A sad day for us
I generally use social media to share my kids with my extended family and friends, but today it is going to be a vehicle to share some sad news, and spare me the pain of having to tell people individually what happened.
Ruby was put to sleep today. It was exactly nine years ago, today, that Chris and I made the drive to PA to pick her up from an elderly couple who couldn't keep her because they were moving into a nursing home. She was around 18 months old, and a ball of unrestrained energy.
We got her a month after we bought our house. Chris thought it was a good idea to get a dog to keep me company when he worked long hours. He was right. Ruby was an awesome companion. She slept in bed with us, followed me around the house, and snuggled with me whenever she could.
In the past year, she had steadily declined and I had her evaluated by the vet in December. The conclusion was that she was in kidney/liver failure. There were heroic measures we could've taken, but they were costly and time consuming. I was six/seven months pregnant with the twins, and there was no way I was going to be able to justify the time or expense for something that may or may not have worked.
So I worked with the vet to make sure Ruby was comfortable for as long as possible.
The past couple of weeks she had rapidly declined, and I made the decision to have her put down.
I have talked with Thomas about Ruby being old and her body not working correctly. I explained that she was going to die soon and wouldn't be around anymore.
He asked me where she was going -- and I, in return, asked him where he thought she would go when she died.
My sweet boy said,
"She's going to someone else's house!"
I asked what the other house was like and he smiled and said,
"It's a big beautiful house!"
I left it at that. My kid couldn't have answered his own question any better.
I took a few photos of her today before taking her in. She was nearly blind and a bit suspicious of me. She winced when I picked her up to put her in the car. I had to hold her the entire time, because walking has been so painful for her. The procedure was quick and painless, and I was right with her the whole time. She simply fell asleep.
Goodnight my sweet Ruby. I hope someone else's house is wonderful for you....
Ruby was put to sleep today. It was exactly nine years ago, today, that Chris and I made the drive to PA to pick her up from an elderly couple who couldn't keep her because they were moving into a nursing home. She was around 18 months old, and a ball of unrestrained energy.
We got her a month after we bought our house. Chris thought it was a good idea to get a dog to keep me company when he worked long hours. He was right. Ruby was an awesome companion. She slept in bed with us, followed me around the house, and snuggled with me whenever she could.
In the past year, she had steadily declined and I had her evaluated by the vet in December. The conclusion was that she was in kidney/liver failure. There were heroic measures we could've taken, but they were costly and time consuming. I was six/seven months pregnant with the twins, and there was no way I was going to be able to justify the time or expense for something that may or may not have worked.
So I worked with the vet to make sure Ruby was comfortable for as long as possible.
The past couple of weeks she had rapidly declined, and I made the decision to have her put down.
I have talked with Thomas about Ruby being old and her body not working correctly. I explained that she was going to die soon and wouldn't be around anymore.
He asked me where she was going -- and I, in return, asked him where he thought she would go when she died.
My sweet boy said,
"She's going to someone else's house!"
I asked what the other house was like and he smiled and said,
"It's a big beautiful house!"
I left it at that. My kid couldn't have answered his own question any better.
I took a few photos of her today before taking her in. She was nearly blind and a bit suspicious of me. She winced when I picked her up to put her in the car. I had to hold her the entire time, because walking has been so painful for her. The procedure was quick and painless, and I was right with her the whole time. She simply fell asleep.
Goodnight my sweet Ruby. I hope someone else's house is wonderful for you....