It is hard for me to believe, but it was 15 years ago today that I had to send my beloved Irish Setter, Boots, to the Rainbow bridge. On a Friday he was limping on back leg and we thought it was his arthrisit acting up--he was 3 months past his 12th birthday. Monday came and he was actaully dragging that leg and we got him right in to see our vet. Rickey took x-rays and pretty much confirmed what he thought when he saw Boots walk in dragging that leg--bone cancer in and above the knee. More tests confirmed it was a very, very, very aggressive type.
Rickey gave us 3 choices--amputate THAT DAY, give him a couple more days an more than likly in less than a week he would not be eating nor able to get up and we could bring him to let him go, or just do nohting and let him die on his own. He knew we would NEVER do the 3rd option, but as he said, he had to tell us about it. Our hearts said amputate. Our common sense said no amputation at his age with him alreadyhaving arthritis in his shoulders and hips. So the 2ed option was our choice.
But it didn't work out like that. At the end of the week he had developed a bunny7 hope and was getting around really good. I was taking him with me to Redfish Bay every day--he loved the beach be it the real one or the bay. He swam all over the placve, chased crabs in shallow water, and one day pulled a speckled trout off my stringer. another day I released an undersize flounder in about 6" of water and he pounced on it, stuck his head under the water and came up with that flounder. He even tried to catch shore birds. I took him in at the end of that week and my vet weighed him, checked him out and shook his head and said he didn't understand it, Boots had actually put on a pound.
Well, for exactly 10 weeks I took him to Redfish Bay every day and he had a blast,. We would be there for hours. He was such a silly boy--he would swim and play in the water and then when we got home I would have to drag him out of the car and out into the yard for a bath. He knew a bath followed beach trrip and as much as he loved the bay water, he disliked bath water!
During those 10 weeks i let him hae all the doggy no-no food he wanted. He had alwasy loved fruit and veggies, even more than meat I think. Would eat tomatoes, squash and green peppers right off the vines in my garden. Lobved tossed salad, melons of anykind, bananas, apple, etc. So I let him have all the fruits and veggies he wanted. And what we had for dessert, so did he. I would make him his banana split complete with 3 toppings, whipped cream and cherry. He had his own strawberry shortcake, apple pie/ic e cream, even brownies. Between going to the bech every signle day rather than once in a while, and getting all his favorite foods, plus foods he normallywould not get put him in Seventh Heaven.
Boots (Sir Lancelot's Irish Price) was 9 weeks old when given to me after I lost my first irish Setter. He was the ":only dog" for 9 years. When we decided to get a golden retriever puppy to train for duck dog, i was a little concerned how Boots wouldtake to a rowdy puppy. No sweat. It made him a puppy again. They played together all the time. It was amazing to watch that huge95 pound Irish Setter let that 16 pound goldenh puppy "win" tug of war or "win" wrestling. Boots would move forward soScooter would think he was winning the rope pull, Boots woudl fall over letting Scooter think he had knocked him down.
Before we got Scooter, Boots "best friends" outsdie of family were my mini lopped ear rabbit, Mr. Rabbit, and our adopted chicken, Chuck-Chuck. I would take Mr. Rabbit out of his hutchy during the day and he would free in the back yad and the chicken alwasy stayed out there. The rabbit and chicken were alwasy together when he was out of his hutch and when Boots was out, all 3 of them were together.
Well, on July 8 I had Boots at the bay and taht day he spent a lot less time in the water. I told myself it was becaue he was tire--we had been there every day for all those week. But I think I knew in my heart it was near the end. I had been takinbg him to seeRicvkey at least twice a week all those weeks and he could not believe that Boots was going so strong, such a great appetite, gaining rather than losing weight. I had him down to 80 pounds when he was diagnosed (a little thin for hsi size, but having arthritis we felt it best) and he had put onlike 6 pounds in 10 weeks.
But themorning of the 9th he fell and couldn't get up and I knew it was time. I gave him a big dish of buttered pecan ice cream and my vet sent him to the bridge. I could hae held onto him a few more days but that seem right. I had given him 10 great weeks of fun, food he normally wouldnot have gotten and I let him go before he started to suffer.
This is myBoots in one of my favo pictures of him. He would get up in the chair, turn around and sit on the table so he could wach what Iwas doing on the kitchen counter. He knew he was notallowed to do this and would jump down when I started his way. My son managed to snap this shot of him.
[IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y258/goldens/BT.jpg[/IMG]