Saying "Goodbye" to Miss Dolly...

Sweet Little Honey Bear...
(who always smelled like a corn tortilla when dirty)

We had to put Dolly to sleep this afternoon.

She was fine on Saturday, but got sick sometime during the night early Sunday morning. By Sunday afternoon Dolly had declined so much that Amy decided to rush her to the emergency vet. Dolly’s body temperature was below normal and she was acting like she was in shock. The emergency vet took some blood, ran some tests (including x-rays) and ultimately recommended that Dolly sleep in an incubator at the E-Clinic until Monday morning (at which time she could be transferred to our regular vet).

Amy called the vet periodically on Sunday afternoon and evening to check on Dolly. Around midnight, the report was that Dolly was perking up, but seemed to be “achy”. The vet recommended a round of pain medication.

By the time Amy picked Dolly up at the E-Clinic early this morning, though, Dolly’s achiness had turned to pain. Excruciating pain. Our regular vet had to muzzle her just to examine her properly.

Still thinking that it was the onset of some sort of invasive infection, our vet recommended Amy take Dolly to a diagnostic clinic in Grapevine. Once there they performed an ultrasound, and discovered that Dolly had an insidious kind of cancer. Her abdomen was riddled with tumors – one of which had all but rendered her spleen unrecognizable. The prognosis was grave, and the vet had to issue more than twice the normal amount of pain killers for a dog Dolly’s size just to get her through the procedure. The poor, little dog was suffering, and the vet recommended euthanasia. There was nothing else anyone could do.

We made the decision to transport Dolly back to our regular vet. They had been treating her since Amy adopted Dolly from the SPCA back in 1996, and it seemed right that she pass away there instead of the diagnostic clinic near the airport. Plus, it meant that we all got to spend a few more precious moments with Dolly without all the doctors and nurses. Dolly never liked them much anyway.

Of course, all too soon we arrived back at our veterinarian’s office. They took us upstairs to a private office/examination room. Dolly was thirsty, and drank two small bowls of water. Amy tried to offer her a cookie, too (Dolly always loved treats), but she wouldn’t take it – only sniff it halfheartedly.

My mom, Amy and I all took turns saying our goodbyes to her. We told her she was a good dog and that we all loved her. She raised her head and tried to thump her tail for us. We told her that she’d never have to take a bath again or visit a vet – that it was nothing but food, fun and frog hunts where she was going. We assured her that we’d all be back together again…one day.

We stayed with her until it was all over – until she was gone. Amy stroked her ears and I held her paw. It was peaceful and quick. Dolly left this world at approximately 5:45 PM.

Today was a sad day.

Frog hunting at the ranch (a favorite pastime)...