Monday, April 19, 2010

Desmond at the Vet


When I adopted an elderly dog from a rescue agency a year and a half ago, I knew that I'd have to sooner or later make the decisions that I made tonight.  But I managed not to think about them, except to visualize the clarity I would feel, and give myself credit for giving this rescue dog a better life than he had had before.

Of course that's not how it worked at all.  I came home from work to find Maggie outside the invisible fence (for the 3rd time in a row), and Desmond laying in the yard with blood drooling from his mouth and unable to get up.  Of course I rushed Desmond to the vet, where we spent the rest of the evening.  He has a baseball-sized cancerous tumor in his spleen that is bad, a lesion on his liver that may or may not be bad, and some bad teeth that need to come out.

I didn't learn that all at once though.  I learned it in dribs and drabs, one expensive decision and test at a time over several hours. I've left him there for surgery to remove his spleen and the worst tooth tomorrow.  If he makes it through that, we can think about the other teeth.  This is different than I imagined it, but not worse. There was no clarity walking though the decisions that led me to leave him for surgery.  But there is clarity now.  I'm doing the right thing for this member of my family - trying to make him better.

3 comments:

  1. I am so grateful that people like you care enough and have the ability to give dogs like Desmond a great home. I am thinking of you both...and hoping his surgery goes well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, it doesn't make the heartache any easier, but you are doing right by this animal, and he appreciates it. You'll know what decisions to make when the time comes. I love the name Desmond, btw.

    Keep us posted.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ah, Jordan, what a sweet old guy. I'm with Melanie in my admiration for you taking him on in his twilight years and making them so much better. He's a lucky fellow. Let me know if I can help with anything - I'm right down the mountain.

    Sue

    ReplyDelete