A very bad day (how, fish)

[no kudzu]

My deepest sympathy. A very stressful day for you and your family.

[steelstress]

Oh my, I'm so sorry, Va-Cat, I can't imagine the pain you must be in. You did the kindest thing that could be done.

[foxywench]

*hugs*

[kickchick2000]

I'm so sorry.

[mamh]

Hugs to you and your family.

[Va-Cat]

Thank you all for your kind thought. The sudden and unexpected nature of this day has me completely reeling. Mariah was always the healthy one of our dogs. She was our enthusiast and cheerleader, always the one to get all the other dogs worked up and excited.

More personally, she was also very true to her breed. My velcro dog, she was my constant shadow and companion. She wasn't so much the dog that got all the attention as much as she was the support that you only knew was there once its had gone.

I hope I will have many more dogs to love in my life. If I'm really lucky, I may even have one that comes close to being what Mariah was to me. For tonight though, I don't want to think of any new dogs. I'm going to just miss my friend.

Thank you again everyone

Cathie

[Sam I Am]

Condolences here as well. We will light a candle for Mariah to help her find her way to the Bridge. (It's just a little tradition at our house when we find out a beloved pet has passed.)

Peace to you - and thank you for giving Mariah a beautiful life and a gentle passing. I know it is so hard....so hard....time will heal what reason cannot.

[DawnMTL]

I don't even know what to say, even though I saw this last night on Facebook. It's such a shock. I'm still shocked.

All I know is that I want to give you a huge, warm hug... and hold you there until the pain goes away.

Mariah was so loved. She knew that. At least she knew that. It doesn't make it easier, I know, but thank God she knew love, right up until the end.

xo

[JanND]

Originally Posted by Va-Cat

I've just gotten back from the emergency vet. This afternoon when I let our 8 year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Mariah outside I noticed that her left pupil seemed to be completely blown ( filling the whole eye). I got her right over to the emergency vet hoping that I was overreacting but fearing a stroke or worse. She was diagnosed with autoimmune thrombocytopenia. What I was seeing in her eye was blood. In the few hours we were at the vet, she developed bruised in her mouth, in her ears and all over her body. They did a blood test and her platelet count was around 400. Normal is over 40,000. We were told that prognosis for curing her was less than 20% and the most likely outcome would be for her to bleed out suddenly and very painfully. I was told it could happen to her at any time.

I couldn't let my girl die that way and I made the only choice that I felt I could. She left me today while she was cradled in my arms with her head resting across my chest. There is a giant hole here in our house tonight. Its only surpassed by the one that has formed in my heart. Rest in peace my sweet Chessie girl.

How sad. That is the only choice you could make, you couldn't let her suffer. I can totally relate, my Winston, 16+ yr old boxer we had to make that choice a few yrs ago, at least we had several mths where we nursed him and if you can call it that sort of came to grips w/ knowing it was a choice we had to make. I totally empathize w/ you, try to take comfort in time w/ the fact that you didn't allow her to suffer the other way.
I posted in another section about the experiences immediately following the death of my Winston. Be at peace, your girl is still with you. I honestly believe that.

[kansas sky]

I'm so, so sorry to hear about Mariah. I hope that you will find some peace in knowing that you did all you could, unselfishly putting her comfort ahead of your own. She was very lucky to have you. *hugs*