In fact they seemed to be barely functioning at all. Her kidney enzymes were off the charts.
Then came the hard part.
We could try to flush her system with some IV fluids. It would probably perk her back up, but it would likely only buy us a little bit of time with the condition her kidney's were in, plus we'd have to leave her there for at least a day, maybe two.
The other option was to let her go.
We went back and forth on it, but ulitmately decided that the kindest thing for us to do was to not prolong things for her.
We had to let the boys say goodbye, especially after I'd assured them that she was fine, so I pulled them out of school immediately. It was hard news to break to them. They were so very sad. Henry was angry.
By 9, we were all home and already giving Maggie all the love that we could give her.
It was gorgeous outside. Not the least bit hot, or cold, or windy. Perfect.
We sat in the front yard with her for a long time.
Luke came out for a bit, but otherwise he stayed in the house. When I tried to coax him out, I realized that, as much as he wanted to come out there with us, it was just to public out front for him to cry and mourn over her.
We brought her back in the house for a bit. The boys surrounded her. At one point they all feel asleep--it's incredible how draining it is to be so sad--but they never took thier hands off of her.
We decided to take her back to the vet at 1:30. She wasn't in pain, but it was clear that she was feeling worse and worse.
We took her back outside for some last cuddles and then headed to the vet.
Josh gave her two rubberband bracelets for her wrists. I loved that. By the time that we got to the vet, she was laying in Ben's back seat. I've never seen her lay down in his truck. She was in a bad way.
We gave the boys the option of how long they wanted to stay in the room with her. Josh opted to stay in the waiting room for everything. Luke and Henry stayed until she was sedated. Ben and I stayed with her until the end.
I told her how amazing she was, and how happy I was that she came into our family and I asked her to please always watch over the boys. She's always been such a momma.
Walking away from the room after she was gone was the hardest thing to do.
I took so many pictures of her that day. Ben doesn't really like to look at them. They still make him upset.
When I look at them, though, I think of what an incredible day that we had with her. We were all able to be with her. We didn't have anything that was pulling our attention away from her. It was just us and her, completely in the moment.
I thank God for giving us such an amazing day to say goodbye to her and I pray that we get the same opportunity when it's the other pups turn.
I'm so glad that she forced her way into our lives. She was such an incredible dog.
One of the pups had been sick the last half of the weekend. We thought it was Scout who had been eating all sorts of stuff he wasn't suppose to. It turns out it was Maggie. We just assumed wrong. It wouldn't have mattered anyway.
When she woke up on Tuesday, she just was not well. She wouldn't eat anything, she immediatley threw up what little water she drank, and she suddenly looked very thin.
Ben got an appointment scheduled for her right away.
Henry was worried. He just stood in the garage watching the truck as Ben loaded her up. As I dropped the boys off at school I assured him that Maggie was fine, that she must have just gotten into something. I meant every single word of it.
I met Ben up at the vet, still thinking it was just an upset stomach. When the labs came back, however, I knew it wasn't good. Her kidney's weren't functioning properly. In fact they seemed to be barely functioning at all. Her kidney enzymes were off the charts.
Then came the hard part.
We could try to flush her system with some IV fluids. It would probably perk her back up, but it would likely only buy us a little bit of time with the condition her kidney's were in, plus we'd have to leave her there for at least a day, maybe two.
The other option was to let her go.
We went back and forth on it, but ulitmately decided that the kindest thing for us to do was to not prolong things for her.
We had to let the boys say goodbye, especially after I'd assured them that she was fine, so I pulled them out of school immediately. It was hard news to break to them. They were so very sad. Henry was angry.
By 9, we were all home and already giving Maggie all the love that we could give her.
It was gorgeous outside. Not the least bit hot, or cold, or windy. Perfect.
We sat in the front yard with her for a long time.
Luke came out for a bit, but otherwise he stayed in the house. When I tried to coax him out, I realized that, as much as he wanted to come out there with us, it was just to public out front for him to cry and mourn over her.
We brought her back in the house for a bit. The boys surrounded her. At one point they all feel asleep--it's incredible how draining it is to be so sad--but they never took thier hands off of her.
We decided to take her back to the vet at 1:30. She wasn't in pain, but it was clear that she was feeling worse and worse.
We took her back outside for some last cuddles and then headed to the vet.
Josh gave her two rubberband bracelets for her wrists. I loved that. By the time that we got to the vet, she was laying in Ben's back seat. I've never seen her lay down in his truck. She was in a bad way.
We gave the boys the option of how long they wanted to stay in the room with her. Josh opted to stay in the waiting room for everything. Luke and Henry stayed until she was sedated. Ben and I stayed with her until the end.
I told her how amazing she was, and how happy I was that she came into our family and I asked her to please always watch over the boys. She's always been such a momma.
Walking away from the room after she was gone was the hardest thing to do.
I took so many pictures of her that day. Ben doesn't really like to look at them. They still make him upset.
When I look at them, though, I think of what an incredible day that we had with her. We were all able to be with her. We didn't have anything that was pulling our attention away from her. It was just us and her, completely in the moment.
I thank God for giving us such an amazing day to say goodbye to her and I pray that we get the same opportunity when it's the other pups turn.
I'm so glad that she forced her way into our lives. She was such an incredible dog.
