Hit With the Unexpected

We just got bad news today.

Yes, many times the news comes when you least expect it.

Or maybe we should have been expecting it? Unsure. Our beloved Aussie Shepherd mix, Katie, has not been feeling that great for a few weeks now. She has lost weight and got finicky with her food. she didn't move very well. We thought it was just a phase, maybe old age as she is nearing 12. Things start to slow down.

Then she developed some kind of bad skin infection. We took her in to get it looked at. The vet also found a swollen abdomen.

Blood work followed. Wasn't too bad.

The vet was still concerned and thought we should x ray the abdomen to see what is going on. We had that done today.

The vet quietly ushered me to the very back of the clinic to see the picture. There was Katie's liver on one side, her spleen on the other, and wedged in between them, a large circular thing at least the size of a baseball.

Our dog Katie has a massive tumor encroaching on her liver.

I had a feeling all week Katie was not right, that the news wasn't good, despite the fact her skin was healing from the visit earlier in the week. She is rapidly turning into skin and bones. She has lost her vitality. And now the x ray confirmed it.

We have less than three months with her. Tonight we are very sad. We are going to lose our pup that we actually got off Craiglist back in 2012 from a family that could no longer care for her. When we got her she had full blown Lyme Disease and couldn't run.

Katie camping with us at Myron Glaser Cabin

We got her on treatment for it, and in a few weeks she was running and chasing our blue tick coon, Eve. She went to the beach with us for Christmas. She went camping and even hiked. She loved to sit in her "hole" she carved out of the bank to watch everything going on in the backyard. She likes to sit at my feet. She is ever faithful to be a good watchdog. She is a faithful companion and furry friend with gorgeous black eyes. 

Now we are watching her waste away as the cancer eats her up.

But I'm glad we had this time with her, even for only 4 1/2 years. She is a temporary gift from heaven.

And I just know - all good dogs go to heaven.