Saying Goodbye

We had to say goodbye to our beloved family pet, Emma, on Saturday. It was pretty devastating to all of us. You may remember that she was badly injured from a fall last September and had to undergo surgery. She had her second surgery a couple weeks ago and we thought that she was doing really well. But this past Monday she just suddenly stopped eating and did nothing but lay around - she was actually unable to walk or move around much at all. When we took her to the vet she had a fever of 105 and they discovered she had a bulging disc in her cervical-thoracic area that was pressing on her nerves. She was hospitalized and given IV fluids, pain meds, steroids, and antibiotics. She underwent laser therapy as well. At first she showed a slight bit of improvement but then went right back to being unable to bear weight. She was in a lot of pain, unable to get up on her own, and there was not much else to be done for her. We had to make the painful decision to have her euthanized and end her suffering. The kids were so upset and chose not to go see her one last time at the vet hospital. Emma had been pretty out of it from all the morphine she was on, but when we went there Saturday, she knew us right away. It was just about the saddest thing ever because she literally started crying as we started to leave her. I was a bawling mess and it killed me to walk away. I feel so guilty but I just couldn't bear to be there in her final moments so we left right before.

Emma was the absolute best pet we could ever ask for. She was so sweet and loving and well-behaved. I can't even tell you how much we all miss her. She was an inside dog and always wanted to be right in the middle of things. She especially loved to jump right in to the wrestling/tickling matches my husband and kids always had. I don't think that she realized she was a 70+ pound dog...she thought she was a little kiddo! Whenever we came home, she would always be waiting at the door to greet us. It seems so strange that she is not here. But, I know that we were very blessed to have such a special pet that was a part of our family for eight years.