Monday, August 21, 2006

Goodbye Chips



My dog was put to sleep this morning. He was having difficulty breathing over the weekend, which was attributed to bronchitis, so my parents took him to the vet and got some tablets to help it. Unfortunately, it got much worse last night and he was taken to the vet again first thing this morning. After some x-rays and tests, it was discovered that his windpipe had collapsed and that he had also developed Cushing's Disease. There was an operation he could have undergone to fix the windpipe, but the trauma he'd experienced over the weekend had exacerbated the disease, and he would still have been extremely ill. So it was decided that the kindest thing to do would be to put him to sleep.

He was an old dog with a lot of health problems, and every time I'd go home, I'd worry that that would be the last time I saw him. But even though I've been expecting this phone call from my parents for a while, it doesn't make it any easier.

Chips originally belonged to my brother in law and we took him in when my sister and brother in law moved in together and they weren't allowed pets. It was only supposed to be a temporary solution, but 10 years later, he was still at my parents house. He was a crazy little Jack Russell pup who mellowed a lot in his old age, but I was still gobsmacked at the amount of energy this 14 year old dog had. He was almost completely blind, but that didn't stop him wanting to play football in the back garden every chance he could get. It didn't matter to him that he couldn't see the ball unless he was two inches away from it! He would sleep in my bed with me whenever I went home, and he liked nothing more than someone taking his collar off and giving his neck a good scratch!

He was such a good dog, and I'm going to miss him so much.

13 comments:

Simon said...

I'm so sorry. At least he's not suffering any more.

[hugs]

Jess said...

I'm sorry. That was a lovely tribute, though.

CosmicAvatar said...

Oh, bugger. I'm so sorry.

Amy said...

[heart]

Annika said...

I'm sorry. It hurts so much when pets go.

Mindi Scott said...

I'm so sorry, Eileen. [hug]

Amanda said...

Aww. I'm sorry you had to lose a friend.

Dogeared said...

I'm so sorry about Chips. 14 is a great age, and it sounds like he had a very happy life, being loved by lots of people.

Leslie said...

awww.. rest in Peace Chips

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry.

Rest in peace Chips. [heart]

Laurie said...

I'm so sorry.


*hugs*

Yonners said...

lots of hugs. I'm so sorry.

jenn said...

I'm so sorry. Xoxo jenn