Monday, January 4, 2010

close call for cancer dog

i almost lost Cancer Dog last night. if i hadn't been so wrapped up in my own cancer thing i might have noticed a day earlier that he wasn't well. he has pneumonia. the vet at the animal emergency clinic suggested we think about euthanasia because he is thirteen and was really sick. i was devastated.

but we decided that as long as he wasn't suffering, we were going to do everything we could for twenty-four hours and then see. so they had him in an oxygen crate, on iv fluids and antibiotics, and receiving nebulizer treatments. they took x-rays and did blood work. he started doing much better: he started eating and they gradually weaned him off the oxygen. they called at 5:30 this morning to tell us he was doing well. i went to see him on my way into school. he looks like i look at chemo with iv ports and tubes, but he was alert and happy to see me. i get to take him home tonight and take care of him.

to go to extreme measures for a pet goes against all of chad's financial and philosophical views, but he did it for me. he knew i couldn't face the rest of chemo without my sweet, obnoxious, loyal little dog.

i know that in a world of limited resources and triage, a small dog should not receive that kind of intensive care, but it's not a world that makes sense, and it's not like i bought some stupid coach bag. he's Cancer Dog. he still has a job to do, and so do i.

thank you, chad.

No comments:

Post a Comment