We got our dog, Lily, from a shelter last August. After several visits to the shelter we had plans to go forward with getting a pitbull. We were told we could not even take her for a walk until our application was approved. So we filled out the form. The woman in charge told us background checks are done by a friend and they sometimes take 2-3 weeks to get back. Well, we really liked Iris so we figured it was worth the wait. After several visits, Iris started to recognize us and when she would see us coming to her cage she would get really excited. Our daughter had just turned one and Iris was so gentle - even when she would stick her hand in her mouth! Iris was the exact opposite of what people believe of these dogs. Weeks went by and no news on the application. I started to wonder if the shelter ever approved anyone's request for a pitbull. There were a ton of them there.
We decided to look around at other dogs there. We had liked a few but a couple were pitbulls and some were older than I wanted to consider. The woman (who was clearly not going to approve a pitbull adoption) suggested we consider a German Shepherd mix who was brought in by a family with kids. We were very attached to Iris and it was not easy to consider but that changed after we took her out for a walk. She was very mild mannered and was easy to walk. She wasn't rough with the kids. Weighing in at about 60 lbs she was the perfect size dog for us.
Lily came home with us that afternoon.
She has been a terrific dog. She was easy to train. She is gentle with the kids no matter how rough they play. You can take the food out of her mouth while she is eating. Things she didn't already know she picked up very easily. She is a very loving dog.
In the last week she has quit eating which has caused her to suffer extreme weight loss and she has very labored breathing. The vet said it could be caused by an infection or it could be cancer. Today we found out she has lymphoma. All of her lymph nodes are swollen, very badly. It has been aggressive and grown rapidly. Our options are to send her to U of I for chemo & radiation and after spending upwards of $7000. it is still very possible within one year's time she would die anyway or we can put her to sleep or we can bring her home and wait for her to die a natural death. Well, we cannot afford chemo for her. It's not that we have it and are choosing not to spend it, we don't have that kind of money. Bringing her home and having her slowly dying isn't very humane to me. She is not getting enough air in and she can't eat. It would be extremely selfish to have her continue this way until her body quits.
I brought her back home today so everyone could say their good-byes. I have an appointment to bring her back to the vet tonight at 7. It is not going to be an easy drive there or back. We will miss her terribly.
We decided to look around at other dogs there. We had liked a few but a couple were pitbulls and some were older than I wanted to consider. The woman (who was clearly not going to approve a pitbull adoption) suggested we consider a German Shepherd mix who was brought in by a family with kids. We were very attached to Iris and it was not easy to consider but that changed after we took her out for a walk. She was very mild mannered and was easy to walk. She wasn't rough with the kids. Weighing in at about 60 lbs she was the perfect size dog for us.Lily came home with us that afternoon.
She has been a terrific dog. She was easy to train. She is gentle with the kids no matter how rough they play. You can take the food out of her mouth while she is eating. Things she didn't already know she picked up very easily. She is a very loving dog.
In the last week she has quit eating which has caused her to suffer extreme weight loss and she has very labored breathing. The vet said it could be caused by an infection or it could be cancer. Today we found out she has lymphoma. All of her lymph nodes are swollen, very badly. It has been aggressive and grown rapidly. Our options are to send her to U of I for chemo & radiation and after spending upwards of $7000. it is still very possible within one year's time she would die anyway or we can put her to sleep or we can bring her home and wait for her to die a natural death. Well, we cannot afford chemo for her. It's not that we have it and are choosing not to spend it, we don't have that kind of money. Bringing her home and having her slowly dying isn't very humane to me. She is not getting enough air in and she can't eat. It would be extremely selfish to have her continue this way until her body quits.
I brought her back home today so everyone could say their good-byes. I have an appointment to bring her back to the vet tonight at 7. It is not going to be an easy drive there or back. We will miss her terribly.
2 comments:
It sounds like you are doing the right thing. My heart goes out to you. How awful!
Thank you for your kind words.
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