I've been wishing and hoping that Beaux could keep holding on until at least Christmas. More out of selfishness. And I thought that would be a good possibility given that despite complete blindness and accidents in the house, he's still maintained a healthy appetite.
That is until yesterday.
The last three days have been challenging. On Sunday morning we woke up to find that Beaux had pooped and peed all over his bed in the laundry room. I dutifully got up, cleaned the room, washed the bed, and bathed him. On Monday evening, Rick returned from work to let Beaux out of his crate and he had smeared poop everywhere. Rick cleaned up the crate and I again gave Beaux a good scrub down in the tub.
And then last night we came home from work to find the laundry room covered in puke. Poor Beaux! Third day in a row for a bath, and I cleaned up the laundry room and this time threw out the bed which was now beyond the point of washing. He drank so much water (I'm sure he was quite dehydrated) and then promptly threw that up. I put down his dinner and took him to the bowl. For the first time in his entire life, he picked up a nugget, dropped it on the blankets I'd put on the floor, and just stood there. I can completely understand that he didn't want to eat after the day he'd had.
This morning it was more of the same. He'd peed on the blankets (which, fortunately, are easy to wash) and when I gave him his food, he stood there for a minute without showing any remote interest in the food. And he's a Lab....he lives for food.
It's going to be a snow day today, and so I'm secretly happy that I can curl up on the couch at home with my laptop and hang out with Beaux today. Just me and him. Zoe is still off with my sister Andrea and Rick's at work today. At least I can keep him company and monitor him throughout the day.
I realize that this is not a situation of the flu. That in a few days he'll just bounce back, his eyesight will be restored, his mental and physical faculties in working order. I can hope that his appetite will come back, but I'm quickly starting to prepare myself for the inevitable. He's 14 and near the end. Rick and I talked about Beaux's quality of life this morning, and if he isn't eating by the weekend, we realize we may not be able to wait to Christmas.
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4 comments:
That is sad. Poor beaux. Yeah, the puking thing is not a good sign. Our friend's dog just got put down after having the same problem. He was old and had a tumor in his stomach.
Honey, I'm so sorry. Please call if you need to talk, any time. XO R
I'm so sad to read this Michele. I think these big guys kind of know when it's time. Have you checked to see if your vet can come to your house when it's time so that Beaux can be at home with you guys? My Soss is getting older too and I'm just in denial that I'll have to go through this.
Big tears for Beaux and you. I am so sorry. There's no way around it is there. I'm glad you get to spend some quality time with him. I believe that's all he really wants.
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