Saying Goodbye

Jetta {February 2011}

Sadly, yesterday, we had to say goodbye to our dear dog, Jetta. She just turned 12 in November and has been slowly declining in health over the past year. About a year ago we noticed a growth on her leg. We took her to the vet. They wanted to test the growth to see if it was malignant or not. They also found another growth near her back leg that they believed was a uterine tumor.

The vet did some tests and the tests determined that Jetta's tumor was malignant. So we got a run down from them on how much it would cost to surgically remove (or attempt to remove) the tumors. And when push came to shove we just couldn't afford the surgery.

With the cost plus the risk of Jetta dying on the operating table and the fact that she might live maybe a year or two more even with the surgery we left everything as is. We knew we'd just have to keep her as comfortable as possible for as long as possible. Without the surgery, the vet gave her 6 months.

She didn't seem affected by her age or the tumors for a long time. And then a few months ago she started to have problems with traction. She couldn't quite get traction on our laminate and tile floors (in the kitchen and living room). But she made due and we made sure to lay blankets down for her to lay on when she came in to sleep.

And then on Wednesday Joseph woke up in the early morning to find her on the kitchen floor unable to get up. And she had an accident. He was able to help her up and she walked out to do her business. She was able to get around a bit but I noticed that day that she refused to eat anything. The day before she had taken a few bites of food.

Then the next day she didn't eat either. And she was having more trouble getting around. She was still drinking water so I knew she was close to the end but not quite ready. I called my dad to make sure he came by to say goodbye (Jetta was given to my brother, sister, and me as a Christmas gift when I was 15, I then "adopted" her after my dad moved into a townhome that had no room for a husky). He came by on Friday and on Friday night I called the vet to see how we were to go about letting her go. The receptionist said that we could call in the morning when we were ready and they'd fit us in.

We called that next morning and the receptionist that day (different from Friday night) said that they were completely booked with appointments until the end of the day at 5pm. I couldn't make her wait till 5pm. She was pleading at me with her eyes. So I called up Joseph's aunt. She works at an animal hospital and had let us know they are available 24/7 for these types of situations.

So we trekked on over. As soon as they found out what we were there for we were taken care of right away. I was taken back to a special room that had a door to the parking lot (so we could go to our car without passing by the lobby again). After the paperwork and whatnot the vet came in. She was very kind and explained the whole procedure to us. She waited after every step and asked if we were ready. I just kept petting her head as she slowly drifted off to sleep. We left shortly after she was wheeled away.

It was very hard but we knew it was right and it was time... she will be missed.