So as a few of you know we got some difficult news on Friday about our dog Sadie. She has been increasingly agitated growling at me and the kids with the littlest things and as you may remember she bit Caleb twice a while ago. She has recently started urinating and defecating in the house a lot despite being put out numerous times throughout the day. She also has been increasingly destructive with chewing up our clothes (pulling them out of the hamper) and tore up more of the door frame in the utility room. So we took her to the vet to rule out anything medically. I really felt that it was behavioral and just her getting older and grumpy and being a brat about being locked out of the room (for her safety). I have been locking her out more due to her growling and biting and fearing she might hurt someone. I feared this was just contributing to the problem and just didn't know what to do. So I noticed a spot in Sadie's fur that looked like skin cancer so I made an appointment. I thought if nothing else at least we'll get this spot looked at and we will know if it is anything since the behavior wasn't going to be curable. Anyway...the vet thinks Sadie has cancer. Yes the dreaded C word. She was making some sounds in her breathing that often indicate a mass and that with her behavior issues made her think this was the case.
We had already decided to take her with us this past weekend so we thought we'd take her with and see how she did and have kind of one last hurrah with her at the very least and have more time to think things over. So....she did pretty good this weekend and left me with some apprehension and indecisiveness. She didn't have any accidents but she didn't really eat or drink either. She was playful and the kids were good with her and enjoyed her a lot. We don't want to prolong her suffering, but then again we don't want to end her life unnecessarily either. She is a part of our family and we all are very sad over her diagnosis, but it is particularly hard on the kids.
Oh yeah about that diagnosis...to confirm diagnosis we would have to run tests that would be around $500 and she is 13 year old dog that has the usual life span of 12-14 years. The vet really seemed to be consoling me and reassuring me during my visit that if she is acting out in these ways she is not happy/feeling well and that I would be doing the right thing to end it especially if she is biting the children because there is no way to keep them separate at all times. She has bit Caleb a couple times but didn't break his skin it was more of a grabbing with her mouth showing who was boss and that was a little while ago. So Bona and I had kind of decided to let it play out longer and see how it goes for a while. Then yesterday out of the blue...she bit Addy who was doing nothing more than petting her. Not a break skin bite but it did scare Addy and bring tears to her eyes. No food was near and Addy was being gentle. We can't wait until she does harm to take her bites seriously. Caleb likes to get in her face and she could easily do permanent damage to his eye or face. So in my heart I now know what has to be done but Bona is still on the fence and this just sucks...it's just so hard to take a life. I know some of you reading this may be hunters and may not understand but it is just so hard. I don't think she would bite hard enough to hurt the kids but what if we are wrong...is it worth that risk when the end is inevitable anyway? Sadie has been with Bona and I since the first few months of our marriage and has become part of our life. I know she isn't human but we love her and it is hard letting go...
Here are some pictures I found of her over the years...
First a real
Sadie and Blake June 2003
Caleb and Sadie 2011
Sadie and Blake June 2003
Caleb and Sadie 2011
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