We've had a very full week of ups and downs. We had made plans to travel to Edmond, OK (by way of Arkansas to see family) to stay with friends for the big church weekend with socials, dancing, and the Jeremiah musical premier.
All that went very well and it was a wonderful experience. But in the midst of it, we received very bad news about our pet. DaVinci had not been himself the day before we left, and we thought perhaps the recently prescribed medication was affecting him. But we found out from the pet sitter on Friday that he was becoming increasingly weak and inactive. We had her take him to our vet, who found he was losing blood and going downhill fast. After bloodwork and x-rays were inconclusive, they transferred him to the regional emergency animal hospital for more tests and monitoring. By Friday night, he was pretty bad. An ultrasound revealed a large tumor on his liver had ruptured and was bleeding out. They had already tried IV fluids, and it wasn't helping. They did a blood transfusion through the night and gave coagulates to try to stop the bleeding, but he never stabilized. He wasn't in any pain and our pet sitter was able to be with him when he died Saturday the 29th shortly before noon.
We are heartbroken to be without our faithful companion of ten years, and it was so difficult to not be there with him and say goodbye. But he had a wonderful, healthy, full life and we are thankful for the time we enjoyed with him. We were able to bring his body home Monday and bury him under the beautiful tulip magnolia in the backyard. We will start the new calendar year without him, but we'll have a decade of fond memories to reflect back on.
DaVinci was...
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| ...our big bellied baby |
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| ...always quick with a hug |
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| ...a natural weed barrier |
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| ...a good excuse for a nap |
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| ...a fabulous babysitter |
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| ...a patient chipmunk hunter |
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| ...an experienced remodeler |
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| ...never far from a toy |
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| ...frequently aspiring to new heights |
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| ...prone to stick his nose in |
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| ...our beloved friend who will be greatly missed |
The girls and I are so sorry for your loss. We all loved Vinci and will miss him.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry for your loss. Growing up with pets, I know through love, joy, comedy, and even the needed correction and instruction, they become part of the family. This, too, shall pass.
ReplyDeleteWe lost our first Lab Lincoln a few years ago. Great pets are so much fun, it is hard to lose a member of the family.
ReplyDeleteThanks Fleda. I'm glad the nieces had a chance to know and enjoy him.
ReplyDeleteAnita, you're definitely right; he was part of our family. The house doesn't feel the same without him!
Rachel, I remember Lincoln. It is hard to lose them, but they certain add a lot of joy while they're in your life.
So sorry about DaVinci. It's a hard thing to even think about. I will certainly be cuddling our Roscoe a lot more for a while.
ReplyDeleteYes, do give Roscoe a pat and hug from us. Good dogs are hard to find and easy to under-appreciate! It's so quiet around here, and the end of the bed is very cold now :(
ReplyDeleteI'm fighting back tears and I'd only met DaVinci once. Poor baby. I'm sorry about that; I do know how rough it was to not be there with him in the end. So sorry.
ReplyDeleteThank you Melinda. I didn't know if you would remember him from your stay with us so many years ago. I never imagined we would lose him in such a way, and we really thought he had many more good years ahead. But I'm more thankful and appreciative now for all the time we did get to enjoy him.
ReplyDeleteI'd meant to comment a while back on this. Sorry I'm only just getting to it. But, I did want you to know that we were very sad for you after I read your blog entry. I know that those with pets can grow very, very close to them and he sure was a huge part of your life and we feel for you!
ReplyDeleteP.S. this may be corny, but I just LOVE the pic of him "sticking his nose in" and love your caption for it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Anna; I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Yes, house pets certainly become part of your life and family. That "nosey" photo was taken at our first townhouse, which had unusually large gaps under the interior doors. Whenever Jeff and I shared some alone time away from the dog, young DaVinci would lie outside the bedroom with his nose stuffed under the door and whimper softly. We had to break him of that habit quickly! Jeff and I were just reminiscing about those moments yesterday, in fact ;-)
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