This petmoir can be commenced at the beginning by going to the page labelled Trog and Other Animals
© irene waters 2014
Although the arrival of Jerry perked Mungo up, it was short-lived. Before long he had returned to the state which we had thought was depression. Although he still wandered when he could find a way to get through our much repaired fence he no longer played with the ball, no longer chewed it until the green outer fibre was lying in tufts around the house and the rubber pierced by his teeth. Instead he spent most of his day lying on his bed, reluctant to get up for anything.
The process of lying down became a prolonged event. He would circle one way and then the other, try to get down and then decide he had to circle a few more times and eventually he would make it to a lying position, often crying in pain when he finally made it down. He no longer sat at all. Where a sit was automatic in the past such as waiting at the edge of a road on a walk, he stood, not even bothering to attempt to get down. We finally realised that depression was not his problem.
Bridget had recommended a friend of hers at Forster as being very skilful in diagnosis so we took one of our few days off and took both the dogs to the vet.
Bridget had been right. Her friend was a great vet and really put both dogs at ease in his examination of them. He got down on the floor with them rather than put them on the table, an action which had always terrified Mungo in previous vet visits. He gave both dogs a thorough going over, gave Jerry his next lot of shots and ordered an X-ray for Mungo. He did not think hip dysplasia was the likely diagnosis but rather some other bony/joint problem.
We left Mungo, went and did some shopping and returned to pick him up and be given the diagnosis we didn’t want to hear, that Mungo most likely had bone cancer, and probably had no more than two weeks to live although there was a slight chance it was severe arthritis of his knee-joint. Devastated, we made the hard decision that we would not inflict surgery on him and amputate his leg hoping to stop the spread but let him live a comfortable existence until the time came to be kind.
We were given pain killers to give him and he als had an injection of glucosamine, just in case it was arthritis. With heavy hearts we made the journey home.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
He isn’t just a friend or a companion, but a family member. Deep down, I’m sure he knows you are doing your best to keep him comfortable, but it must be devastating to everyone. 😦
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Yes, they certainly are a family member and definitely devastating. Thanks
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Sending you warm hugs.. 😦
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Thanks.
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Our beloved working dog is now 20 years and one month. Everything we learn to do on our own, we must at some time unlearn. This allows others to learn. And we revisit our innocence and accept our vulnerability in its entirety. In life, we are all family. Some creatures come closer to our hearts than others. For all those who touch our hearts, life is a shared passage. And everywhere there are greetings and partings, healing is a necessity. The Healing Garden is a memory palace for the celebration of life. Our sorrows are simply shadows from the highlights. Come back soon. – The Healing Garden gardener
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That is a fantastic age to get him to.That is a beautiful purpose of the healing garden “as a memory palace for the celebration of life.”
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It is tough, when our animals become so sick, that we need to take all those decisions, as come when they are either very old or very sick. But they are members of our family and we need to do our best for them. Thanks for sharing.
Irene
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They certainly are members of the family and decisions are never easy but being an ex nurse I have fairly strong views on quality of life. It doesn’t make them any easier though.
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I agree. We are responsable and need to take the right decisions for them not to suffer and end their lives in a fair way for them and not for ourselves and egoism.
Irene
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Totally agree.
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How devastating. They are your children and you have to make decisions about them too. Thinking of you, 😦
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Thank you
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Thank you. The celebration of life, in The Healing Garden, is a theme party. What we behold and cherish as beloved and as distinctly alive is a non-renewable resource. Each life is worthwhile conserving. Science has trouble measuring exactly how non-renewable and truly worthy of conserving each life is. We have no humanly devised instrument for accurately measuring the degree of holding on and letting go. Imaginary friends may save us from suffering, but our imaginations cannot approach the masterpiece of life.
Our hearts tell us the change of seasons are filled with meaning, if we have the courage to listen. When we open our hearts and contemplate our love for any other living creature, we form the most healing bond of all. It is as important to conserve the relations we cherish most by letting them go, as it is to know the time of each season. In matters of the heart among ourselves, we know. – The Healing Garden gardener
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Wow. Thank you for that philosophy which makes a lot of sense. I like it is as important to let go as it is to hold on. Very good.
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First mourning I ever experienced was for a dog.
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Sadly our pets teach us life and death and loving, losing mourning go hand in hand.
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Our pets are family and the loss of them can be heartbreaking. Never an easy way through it.
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You are quite right Sherri and often it is harder as non animal friends will dismiss your loss as inconsequential whereas to you it is as hard as losing a person you have loved dearly.
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Yes Irene, that is so very true, sadly.
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Thank you fer sharing and letting us get to know Mungo as well. It was a wonderful, beautiful reminder of life’s melancholy sweetness.
Times tide washes up on the beach bringing new treasures, but it also takes older ones back as it recedes, even the things we hold dear.
God Bless IW
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Thanks for your thoughts Dysu. I love “Times tide washes up on the beach bringing new treasures, but it also takes older ones back as it recedes, even the things we hold dear.”
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My heart goes out to you. Such difficult news and difficult decisions.
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Thank you for your kind thoughts, they are really appreciated.
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