Month: October 2014

 

At 2pm August 23, 2014, 6 years and 1 week after Buddy came into our lives, we made that last trip.

Buddy had always loved to ride in the back of our ute, so it was fitting that his last journey was from the back of our vehicle. The vet came out to the car and helped make Buddy comfortable from one of his favourite spots.

It wasn’t easy but it wasn’t meant to be.

We we’re all there to see him over the bridge, my wife and I, Honey, our now 3 year old son and our 10 month old daughter too. All of us better for having known Buddy.

They say that for every soul laid to rest, a new star lights up the night sky. We had the pleasure of knowing the brightest one while he lived his life, on “three legs and a spare”.

Run free my friend.

 

 

 

Time was proving to be such a valuable thing and we were beginning to realise just how limited it was.

After a few more months passed, a third E.coli infection set in. This was a stronger strain than those that Buddy had previously suffered from and this time we needed a month long dose of antibiotics.

One week into his course of tablets and 8 months after being diagnosed with renal failure, it happened. Buddy gave us “the look”.

With a simple tilt of his head and the most expressive eyes, Buddy said the very words I feared would one day come from our vet. He was tired of fighting and was ready to rest peacefully.

Friday August 22^nd, we made the call to the vet to book one last appointment for the following Monday allowing us to have one final weekend together.

The next morning and Buddy couldn’t stand. He had no strength and this made us realise how selfish it was to delay the inevitable as it was for us, not him and with the discomfort he was showing it was unfair to put him through too much more. He had been such a wonderful friend and he deserved to be treated with the respect he had earned over the years. As such, we rang the vet again and changed our appointment to that afternoon.

We decided to throw Buddy a farewell party to make sure he knew how much he meant to us.

No more tablets. No diets. We were having a BBQ.

Chicken wings. Bacon. Sausages. All of life’s little luxuries that were on the ‘in moderation’ list.

If today was to be the day, he was going to say goodbye with a smile.

 

 

 

Ultimately, increasing Buddy’s diet was futile. He just didn’t want to eat. Even smearing peanut butter on things didn’t work and the night time routine of a carrot at bed time, which both Honey and Buddy loved, was also ignored.

After another E.coli infection, we reaffirmed our stance with the vet of doing what we could until they told us otherwise.

His weight loss was obvious and exercise was near impossible. His appetite was gone and keeping some definition about him was becoming difficult but after 2 weeks’ worth of antibiotics, he returned to somewhere near his old self.

It was all starting to take its toll on Buddy though and with his weight loss came a distinct lack of energy and routine tasks were becoming arduous. Going outside to the toilet was too great and accidents were now happening inside regularly.

This itself was no problem for us though as I was prepared to carry him, but we realised that while we had always said Buddy was a happy dog, smiling at will, suddenly we couldn’t remember when we last saw that happy face.

 

 

We set out by advising the vet that we’d do everything we could to have as much time as possible with Buddy, but sometimes things don’t go your way.

We got off to a terrible start by commencing the diagnosis with an E.coli infection too.

Thankfully a week long course of antibiotics took care of that and that left us with the battle ahead to keep Buddy well.

Prescription food plus medication became the norm and out went a few of his favourite treats, but it was all for good reason.

After about a month, weight seemed to be falling off of him so we took him to the vet for a weigh in and check-up.

All seemed to be normal so we increased his food a little and continued on.

After all that Buddy had been through, we thought things had finally managed to take a turn for the better.

Then along came December 2013.

You’re always able to tell something is wrong with someone you care about. Your mother. Your brother. Your loved one. In this case, our best friend.

We went interstate for Christmas and when we returned Buddy didn’t seem to be acting like himself. There was no goofy smile and the appetite seemed unnaturally quenched. He was lethargic and uninterested in walking.

We gave it a couple of days to be sure that it wasn’t just bit of separation anxiety subsiding, but when he didn’t return to his usual ways, another trip to the vet was in order.

This wasn’t like the previous visits. This time there would be no suggestion of surgery. Vets can’t cure kidney failure.

The 12 months after Buddy had his surgery was a continual lesson for us all.

He was always quite protective of Honey and suddenly she was looking out for Buddy whenever other dogs got a little too energetic with him. Nothing aggressive, just a little reminder that he was special and needed some extra care at times.

We learned the fine line between exercising and over exertion but we still had a few trips to the park and walks around the block end in a slow meander home.

Buddy learned the art of squat peeing but not before he tried to cock a leg and lost his balance.

I learned that it was a bigger adjustment for other people and when they’d say “poor dog” I’d say “You should have seen him before.”

One outing to our local park resulted in the question being asked, “How much does he owe you?”

The answer was simple, “He owes us nothing, but we owe him for the smile he puts on our faces.”