QuestionDave, I can barely write because I can't stop sobbing. My sheltie was 10yrs old. It started with a cough or I would call it a gag, but nothing would come up. Then I noticed her front legs looked bowed when she walked (like an end table) then she started limping and walking very slow. My husband and I gave her a bath and trimmed her hair because she was getting matted up in places. Then I would take her out to potty and on our way back into the house she would just fall down. She would have to stay there for a minute before she could get up. She did this several times through out the day. She would just look at us with those big brown eyes but couldn't move her head. Then once she was up she very very slowly walked in the house. Then Thursday night at 6:20pm she threw up and I sat there petting her telling her that is was ok don't be embrassed Mommy(me of course) would clean it up. At that time someone was at the front door so I answered it I was gone 3-4 minutes the most then went back to my sheltie and she was dead. Everything happened so quick, what on earth happened to my Baby girl?????? My heart is broken I'll never be the same. We had a vet appointment for Friday morning but she didn't make it. My Sheltie's name was Precious but we called her Presh. Thanks so much for your time. Stacie (Presh's Mommy and always will be)
AnswerStacie, I am so sorry!
This hurts so much. They never will live as long as we do. We always will see the relationship end. Some go quickly, some we send on, and others go in ways that make us hurt even more than just the pain of loss.
I will never forget that day in our house. I know how awful this is for you. He had a vet appointment the following morning too. I took him to the appointment and the vet was as shocked as we were. He suggested a local state office at an agricultural extension that did an autopsy for a very inexpensive price. Our answer was pancreatic necrosis and an odd tumor on the pancreas of our 8 year old Tucker.
We lost Tucker December of 2005 and it still hurts.
Now comes the hard part: grieving and letting go.
As for Precious, we may never know what happened to her. I strongly suspect she was exposed to the recalled dog food or to the same substance in that recall, however if it wasn't for that recent event in the news I would think that something else has happened. You should call your vet and speak further with them about the symptoms and likely causes for your own peace of mind.
Crying is good for you. If Precious were here though she would want you to play and love on her and not be sad because it was just her time to go. I am certain that Shelties have a great place to go and play when they are finished working here; the online Sheltie groups call it the "Rainbow Bridge".
I'm going to go hug on my Shelties now. Thank you for reminding me that our time together is limited and how much I will miss them when they are gone.
Dave
