[Magdalen] Advice - Malcolm

[Ann Markle]

Rick, I'm just so sorry.  I can't imagine saying goodbye to my cuddle bug,
and it has never been easy in the past.  I've been lucky to have vets
advise me, and illnesses so serious that it really had to be done.
Clementine was done at the vet's office.  I lay beside her and talked to
her until she went to sleep; it was a 2 shot deal (the last to stop her
heart), and I couldn't stay for the last shot.  Dori came into my life a
short time after that, and cold as it sounds, it really did ease the pain
of losing Clem.  I hope this isn't too devastating for you, but also that
you grieve well, with sweet memories.

Ann

The Rev. Ann Markle
Buffalo, NY
ann.markle at aya.yale.edu


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
>