Our beloved dog Chelsea was put to sleep on Wednesday, August 18, 2007. She was pushing 14, as far as we know (Chelsea was a rescue dog), and had been quite active, alert, and in pretty good health until a few days before her passing. Below is a link to a photo of her in our pool, doing what she considered to be swimming.
Early in the morning of Wednesday, August 15, 2007, Chelsea threw up. That's not an unusual event, as any dog lover knows, but she became very lethargic and we realized that it was much more serious than usual. I was able to get an 8:30 a.m. appointment with the vet that morning, and she quickly determined that Chelsea was in significant trouble -- dehydrated, intestinal pain, low blood pressure, and elevated temperature. She referred us to the regional animal emergency hospital, and by the time I got her there, Chelsea was nearly dead, in "crisis" to use the doctors' term. They were never able to determine the cause, but concluded that she was either in anaphylactic shock from an insect or spider bite, or had a massive bacterial infection akin to E. coli. Things were made worse by Chelsea's age and chronic condition, Addison's Disease (adrenal insufficiency), which compromised her ability to fight whatever had insulted her system. She ended up in the equivalent of intensive care. She apparently wasn't in much pain, but she was totally enervated, barely aware of her surroundings.
The doctors were able to get her past the infection, but the complications persisted. They discovered an underlying heart condition that probably had been exacerbated by the situation, or perhaps the result of a heart attack. In any case, it left her with about 50 percent of normal heart function. Although that might have been treatable with heart medications once the other problems were overcome, the doctors said that she would be severely weakened and would require frequent monitoring, that the quality of her life would be poor, and that she most likely would live no more than 6 to 9 months in that condition.
Given that prognosis, we made the hard decision to stop Chelsea's suffering. My wife and I were able to be with her at the end that morning. She was able to walk a bit and seemed to recognize us, but it was obvious that it would be cruel to keep her going. Her end was quick and as gentle as possible.
We were extremely lucky to have had Chelsea in our lives for the last 11 years. She was the sweetest, smartest, most loving and gentle dog I've ever known. We miss her more than I can begin to tell you.
BTW, Chelsea's hospitalization cost nearly $8,000, and believe me, I don't regret a penny of it.
Chelsea "Swimming"