Goodbye Rudy
It is with profound sadness that I must relay the passing of our dog Rudy. He had been hospitalized on Monday night after a 3-week battle with pain and nausea. We received a call from the vet early yesterday morning informing us that Rudy's condition was declining. It was finally clear that he was suffering from severe liver problems, and that his organs were likely shutting down. He probably had a tumor in his liver, but it may have been an infection. We could have tried to wait out steroid treatment for another 72 hours in case it was an infection, but even if it worked he would have had low quality of life.
Cynthia and I were able be there to comfort him for a while before the end. I held his head in my hands as he went to sleep for the last time. This is without question the hardest emotional event I've experienced in recent memory. I miss him so much.
As I've told you elsewhere, my sympathies to you. He was a cool dog.
When I was growing up, we had an ornery cat who I had found when I was a little kid and only got along well with me. He often slept in my bed (and jabbed me with his claws when I was so bold as to, say, stir) and pretty much acted like a cat to everyone else. The night before I left for college, he hit the end stage of some kind of horrible illness. I didn't have the courage to go with my Mom to the vet's where he actually passed away. Kudos to you for being there for Rudy.
I'm sorry to hear this. Having been through too many dog deaths, I completely sympathize.