Ruby

A few weeks ago, I talked about how Ruby had what the vet called vestibular disease. Basically, it's a stroke. I gave her the pills for three weeks and once she had finished them, she didn't improve. I let the vet know that she was still walking in circles and started having accidents. She wasn't letting us know she had to go outside like she normally did, we couldn't leave her out of her kennel unsupervised, and she wasn't barking anymore. Instead of having me come in to check her out, he prescribed more pills. I should've brought her with me to pick them up so they could see how she was behaving. When we went to Louisiana, she rode in the van just fine in her kennel. She didn't whimper or anything, just seemed tired. Once we got to Marie's, she started acting more off. She wasn't able to sit still at all unless she was in her kennel. As the day progressed, she started dragging her back right leg and started losing her balance. She'd walk in a circle and bump into the pillars on the porch. When we put her in her kennel for the night, she started circling and whining, bumping into the corners and was super off balance. She wasn't able to take her pills and Zac had to give her water with a straw. She wouldn't even open her mouth to eat chicken. When I looked at her, her eyes were darting back and forth as if she were spinning. All my research pointed to a brain tumor, which is what I already suspected. It was a possibility to get her an MRI to be sure, but it would cost $2,000. Chemo for dogs would go up to $7,000 and in most cases it will only prolong her life about 2-3 months. Not to mention the side effects. They could also give me pills to sedate her, but what kind of life would that be?

When we were at Jessie's, Ruby was worse. She was falling over and wouldn't be still unless Zac was holding her. She was having trouble breathing and couldn't relax or settle down. He put her in the kennel  so she could rest, but she ended up crying most of the night and walking in circles until I put her next to him on the sofa. She was able to settle down and sleep. Monday morning, we talked about our options and what would be best for Ruby and decided the most humane thing to do would be to have her put to rest. Jessie recommended a vet near her that she had to take one of her cats to in the past, so I called them and they were able to see us. It was so heartbreaking. We've had Ruby for 7 years. She barked at everything and everyone, played with the kids, helped me through my grief when I had my first miscarriage... that was the whole reason we got her. The vet came and talked to us about the procedure. We were able to hold her and love on her before they got started with everything. They gave her anesthesia first and she just relaxed so much. Her breathing calmed down and all I could think of was that she must've been in pain this whole time and we had no idea. Her breathing had been so labored for the past week, but once she was able to relax, it was like she felt nothing. She was able to die peacefully while I held her in my lap. Zac and I just cried and held her, until we felt okay enough to give her over. I opted for cremation and we'll pick up her ashes sometime next week. The vet we normally go to won't euthanize unless an animal is in a dire condition (basically what Ruby was like), and I knew they'd most likely do the wait-and-see yet again, even though I told them she wasn't eating. It all sucks very much. I miss my Ruby.