Zoey, Inspired by Mr. Man, Saved by Mr. Vet

We made the decision to put Sandy to sleep after pondering the idea for several weeks.   It was a decision, neither Mr. Man or Moi wanted to make.  It didn't feel like it should be our decision.  Mr. Man especially couldn't fathom life without Sandy or Skoopi.  Unfortunately, Skoopi was starting to refuse food and we knew her time was coming to end.   Sandy's body started failing and we knew that this was the right decision for her.  We had never once imagined in the dog's lifetimes that they would go at the same time. 

 During the week of September 12th, we had an appointment for Sandy later in the week to be put to sleep.  The mood around the house was blue, and tears flowed freely.  We watched TV on the floor, spoiled Sandy with food she shouldn't eat, took Skoopi on hikes and spent every minute with our dogs. 

 

The family was a wreck, no one was handling this situation well.  I know, they are just dogs, but it still felt like we were losing our best friends.  Mr. Man woke me up late one night and said, "We need to get a puppy right now and I found one on the internet."  I went through 100 reasons why we should wait several months.  Finally, he broke down and said, "I can not walk into this house without a tail wagging to greet me, I just can't.  I don't think the kids can either, they don't know any different."  Those words resonated, especially when Mr. Boy would greet me from school with tear filled eyes and ask, "Did Skoopi come in the car to pick me up today?"

    

On  September 15th, we said goodbye to Sandy, and I'm not going to lie it was terrible.  I had underestimated how hard it would be on the children.   I hadn't planned on them reaching over to pet Sandy while playing xBox only to realize she was not there anymore.  After some sound advice from a professional on children's grief, I was reassured a puppy is not going to interrupt the grieving process, it would ease the transition.  Her professional opinion was, "Get a puppy, ASAP"

 And so Zoey, joined our family in time for Skoopi to teach her how to take the kids to school. 

And the smiles that had disappeared started to make appearances.

Among the tears of grief, there was laughter sprinkled in.

I learned there is nothing better for a grieving heart than puppy love. 

On Monday, September 19th, everything went wrong.  Skoopi was miserable, and we knew without a doubt what the right thing was to do.  Zoey had not been feeling well that morning, and by the afternoon she was limp and lifeless.  We took Zoey and Skoopi to the vet.  Immediately, the vet and his team started to work on Zoey.  The vet told us, "I am so sorry, this is a very sick puppy.  The next 24 hours will be critical, and we won't know the outcome until then." 

Then we said goodbye to the world's best dog.  Skoopi eagerly and peacefully left this world.  I'm convinced her first stop on the way to heaven was to get a bite to eat.  She had lost half her body weight in 4 months. Then we went home, empty handed to a house with "no wagging tails there to greet us."   The silence in our house that night was deafening.

The next 24 hours were miserable, waiting for word from Mr. Vet. This is the same vet that saved Sandy from Parvo 14 years ago.  The vet told me later, that he did not sleep at all, knowing Zoey's life was in the balance.  "This family cannot lose three dogs within five days."  Zoey showing signs of Sandy's determination and Skoopi's loyalty to our family, pulled through.  Mr. Vet saved her and she came home to rejoin the family she was meant to be with.

And when Mr. Man came home that night from work, there was this little tail there wagging to greet him.

 Just like how it should be.