10/08/2023
At 9:25 p.m. on Tuesday, August 9th, 2016, Guinness peacefully crossed the bridge ahead of me while snuggled in my arms, surrounded by friends and family. I could not have asked for a more serene way to say goodbye to my best friend. He knew without a doubt he was loved. He was just over 10.5 years old and we lived a grand adventure. Until a couple of months before his passing, he was still running, playing, and being a goofball...then...Lung Cancer. Very Aggressive. With everything it tried to take away, we modified our lives and still remained hopeful, happy...and we conquered it all...together. I told him if he fought I would too...and we did. But the last couple of days...he grew weary and stopped fighting. He wasn't the same dog and even the hope of cure was ripped away as he told me he was tired on the same day I discovered I had raised all of the money through private donors and was approved for a loan to start the expensive SRS treatment we had hoped would give him more quality time here.
But he knew. He always knew better than me: The cancer had already spread. The evening before we said goodbye, it was confirmed a second lesion was in his lungs and his platelets had dropped to 18,000(manual count) as he spiked a 104.9 degree fever and we sat at WVRC looking into each other's eyes. Without words, he told me he was done. So, we stopped fighting. We left WVRC and went to watch the sunrise together for the last time at one of his favorite spots. We did some arfs 'n crafts and got messy. We then went to the park to chase bikes, splash and relax in his favorite creek, and just be for awhile. We then got some vanilla custard and he finally ate something. In after 3 days of begging him and barely getting anything down, he decided to eat his custard...and I knew: it was his last meal. He refused everything else, even chicken, steak, cat food, etc. We had friends come by one last time, and then I kept my promise: I was there the moment he took his first breath and was holding him in my arms as he took his last and his heartbeat peacefully ceased to exist. I don't have any other words right now. His passing ripped a huge piece of my soul out and I am still trying to cauterize the bleed, 7 years later.
It would be over a month before I could even think about what I wanted to say, but then I wrote this.
Reader and Viewer discretion advised, as it does contain a snippet of our last moments, because so many people loved him and our lives have always been public for people to see, learn from, be inspired by and more. In the end, if we are lucky, we are able to give them a peaceful, dignified passing...and he was my best friend. He gave me everything he could his entire life...and then even more.
He was my first dog. He was my Heart Dog.
I am so blessed to have his kids carry on his beautiful legacy...but I miss him so.
Time may ease some of the pain and memories remind me of all of the beautiful moments, but...
Until we meet again, my friend. Guard the Heavens and say Hello to Markie and Wade and all the other furkiddos who have crossed and are awaiting under your protection...
I am a veterinary technician. This means I educate pet owners and non-pet owners alike. I answer questions, take vitals, collect blood, urine, stool, skin cell (or other cytology) samples, give...
