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August 28, 2004
Sad Day for the Family Dog
A.M. Easy Run
I woke up this morning to very humid weather. I was hoping it would be cool so that I could complete a 13 mile run. Since the air temperature was so warm I decided to do the Poplar Street 3.5 mile run and run a 10 mile run later in the evening when it would be cooler. I ran a very easy morning run and felt fine with the exception of excessive sweating.
Sad Day for our Family Dog
When I got back from my run my Mom asked me if I could give our dog, Chandler, a bath. Chandler had gone to the vet the night before because he was bleeding from his mouth and has been loosing a lot of weight over the past few weeks. The vet gave the dog some antibiotics and took some blood tests. Today, the dog was worse than ever. Chandler was not eating and was not walking around much. It was a very sad sight.
I put Chandler in the bath tub and filled it up to his waist with cool water. Chandler is a King Charles Dog, a cavalier. He is a very handsome dog. When I first put him in the tub his legs were covered in blood and so was his face. He did not mind the water at all. He just sat there. My Mother and Father watched and could not believe how still he was in the tub. We wondered what we were going to do with him. After the bath we carried him outside. We all sat with him in the sun and watched him dry off. He would not eat or drink anything. My Father called the vet and reported Chandler’s behavior. The vet informed my Father that the blood tests were not good. Chandler's blood had an excessive amount of protein in it and his white blood cell count was very high. His kidney was probably failing him. His body was basically killing itself. He asked my Father if he was ready to put the dog to sleep. My Father asked my Mother and she said she did not want to see him suffer and it probably was time for Chandler to be put to rest. I offered to go to the vet with my Mother.
On the way to the vets I ate a banana and reassured my Mother that she was doing the right thing. The vet is a family friend of ours so we felt fortunate that he would be doing the procedure. When we arrived the vet reminded my Mother that she was doing the right thing and commented about how frail Chandler had gotten. When the vet tried to put the anesthesia in the dogs front legs it did not work. The dog’s blood pressure was not high enough. The vet had to shave some of the back leg and apply the shot there. Once the shot was given Chandler died. It was very peaceful. Chandler looked at my Mother the entire time. My Mother was very sad.
As soon as the shot was given I realized that I felt very dizzy. I told the doctor and my Mother that I needed some fresh air. I left the room. Apparently, my Mother told me I was as white as a ghost. When I got to the lobby I had to sit down because I was so dizzy. The next thing I know I was on the ground lying down disoriented with about five people surrounding me. I had passed out. I have never fainted before so it was strange to me. When I realized what had happened I started sweating like crazy. I was really hot. I wanted to leave. The women in the room wanted to call an ambulance. My Mother reassured them that I was fine and probably tired from my run and stressed from the dog's death. I was so embarrassed. I wanted to get up and run. I tried to but the women stopped me and gave me water. To my left, was the vet. He was making sure that I was ok. Everyone in the waiting room was staring at me. I was ready to go. As soon as I drank the water, I left with my Mother. I told my Mother I thought we should go get some lunch. As soon as we had lunch and I got some food and water into me I felt much better.
I canceled my second run of the day and did a lot of shopping with my Mother for the rest of the day. I am not 100% sure why I fainted. I guess I am not a big fan of needles. About a week ago I had to get all of my shots for school and the same dizzy sensation came to me but I did not pass out. Perhaps, because I saw the dog die or I knew he would die because of the shot. I'm not sure. I then wondered if I was absorbing enough iron in my diet(typical runner). I do not eat any meat and have only recently started to eat fish on rare occasions. I think I may start taking some iron pills again to make sure everything is on track.
My family has another dog, a koon dog, which they got from my brother who lives in Tucson, AZ. This dog's name is Daisy. Daisy is a wild dog who is almost two years old. It is a lot bigger than Chandler and will probably never snuggle with my Mother as Chandler did. My Mother does not want another dog because she has had to watch too many dogs die. Tonight will be a hard night for her because Chandler has always been with her. She made a comment that was interesting to me. She said that no matter how she looked, how she felt, how she acted Chandler was always there for her. It didn't matter if she was mad, sad, angry, happy - he was always there, so loyal. I am not a dog owner but when she made that comment I realized how important a dog can be in a person’s life.
Posted by mary at August 28, 2004 9:09 PM
Comments
Mary- What a sad story! I'm so sorry about your family dog passing away. I'm a true believer that dogs are family members just as any human being. It's so hard to lose a dog, I'm thinking of you! Also, I'm glad to hear that your feeling ok after your fainting episode. Take care!
Posted by: Meghan at August 29, 2004 5:15 AM
Meghan, Thanks for the nice note. It was a sad day. Chandler and now our dog Daisy are definitely key members of our family. Thanks again for the note. Best, Mary
Posted by: Mary at August 29, 2004 7:41 AM
Mary,
I am very sorry to hear that your family has lost Chandler. You did the right thing after fainting to eat and take care of yourself. Trying to run would probably only make things worse. Take care of yourself and your family.
Blondie
Posted by: Blondie at August 29, 2004 12:53 PM
Reading your post almost made me cry! I'm sorry to hear about Chandler.
I can relate to the embarrassment of fainting. I never like being the center of attention in situations like that. I'd rather just stand up and say, "Let's all just pretend that didn't just happen!" Hopefully it was just the stress of the moment (or the needle) and nothing else.
Posted by: Alison at August 30, 2004 8:42 AM
So sorry for you and your family, Mary. It's just not fair that our pets tend not to live as long as we do! I feel the same way about my yellow lab Matty that your mom felt about Chandler - she makes me laugh out loud sometimes, even when I'm really crabby. It's nice that you were all there for one another (except, of course, while you were "out." Oh well!)
Posted by: jenandmats at September 4, 2004 4:20 PM