Monday, January 3, 2011

TROY 22/11/1999 - 03/01/2011

Troy's gone to sleep forever!

After I wrote the last blog post, I gave Troy one of the big biscuits he loves so much and he ate it. After that he ate quite a bit of chicken too.
When in the morning, he seemed so much better, I was pleased that he managed to turn the corner again and was happy that we had a bit longer together. He could get up again and he walked ok again.

However, towards the evening he got worse again. I ended up helping him in and out of the garden probably about hourly and his control of his legs got progressively worse until I had to support both his front and back end and he collapsed a few times in the garden and indoors.

He eventually settled in the sitting room, I slept downstairs again like the night before. Towards the morning, he started fidgeting a bit and then I realised that he couldn't actually get up at all. I tried to help him, but he was too weak. He couldn't even lift his front end and stay in an upright position (whilst still laying down).

He wouldn't eat or drink either and he had messed himself. I then called Cornel who came over. And my vet Ian arrived just after 11 am. Ian checked him over and also came to the conclusion that Troy was unlikely to recover, that he had two conditions whose treatments were incompatible (NSAIDs for very painful spine pain and steroids for liver) and that the spine is not transmitting the nerve signals anymore as Troy often walked on his knuckles now on his hind legs. He also said that Mark left a note on his file about how bad Troy was. After explaining it all, Cornel and I decided to let Troy go as he was unlikely to get better and his quality of life just wasn't there anymore! His body was failing him, his joints painful, his backlegs with virtually no feeling, failing eyesight, liver problems and muscle was wasting away so rapidly and mercilessly.

When Ian gave the injection, Cornel and I were cuddling Troy and literally within seconds Troy had gone. It was very peaceful, he literally just went to sleep without the slightest hesitation it seemed. His body was so weak and Troy was ready to leave this world for the Rainbow Bridge.

I am heart broken, and although Troy's body is still here (I wanted to keep him here for one night as it helps me to come to terms with things and gives me some kind of closure), it is very uncomfortable not to hear his breathing, his loud and powerful bark and his big head on my lap.

I have made arrangements with the pet crematorium in East Grinstead and Cornel and I are taking him there tomorrow morning for the cremation. I will then pick the casquet up from Mark's at the end of the week.

Dylan, Flash and Jesse are coping with this so well. They were there when it all happened, but because it was so peaceful, they didn't get unsettled at all. I think they knew what was happening. They haven't once gone to sniff Troy's body, not even Dylan that was sniffing him quite a lot lately.

Yesterday morning, I got a fab opportunity for a wonderful picture of all my four boys together, which turned out to be the last picture like that. I also got a few of Troy - again, the last ones I have of him now and they do show how tired he was really!







I miss you so much Troy. You were the best; a dog in a million! I will always love you.

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