July 26th was the day we decided that we finally had to
put our sweet Old English Sheepdog Maggie to rest. It doesn't seem right that we have this power
over our pets...they say it is the right thing to do to prevent them from
suffering. The guilt is overwhelming!
Maggie was the sweetest and worst dog we ever had! She peed and pooped all over the carpet from
the start of moving into our new home ten years ago. Vomiting too! For some reason she couldn't choose to hit
the tile or wood floor, it had to be the carpet! In her defense, she was a
stress pee-er...meaning at times when I would leave her alone she would do it
because she was upset. At least that is what the vet said.
Then as the years went by, the lightening and
thunder would terrify her. If we weren't home...she would go downstairs and pee
and poop during a storm. When Uncle Bob would come to
visit, she would always leave her mark outside his room. She would become ill
if she somehow ate something she shouldn't have and then yuk there it was again right on the carpet. These are the reasons she was the worst dog
ever. We will have to replace our carpeting and padding in our 6000 square foot house as
she has managed to hit every floor in our house right where the spots can be
seen! Imagine a 98 lb dog's bladder
size!
She loved me completely, unconditionally. Actually
probably almost better than my own children! She totally lived to love me!
Wherever I went in the house, she followed me. She slept on the floor next to
my bed. If I had to sleep on the couch
because of Dan's snoring, she would find me and sleep next to me. Always protecting me!
For many years she would come to work with me in our
warehouse office. Many of our customers would love to see her and bring her
cookies. Every morning when I would
leave to go to the office, she would watch me and jump up, not to be left
behind.
Then one day, she did not want to come with me
anymore. And she wouldn't climb up the
stairs in our house anymore to be with me. It was hard to be without her,
knowing that she wanted to be with me but couldn't.
Two weeks ago she was diagnosed with an osteosarcoma in
her shoulder. She had started to limp
right after her last bath. I thought she
was just sore from over manipulation during her grooming. When she didn't get better after a few days,
I took her to the vet and had her leg X-rayed. The initial diagnosis was a
pinched nerve, but the possibility of it being something more was suggested. So with more
pain meds I took her home, hoping it would get better. Her hind legs were already making it hard for
her to get up, in fact I had to constantly lift her up from behind to get her
up to go outside potty or for her meals.
Once up, she was able to move around pretty good. And there were times when I wasn't there to
help her, that somehow she managed to move where she wanted to go. But when she started limping with her front
leg, everything was harder for her. She
would fall when she was going potty, falling in it, and being embarrassed. Cleaning her up was not easy. I called the vet to tell him the limp was not
getting better. Being her main doctor,
who had not yet looked at the X-rays from Maggie’s weekend visit, he told me
that he feared she had bone cancer. And
that on a scale of one to ten, ten being worst, this was about a nine. He told me there was nothing we could do, and
that the best course of action would be to put her down. He said we didn't have to do it that day, but
that we should discuss it as a family. The quality of her life was diminishing
daily.
The next day after talking to the doctor, we had a
surprise party at our home for Scott and Mariclare’s 25th wedding
anniversary. I did not want that to be
the day we made a decision. And somehow
Maggie rallied for the party, everyone told her how pretty she was and gave her
love.
July 26th, she could hardly get up..she hadn't been
eating much, and she was much thinner.
We decided that we needed to take her. . . Tommy went with me and was my
rock. He stayed with her until the very end. I only wanted to stay until she
was in a deep sleep, which was supposed to take 3-5 minutes according to the
doctor. TWENTY minutes later we were
still petting her and talking to her. She did not want to sleep! When it seemed like she was finally
in a deep sleep, not lifting her head up anymore,I left the room. I sat in my car outside crying. Another woman with her dog came out, saw me
and started crying too.
When it was over, Tommy came out and took me home. I threw out everything that belonged to her ao I wouldn’t have to see it. Then,
Tommy and I decided to go to Red Ginger to have lunch and a goodbye drink for
Maggie. Tommy had a Mai-Tai, and I had a non-alcoholic beer. After a few sips,
Tommy said to me, “Mom, I wasn't going to tell you this until you were on your
deathbed, but Maggie lifted her head up twice after you left.”. I asked him if
he thought she knew I wasn't there. He
was sweet and said “no mom”. He said the
doctor and the assistant cried as they injected her. She was a good old girl. She was the best dog and the worst dog.
I will miss her love.
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