In memorium

This blows.

My two twelve-year old shelties were put down today. It was definitely their time and I scheduled nine days ago to have the vet come out to the house. After a bad night I gave them a week but the vet couldn’t make it that day and they got a two day reprieve. Last night they had New York Strip Steak for dinner. Merlin ate three pieces and left the rest. Morganna didn’t even chew hers and went through it in less than a minute. Later in the night we let her finish off Merlin’s. We’ve spent the last two weeks stuffing them since they love food. They’ve been living on nice wet canned food and people leftovers.

This morning I gave them tranquilizers so they wouldn’t be scared when they saw the vet. They were very stoned but didn’t go to sleep like I was hoping. The vet, Scott, showed up with an assistant and asked if I wanted them to be asleep before he gave the final shot and I told him yes. Merlin went to sleep quietly after one dose. Morganna, always a fighter, refused to go under even after three shots. It was heartbreaking. I finally said for him to “just do it” since she seemed to know something was going on and was getting more distressed not less.

Scott is a wonderful vet and even asked me “Was it Merlin or Morganna that had the string incident?” It shocked me that with all his patients he remembered that from ten years ago. Merlin had a couple days where he kept trying to retch and nothing would come up. We took him to the vets and they found nothing. They put him under to take an x-ray and still – nothing. Then, thank God, they looked into the back of his throat and found a piece of string. Merlin had found some floss in the trash and swallowed it. It wrapped around his uvula and hung down his throat. They dragged it out and showed us floss covered in dog food.

They were litter mates and Morganna bonded to Merlin instead of me like I had hoped. Him and food was all she cared for. Merlin bonded to Marilyn and was her dog through and through. Now the house is empty. It’s been an emotional two days.

Sorry for the depressing update, I’ve been vacuuming getting ready for company tonight and it’s given me too much time to think. I had to get it out.

Wendy and I have been going pretty straight since we got home but are finally slowing down. Soon I hope to have up a nice post about the four days we spent in NY and the two broadway shows we went to and the two fisted lesbians we met. (By two fisted I mean we sat down next to them and they both had a beer in each hand, because, you know, one beer isn’t nearly enough to make it to intermission.)

Coming soon to a blog near you.