I let her out last night and when she did not return I went out to look for her in the field behind our house that she loved so much. I took a flashlight and silently scanned the field (no use calling for her since she hears very little). I found her collapsed near her favorite grove of trees. She was awake but barely acknowledged me. I tried to coax her into getting up but she made no effort. I ran back across the field to get Andy and a blanket. Andy and I carried Missy by placing her on the blanket, I took one side and Andy took the other and we lifted her up and home.
In the kitchen we tried to comfort her and warm her up and figure out what the hell happened. Andy says Missy had been running across the field earlier in the day. She had not shown any signs of being sick or in pain other than the usual difficulties getting going in the morning due to arthritis. She had eaten fine and when I let her out she seemed perfectly normal.
We called our vet to get the emergency number off of the recording and after a short conversation with the assistant at the Lisle Emergency Vet clinic we loaded up the car and the whole family went. We knew this was probably going to be it so we wanted the kids to be able to say goodbye.
To make a long story short it turns out that Missy had a very large, possibly cancerous tumor in her lung and the vet thinks perhaps a portion of it had broken off and lodged in her spine and now Missy no longer had control of anything from the neck down although she did seem to be able to feel things. There was nothing that could be done and Missy appeared to be going into shock. She was sedated to be more comfortable and to give us time to explain to the children.
We agreed that we would tell the children about the tumor and what we thought was wrong. We would then say that the dog was to spend the night to be cared for so that they should say goodnight to Missy with the understanding that she most likely was not going to make it through the night. Kyla was crying but went in and comforted Missy with all her heart. The staff gave us all the time we needed and we were in there for a long time crying and hugging Missy. Erik was the only one who didn't seem to know what to do, maybe not really understanding it all. We all went back out into the waiting room and the vet put Missy to sleep. Then just Andy and I went in and I cried like a baby into the fur on her neck. We left. The children will be informed after school today.
Since it is the holiday of giving thanks I will do so here for Missy.
I am thankful for the wonderful dog that has been in our care for over 17 years. She was an incredible running partner while I was training for the Olympic trials and she added a great amount of security with her company on cold dark mornings/nights of training. She LOVED when we did fartlek sessions, waiting for that next burst of speed and it was with such joy! I give thanks for her patience with the kids, never biting them, always watching out for them. I am thankful for her calmness and lack of need to bark for every fool thing. :-) When the doorbell rang she ran up to it and then waited...unless of course we were not there then she would bark her fool head off (at least that is what the UPS man says). Missy was sweet and playful and until age made moving quickly difficult, hearing and sight limited, she would run to greet us every time we came home. We thank Missy for the love she showed us the way only animals do and even as she aged and caring for her became a lot of work we did it as a way to return our thanks to her. I give thanks, for Missy was the dog I had always wanted.
I miss her so much...
