Love That Dog

Hunter's had a rough week.

My family's had a rough week too.  

First of all, I would like to thank all of my Twitter followers who prayed for my family and for Hunter this week.  

In the simplest of terms, Hunter had a mess in his G.I. Tract.  Anyone who's taken an intro Biology class knows what the G.I. Tract is responsible for, so I won't go into the detail of his symptoms.  My parents noticed that something was wrong with Hunter last week.  My mother, a veterinarian, had an idea of what might be wrong and began treatment for it.  However, the treatment didn't work and Hunter's condition weakened.  My parent's began to suspect something worse was afoot.  I was busy with school and theater while this was going on, but on Monday, my dad called me, explained the situation, and suggested that I go home to see Hunter while I still could.  At the time, Hunter was still comfortable and content, but his condition was deteriorating.  He was weak and fatigued, his appetite was practically zero, and the spark was gone from his eye.  I spent the entire afternoon lying on the kitchen floor next to Hunter while he slept.  I just wanted to be with him when I still could.  When I left that afternoon, I said, "Goodbye," like it would be the last one.  

Misty napped next to Hunter a litte on Monday afternoon.  These two have a special bond and she knew something was wrong.

We had two options.  One was to keep him as comfortable as possible and let nature run its course.  The moment we thought he was in any pain or discomfort, we would put him to sleep.  Hunter has been too wonderful of a dog and we love him too dearly to keep him in pain just for our sake.  The other option was to open him up and see what was in his abdomen.  Hunter is a very old dog and whatever was in there left him weak and anemic, so surgery was risky.  If my mom found something so catastrophic that it had spread and couldn't be removed or if she found cancer, she would put him to sleep right on the operating table.  Once again, we love him too much to make him endure that pain for our sake.  My father and I ultimately left the choice up to my mom, who was by far the most knowledgeable.  When it comes to my animals, I have complete faith in my mom and I would never doubt her actions or opinions.

We decided to try the surgery.  So, on Tuesday afternoon and through the night, Hunter received a blood transfusion to prepare him.  We are so incredibly grateful for a co-worker of my mothers who offered to donate blood from her dog, who is a universal donor, to Hunter.  I came home again on Tuesday night to spend more time with Hunter.  

Yes, that's part of Hunter's blood transfusion.  The bag was still too cool to give it to him, so I warmed it up on my stomach. :)

At one point, I just lied next to Hunter and listened to his snore.  It broke my heart to think that could be the last time I heard it.

We weren't hopeful about the surgery, so once again, when I left that night, I said my "goodbyes" like they would be our last.

I don't think I stopped praying for a single second on Wednesday.  I can't even tell you specifically what I prayed for.  On one hand, I just wanted him to survive the surgery.  On the other, I just didn't want him to hurt. I think I just prayed for his protection and for God to watch over my mom and the vet that would be assisting her with the surgery.  I was attached to my phone all day waiting to hear word. 

At 3:22 pm, my prayers were answered.  Hunter survived the surgery.  When I got to see Hunter on Wednesday night, I was just so grateful.  I had said final goodbyes to Hunter 2 nights in a row, but he was still with us.  This dog doesn't give up! And I'm so glad we didn't either.  

We're still not out of the woods, though.  While we hope we found the problem, it's possible that there could be something else lurking in Hunter's abdomen that's causing trouble.  We're kind of in the "Hurry up and wait" phase now.  Hopefully, we'll see improvement in Hunter's condition and demeanor over the next several days.  If we don't...well....I guess we'll worry about that if we get there. But for the time being, I'm remembering not to take anyone for granted.  Not my friends, not my family, and especially not Hunter.  Your pets are part of your family and I almost lost an important member of my family this week.  I may still lose him in the coming days.  But I don't want to think about that right now.  All I want to think about is making the most out of the time I have left with him, no matter how much time that may be.  

Hunter is the dog of hope!

If you have a pet, be it a dog, cat, fish, turtle, snack, raccoon, or rock, give them some love today.  I think we sometimes forget just how special they are until we almost lose them.