79) A Sad Goodbye

Our dog Cindy was getting old; she was about 13 years old and just liked to lie around in the sunshine. She had always had a good appetite so when she would not eat I knew she was not well and took her to the vet. The vet examined her and told me that Cindy was just getting too old to carry on and that we should have her put down. I could not accept that and said that I would get her to eat and that I was sure that she would get well again. From then on we only bought her the best and tastiest food. We gave her all her favourites and I started hand feeding her. At first she would only take a few bites of food but her appetite increased and I could manage to get her to eat three small meals each day. She seemed so much better and I was feeling positive about her recovery. One afternoon when Cecilia and I went to the hospital to donate blood, there was a long queue so it was rather late when we got back. Jonathan and Dominic came out to tell us that Cindy was not well. She was lying on her bed and did not come out to greet me, which was very unusual for her. By then the vet’s surgery was closed so I did not know what to do. Cecilia was used to dealing with animals and knew better than I how to look after them when they were sick. She said that if Cindy showed any signs of pain I should dissolve a Disprin in a tablespoon of brandy and give her that. Later on I tried to give her something to eat but she would not take anything. About 8 o’clock she started to whimper softly and so I gave her the Disprin as Cecilia had told me to. That seem to help her and she went off to sleep. After about an hour she woke again and started to make a lot of noise. When I sat with her and patted her she was quiet but as soon as I left her she started howling again so I just sat with her all night. She was obviously in pain and I felt very guilty that I had not taken the vets advice. There was no real reason that she should have had to suffer the whole night through except that I thought I knew better than the vet. I decided during the night that as soon as the vet was open in the morning we would take her in. I got the family up early, as I was going take Cindy to the vet in the morning I would need to get them all to college or work first so that I could have the car. Cindy seemed to be asleep on her bed in the kitchen, her breathing was laboured and noisy and Rocky was obviously very concerned about her, sniffing her and nudging her as if to try and find out what the problem was. Then she took one deep breath and was quiet and still. Immediately Rocky turned away and lost all interest in her. It was obvious that he understood what I realised straight away, she had died. I felt so sorry that she had gone through the night in so much discomfort and vowed that I would never put any of our pets through that again. I would listen to the vet’s advice next time. Jonny put her into the car and took her out to Cecilia’s plot where we buried her. She had been a good and faithful friend and we all missed her and were sorry that she had gone.

Cindy in her Prime