[Magdalen] Advice - Malcolm

[Juli Tarsney]

I’m so sorry, and I don’t have advice; I’m just thinking of you three with
love. I have never stop thinking of your Malcolm as a puppy. Hugs to all.

On Mon, Jan 24, 2022 at 7:49 AM Marilyn Cepeda <mcepeda514 at gmail.com> wrote:

> It is so hard……my sympathy and prayers!
>
> On Mon, Jan 24, 2022 at 7:45 AM Ginga Wilder <gingawilder at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Oh, dear Rick,
> > I am so very sorry.  You, Alex, and Malcolm will know when the time has
> > come.  John and I had to euthanize our precious Miss Kitty in June, 2021.
> > She had developed a galloping case of diabetes that required insulin
> > injections twice daily.  She did not improve at all.  I don't know how to
> > tell you when the absolute right time might be - we leaned heavily on the
> > vet's advice.  And, in the end, we decided on Kitty's behalf.  I miss her
> > terribly.  For Kitty, more days would not have resulted in more good
> life.
> >
> > Rick, know that you, Malcolm, and Alex are in our prayers.
> > Ginga
> >
> > On Mon, Jan 24, 2022 at 12:49 AM 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
> > >
> >
> --
> Marilyn (Owens, Palmero) Cepeda
>