Aaron and I had a fantastic time visiting with our buddies in Chestertown, New York. It's always nice to take a break from the everyday, and see some close friends (and new friends), and celebrate the happy parts of life. I planned on coming home, and making a happy post, with joyful photos, but sometimes life just gets in the way.
Around noon my stepdad, Andy called me while Aaron and I were on our way home with absolutely awful news. My mom and Andy had to rush Moose to the pet hospital. They had noticed a swollen bulge on his tummy, and the night before he had three accidents in the house. They didn't see him make them, so they weren't sure what end it had come out of, but they thought it might have been throw up. In the seven weeks we've had Moose he was always great about letting us know when he had to go, and he only had one accident on the second night we had him.
They got x-rays done, and a little while later they let me know what the veterinarian's diagnoses was. He had a strangulated hernia, which would mean ultra super expensive surgery, that they wouldn't be able to guarantee that a few months, or a year down the road it wouldn't happen again. Permanent debt to the vet. Or let him go before his colon ruptured through his hernia.
We rushed home to spend a few moments with him, and to be by his side for his final seconds. It was a terribly hard decision, but we just don't have that kind of money right now, and we can't take on that much debt. And like the vet said, sometimes it's easier for the animal to move on to the other side. Moose is in a better place now.
The day before we left he seemed a bit sluggish, and he wasn't going up the stairs. I thought he banged up one of his knees on the steps, because almost daily he'd slip up one step, from running up them too fast. I couldn't have imagined it was something this severe. The vet said it could have been hereditary, and something he had been living with, or there could have been an incident like a dog fight or if he fell. Besides slipping on a step or getting a little wild on his walks, we can't think of anything that could have happened during the short time that we've been caring for him.
Sometimes our bodies just fail us. Young or old. Animal or human.
That's all I got. It's beyond hard losing two animals less than a few months apart. Hope you're having a better day than I am, and happy DIYing, chris.
