II Chronicles 7:14

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Goodbye Forever Sweetie Sadie Girl


We went to see Sadie tonight at the vet's. Her prognosis given to us by the doctor was not good. They didn't expect she'd ever make a full recovery. One leg was fractured severely while the other one likely had nerve damage stemming from either her spine or neck. Up to this point, they couldn't get her to stand at all.
But...
When we walked in and she saw us, she stood right up and (slowly and painstakingly) walked over to us! AMAZINGLY! But it was only for a second before she collapsed onto her face. She was SO excited...wiggling her butt and wagging her tail. You could just tell she was so happy to be with us and for us to be loving on her again! The doctor even commented she hadn't seen her act like that or do anything like that since she'd been there.
Still...
Our options were to 1.) try surgery on her leg but with the good possibilty it would still never work because of very probable nerve damage. 2.) Amputate that leg--but they were still very skeptical that she'd ever walk. 3.)Put her down. Basically the bottom line came down to this: We could pay $1000 to try surgery/amputation but they couldn't give us any guarantee or even a very good chance that she'd ever be able to walk. Or, we could say goodbye right then. We asked for them to leave us with her for a bit while we talked and "examined" her ourselves. It was clear that she was in a LOT of pain. She wimpered and cried almost the entire time and would attempt to bite you if you even touched her front legs. We just simply couldn't pay $1,000+ for the surgery knowing that she may still never walk AND we would have to care for her intensively (carry her outside and hold her up for her to use the bathroom) for the next 6 weeks, as she wouldn't have use of her front legs at all. It just didn't seem fair to her...to go through all that, especially knowing we couldn't be with her all the time and take good care of her.
So, with a heavy heart, but clear concience, we decided to say our final goodbye to her as we held her head in our laps and kissed her head one last time. It was very quick and painless and peaceful. I sobbed for a while in the floor of the vet's office making a scene, I'm sure. Not that I gave a care. The tears still stream down my cheeks every few minutes when I think of all the fun and funny times we had with her. She was such a bubbly little pup, full of love and energy. She could keep Grant busy for a good hour just chasing him around the house or the yard playing with him. She drove old Sam nuts, bless her heart...but she just couldn't understand why the old fart didn't want to play with her! He'd rather sleep anyday than chase a fly around the yard like her. She was a blessing in disguise. At first we weren't sure she was the right dog for us...but it didn't take too long before we realized she was a part of our family and we had grown to really love her.
We'll miss her but as the kids like to say, "Now she's Great-Grandma's dog up in heaven!" :o)

6 comments:

Teresa said...

I am so very sorry Jen!! I'm teary eyed just reading this...it's never easy to loose a pet and Sadie was such a cutie! I was really really really hoping that she was going to pull thru this! Give those kiddos a hug for me wouldya?

Love to you girl!

Simmons girlz said...

So sadden to hear of your news. I know the kids will miss her :( :(

Okay I think this week with your dog, and me with my sickness, we as so over due to our girlz day...
Love ya my friend...

have fun this weekend! I am sure this time away is over due..

If you and your mom got lost for a week (okay ran away) I wouldnt
blame you..just an idea!!

Kate said...

I'm so sorry Jen! At least it sounds like the kids are taking it well. I hope you today finds you feeling at least a little better. Miss Sadie is out of pain and I know she's keeping your grandma company :)

((hugs)) to you

smiling's my favorite said...

that was a tough decision I'm sure, but a wise one. Im proud of you for making it... don't know what i would have done in your shoes.
love ya,

KC said...

I'm so sorry Jen. I know that had to be a very difficult decision to make, but i do believe you made the right choice.
I'm so glad to hear about the kids positive outlook on the situation. Kids are so resilient!

Christy said...

:o(