Over the weekend, my lady and I had to say goodbye to a beloved cat. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. Because of some terrible care by a veterinarian clinic, Tommy's cancer went un-diagnosed until it was far too late. We had an appointment to get a sonogram the day before Tommy was put down. Tommy by that point was in a bit of discomfort and the time came to put him down. We weren't ready to say goodbye and neither was Tommy earlier. I thought having more time with him would make it easier to say goodbye but it wasn't.
Tommy stopped sleeping with me for about 10 days before we had him put down and was a little withdrawn. He had his good days and bad. As a parting gift, Tommy and I were up at 2 in the morning and he came in and slept with us, not that we got any sleep the day we had him put down. He spent the previous evening with my lady, also saying goodbye. He had a few good day's with his animal siblings / family just looking out the window and watching the wild life here in our screen / sun room.
An older gentleman that lived close by also lost his White West Highland terrier. She was a sweet dog as well. My lady and I bought a big bag of bacon flavored treats just for her when she visited, which was often. The gentleman was 92 at the time and is still with us. He was in a truck accident and was in a rehab center. He worried what would become of his dog in the event he passed. My lady and I told him his dog would have a good home with us and not to worry. In many ways, she was our dog too although we didn't own her. She had cancer and had to be put down as well. That was hard for us as well.
This past week hasn't been any easier and perhaps harder with regret that we trusted the Veterinarian to provide a good level of care for our boy only to find that trust was misplaced.
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