Chie’s Last Day

When Chie rallied due to feeding adjustments (see previous post), it became obvious that once the nausea was fixed, the real problem was pain. Her back could never really straighten or relax because of the huge mass on her side, she couldn’t breath when she lay down, & she was exhausted when standing. She had to pee every 1-1.5 hours & she had difficulty even on the one step up to enter the house.

Keeping her interested in food was a struggle. Her favorite meal, in the last week, was oatmeal with cooked chunks of chicken thigh, but sometimes I’d have to coax her to eat a hot dog, or steak. Sometimes she just didn’t want to eat & it wasn’t nausea, so it must have been pain.

Honeygirl, euthanasia

I haven’t posted in awhile because life was too busy, but I’ve had a few weeks’ reprieve now.

I put Honeygirl to sleep, at home, on January 2.   Over the New Year weekend I noticed that she was having difficulty eating; there was a scritching noise when she took bites of food & then she would shake her head wildly, spattering food around her dish, & bat at her own face with her paw.   I found that her gums were covered with turgid whitish ulcers, which is apparently one of the things that happens when toxins in the blood build up due to renal failure.

I knew I didn’t want this to go further.   I called & left a message for Dr. Brenda Smith at Cherished Pet, which is, as far as I know, the only home euthanasia service for pets.   I wasn’t by my phone when she called back, but she left me a message.   As luck would have it, Dr. Smith was subbing at a nearby clinic that day & would be able to stop by that very evening.

It was at that point that I began to freak out.