Resq TailsThe trials and triumphs of rescued dogs

Well, I don’t feel like writing tonight, but maybe I’ll feel better when I get it on paper. This weekend while I was at the agility trial with Zoe…Jessie got sick. My husband called on Sat. morning and left a message telling me that he thought Jessie was dying. My heart sank. I felt helpless knowing that she wasn’t doing well, and I wasn’t there to help her. Those thoughts hung over an otherwise wonderful weekend like a big ominous black cloud.

I got back Sunday to find her very listless, having trouble standing up and walking and refusing to eat. Jessie is normally one of the first in the crew to jump up and start barking at new noises, and she always is right at my heels inside the house or out. To see her just laying there not interested in much of anything…(even to company coming over), was aweful! My husband had described her as seeming disoriented, but I think she just felt so bad she wasn’t interested in anything going on around her.

Since we are in a rural area, there are no emergency vets, you just have to wait it out till Monday morning. I took her in first thing this morning and had bloodwork done. The results showed that she was having major liver problems. The vet said that it was likely that she’d lived for years with less than 100% liver function and that with age it’s just manifesting itself now. I was given the option to try to treat it, which he felt might have extended her life another couple of months, or put her to sleep.

I know many people may think that we made the wrong decision, but I couldn’t justify a couple months of likely reduced quality of life just because I want her to be here longer. I sat with her in my arms as she peacefully went to sleep this evening.