[Magdalen] Advice - Malcolm

[Judy Fleener]

No advice from me Rick.  Our dog was sick and I atill felt like a
murderer.  My son who was most attached to the dog came , found me
sobbing out loud and said, "Go wait in the car, Mom, I'll take care of this.
Judy

On Mon, Jan 24, 2022 at 7:56 AM Marion Thompson <marionwhitevale at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Sometimes the hardest thing we must do is also the most loving.  At a
> profound level this is all about Mlalcolm's quality of life and doing what
> is right for him.  Yes, your hearts will be broken, no question, but, with
> a kind vet's help, Malcolm can sip away with you and Alejandro right there
> with him.
>   You have my prayers for strength and comfort at this difficult time.
> It's never easy to say goodbye, but it sounds like this is the most loving
> and respectful thing you can do for Malcolm as his condition worsens.
>
> Marion, a pilgrim
>
> On Mon, 24 Jan 2022 at 00:49, Rick Mashburn <ricklmashburn at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Dear friends,
> >
> > It's been a hard day at our house. As some of you know, Malcolm was
> > diagnosed with calcium oxalate bladder stones for some years now. He's
> been
> > on meds to balance the Ph in his urine (believed to pre-dispose dogs to
> > these types of stones) with success for the last 3 or 4 years.
> >
> > In the last six months, the number of stones has increased and he's
> needed
> > hydropropulsion therapy multiple times. Last week, that stopped working.
> He
> > was at the vet on Thursday and Friday but they were not able to clear his
> > urethra. In spite of taht, on Friday night, he was able to urinate almost
> > normally and to a lesser extent on Saturday. Today, it has gotten much
> > worse. He is able to urinate but not very much and it's obvious he is not
> > able to empty his bladder.
> >
> > We are walking him more frequently so he can empty his bladder as much as
> > possible but we know this is not a sustainable situation. The worst case
> > scenario would be a ruptured bladder which would be painful and traumatic
> > for all of us. I can't stand the thought of that happening to him.
> >
> > We've been in touch with a vet who makes house calls. They provide
> > euthenasia in a gentle, supportive way that would let us say goodbye to
> him
> > without trauma. But, the thought of saying goodbye too soon is also hard
> to
> > imagine.
> >
> > I know many, many of you have had to make this agonizing decision. What
> > made the difference for you? What is the right criteria? We don't want to
> > make a decision too quickly but I'm afraid that is mostly just
> selfishness.
> > I don't want to say goodbye at all but the window for that is closing --
> > and could close even more quickly than we imagine.
> >
> > We know our hearts will be broken either way. We want to do the right
> thing
> > for Malcolm.
> >
> > Much love,
> >
> > Rick
> >
>


-- 
Hope is a thing with feathers that perches in the soul.
Judy Fleener, ObJN
Western Michigan