Yes, this is my travelogue blog, and it's usually reserved for my travels, but my dear sweet Charlotte has been my dog and travelled with me through life for the past 15 years, so she deserves a post of her very own.
Sadly, I am posting about her now that our time together is over. My dear Charlotte died yesterday afternoon. :'-(
For the last few years, I'd always said that she never seemed like a senior dog, because she'd hardly slowed down at all - still loved to take the long long walks, still liked to play fetch with her toys - but this year, it seemed like she suddenly got very old very fast. Early in the year, she was diagnosed with arthritis; we got her medication to help with that, and she kept moving, just a little bit slower and stiffer than before.
Even so, she eventually couldn't keep up with Daisy (our pug) on walks, so Mom started taking them out separately. The last time I took Charlotte out for a walk (sometime in April), she just made it to the end of the block, then back down the back lane again, and that was enough for her.
Still, she was doing okay for such a senior citizen (after all, she was 15 years old - in dog years, she was in her 90s!). She'd nap a lot, save her energy for visitors and meal times.
But, by early in May, she seemed to get really wobbly. Her back legs were quite weak, and she'd lie down so slowly slowly as if it were really difficult to manage. It seemed to be progressing too fast to be just her old age, so we took her to the vet on May 14. They diagnosed a kidney infection, and gave her an antibiotic shot, which really did seem to help a lot. She was moving around better and didn't seem to be in pain, all of which was very good.
We'd hoped that she'd continue to improve, but, at the same time, she started eating less and less. She stopped eating her dog food, which she used to beg to be fed. For a while, we got by with feeding her treats instead. When she stopped eating her treats, we'd try cheese, or toast, or anything off our plate. She was an old dog, and too thin - didn't matter what she ate, as long as she ate.
By Tuesday of this week, I was feeding her bits and pieces by hand, and I managed to get her to eat about 1/3 of a pork chop that we'd barbecued, but that was all she ate that day. Though she was drinking lots of water, she was only eating tiny bits of food, and just getting thinner and weaker.
Obviously it was getting to the point where we knew where it was going, but it's just so hard to have to try to decide when you want to stop it. To pick a date. I'd always hoped she would just die peacefully in her sleep, but that wasn't going to happen. Her heart was strong and healthy - it was her kidneys that were giving out. The antibiotics helped the infection, but there wasn't anything we could do about the kidney failure.
On Thursday night, when I had to help hold her up so that she could drink water from her bowl, I told Mom to call the vet and see whether she could come over on Friday afternoon. We knew it was time, but it was still very hard.
On Friday morning, when Mom was taking Daisy out, Charlotte was sitting in her bed and suddenly let out a howl. Charlotte had pooped in her bed, and Mom said it was like Charlotte was trying to apologize for not being able to make it outside. My poor Charlotte! :'-( Of course, Mom comforted her and cleaned her up, and it made me sad to hear about it, but it also helped to confirm that it was time and that we'd made the right decision.
In the afternoon, I carried Charlotte outside and we sat in the sun in the backyard for about an hour, because it was a nice sunny day, and I thought she'd like to be outside. When I put her on the ground, she tried to wag her tail, but mostly I just held her, and she seemed happy with that.
The vet came at 5 p.m. We'd arranged to have her come to the house, because we wanted Daisy to know that Charlotte had died (and not just disappeared and never came back). Charlotte was a little anxious when they poked her with the IV, but they gave her a sedative to calm her down, then told us we could say goodbye. Mom, Dad, Joseph and I were all there, so we hugged her and petted her and blubbered, of course. When we were ready, they gave her the other shot, an overdose of barbiturates, and she was gone before we knew it. Very quick, very quiet.
Daisy didn't seem to be reacting, and we weren't sure whether she realized what had happened or not. We were still petting Charlotte, and Daisy was just sitting nearby and watching. But when the vet began to wrap Charlotte up in the blanket, Daisy moved forward to pull at the blanket like she didn't think Charlotte should be taken away, so I guess she did know.
After the vet left, it was a bit easier, actually. Knowing we were going to have to put Charlotte down, then picking a date, then waiting until 5 p.m. - all of that was really, really stressful and difficult. But afterwards, I was just relieved that we didn't have to worry about it any more, that my poor baby wasn't sad or suffering any longer. Even though I wanted to keep her with me forever - I didn't want to let her go, but I didn't want to make her stay any longer either.
But we all miss her terribly - she's the only dog we've ever had where we've been her only owners, for her whole life. And she was my dear, good Charlotte, and I'll always love and miss her.
 |
| Feb 17, 1997 - May 25, 2012 |
For the last few years, I'd always said that she never seemed like a senior dog, because she'd hardly slowed down at all - still loved to take the long long walks, still liked to play fetch with her toys - but this year, it seemed like she suddenly got very old very fast. Early in the year, she was diagnosed with arthritis; we got her medication to help with that, and she kept moving, just a little bit slower and stiffer than before.
Even so, she eventually couldn't keep up with Daisy (our pug) on walks, so Mom started taking them out separately. The last time I took Charlotte out for a walk (sometime in April), she just made it to the end of the block, then back down the back lane again, and that was enough for her.
Still, she was doing okay for such a senior citizen (after all, she was 15 years old - in dog years, she was in her 90s!). She'd nap a lot, save her energy for visitors and meal times.
But, by early in May, she seemed to get really wobbly. Her back legs were quite weak, and she'd lie down so slowly slowly as if it were really difficult to manage. It seemed to be progressing too fast to be just her old age, so we took her to the vet on May 14. They diagnosed a kidney infection, and gave her an antibiotic shot, which really did seem to help a lot. She was moving around better and didn't seem to be in pain, all of which was very good.
We'd hoped that she'd continue to improve, but, at the same time, she started eating less and less. She stopped eating her dog food, which she used to beg to be fed. For a while, we got by with feeding her treats instead. When she stopped eating her treats, we'd try cheese, or toast, or anything off our plate. She was an old dog, and too thin - didn't matter what she ate, as long as she ate.
By Tuesday of this week, I was feeding her bits and pieces by hand, and I managed to get her to eat about 1/3 of a pork chop that we'd barbecued, but that was all she ate that day. Though she was drinking lots of water, she was only eating tiny bits of food, and just getting thinner and weaker.
Obviously it was getting to the point where we knew where it was going, but it's just so hard to have to try to decide when you want to stop it. To pick a date. I'd always hoped she would just die peacefully in her sleep, but that wasn't going to happen. Her heart was strong and healthy - it was her kidneys that were giving out. The antibiotics helped the infection, but there wasn't anything we could do about the kidney failure.
On Thursday night, when I had to help hold her up so that she could drink water from her bowl, I told Mom to call the vet and see whether she could come over on Friday afternoon. We knew it was time, but it was still very hard.
On Friday morning, when Mom was taking Daisy out, Charlotte was sitting in her bed and suddenly let out a howl. Charlotte had pooped in her bed, and Mom said it was like Charlotte was trying to apologize for not being able to make it outside. My poor Charlotte! :'-( Of course, Mom comforted her and cleaned her up, and it made me sad to hear about it, but it also helped to confirm that it was time and that we'd made the right decision.
In the afternoon, I carried Charlotte outside and we sat in the sun in the backyard for about an hour, because it was a nice sunny day, and I thought she'd like to be outside. When I put her on the ground, she tried to wag her tail, but mostly I just held her, and she seemed happy with that.
The vet came at 5 p.m. We'd arranged to have her come to the house, because we wanted Daisy to know that Charlotte had died (and not just disappeared and never came back). Charlotte was a little anxious when they poked her with the IV, but they gave her a sedative to calm her down, then told us we could say goodbye. Mom, Dad, Joseph and I were all there, so we hugged her and petted her and blubbered, of course. When we were ready, they gave her the other shot, an overdose of barbiturates, and she was gone before we knew it. Very quick, very quiet.
Daisy didn't seem to be reacting, and we weren't sure whether she realized what had happened or not. We were still petting Charlotte, and Daisy was just sitting nearby and watching. But when the vet began to wrap Charlotte up in the blanket, Daisy moved forward to pull at the blanket like she didn't think Charlotte should be taken away, so I guess she did know.
After the vet left, it was a bit easier, actually. Knowing we were going to have to put Charlotte down, then picking a date, then waiting until 5 p.m. - all of that was really, really stressful and difficult. But afterwards, I was just relieved that we didn't have to worry about it any more, that my poor baby wasn't sad or suffering any longer. Even though I wanted to keep her with me forever - I didn't want to let her go, but I didn't want to make her stay any longer either.
But we all miss her terribly - she's the only dog we've ever had where we've been her only owners, for her whole life. And she was my dear, good Charlotte, and I'll always love and miss her.
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