My Best Friend

shilo · 07-13-2011

11 years ago almost to the day my best friend, companion, and emotional stabilizer Shilo. She is a mix breed and has turned into the best dog I could want. Last Friday I noticed that she has some greenish yellow crust on her left nostril and took her to the vet. They were not sure what the infection was (viral or fungal). It was like a human cold in one nostril. They gave me some medicine and said that they are not sure it would work. They wanted to do more tests to check the liver so they could put her under for a scan of her skull. Since Friday she has totally lost vision in one eye and seems to barely see out of the other. She seems pretty sleepy and the bad eye seems to bother her. My heart is broken to say the least. She pants all the time or breathes out of one nostril. She has been through a cancerous tumor on her head, removal of a large mass in her belly (fatty tumor), and a torn achilies in the past 4 years. She has never lost her desire to eat and still has it. The rate that this virus is getting to her is horrible and I don't want to see her disabled (blind) and then just wait for her to suffer. What do I do? I cry everytime I think about not having my Shilo in my life.

CorkyMax · 07-13-2011

So sorry to hear about Shilo. I had to go through the same emotions you are right now. I had to put my 12 yr old Corky down because of heart disease complications a little over a year ago.

The best thing I can tell you: You have to put your dog 1st even though you want to keep your dog forever,and decide if it is suffering (And many times that is hard to tell as many dogs try to hide this) Yes, you will miss your dog--But you have to be brave and do what is best for your dog even if it is putting her down. Do not 'cry' on her or make her feel like you can't let her go if she needs to go. Some dogs will stay because of this clinging even though they may be suffering. This is very hard I know, I am crying just writing this.
I am giving you the link to a poem in here I found after I put Corky down. I wish I had seen it before hand: Poem for My Corky

And when the time comes--Please be there for her, holding her and talking to her, telling her all you want her to hear.

shilo · 07-25-2011

Thank you for sending the poem and the kind words. It has been over a week and the pain is still there but the acceptance that I had no other choice makes it tolerable. Shilo was my best friend and I will never forget or stop missing her. She was truely an amazing companion.

The last time I posted I wanted to know what to do and then poor Shilo went totally blind and could barely hear along with other issues in just a few days. I said my goodbyes and held her till her last breath at the Vet while she peacefully went to sleep.