We Love you Sadie
Well it's been quite the rollercoaster the last few months, so I apologize I have not updated this earlier. As you know we added Sadie to our family at the end of February. Soon after we got her she began coughing, which we expected to happen. We got her at the Humane Society and they warned us that she would probably come down with Kennel Cough. So when we noticed that she was coughing frequently, we headed off to the Vet to get some medicine for her. Well they confirmed it was probably Kennel Cough and set us on our way. The following week, Roxie started coughing and since Sadie was contagious I hauled Roxie to the Vet to get some medicine. A few days later, Roxie was acting more alert and not coughing as often, however, poor little Sadie was getting worse by the minute. So Matt and I decided to take her to the Vet again. They took x-rays of her chest and discovered she had a horrible case of pneumnia and felt it would be in her best interest for them to put her in an oxygen chamber and keep her overnight. We agreed to let them keep her in hopes she would make a much faster recovery with them then at home. The next evening she had some improvement but the Vet was still worried, so they stuck an oxygen tube down her nose to help her get direct oxygen. They kept her for 3 nights and then let us take her home on the fourth day with strict instructions and LOTS of medicine.
Sadie continued to improve as the days went on and we were so happy to see her puppy side again. She was no longer just laying around the house but up and about irriating Roxie by herding her everywhere she went and chewing everything around her. We were so excited to see her energy and alertness increase over those weeks. We finally gave her the last of her medication and took her back to the Vet for a final examination. It was good news all around, the X-rays showed hardly any pneumnia in her lungs and her behavior was definitely that of a puppy. The Vet wanted us to give it one more week without her medicine before we would be able to unrestrict her activity. The following few days she was active and extremely playful. I even saw Roxie and her playing in the backyard once or twice.
A few days later, she took a turn for the worst and began coughing and having trouble breathing again. So I called the Vet AGAIN and ran down there to get some more medicine, we all believed her pneumnia had resurfaced. We kept up with the medicine for the next week but Sadie didn't seem to be improving. Matt and I wanted the medicine to run it's course before going to the Vet again but the following Saturday we noticed something we couldn't ignore. While I was petting her, I noticed that her hair was coming off in clumps and her skin was covered with red scabs. We both felt that this couldn't be a good sign and immediately called the Vet, which asked us to bring her down. Once we got there her breathing was extremely labored and they took her immediately into the back to give her oxygen. They worked diligently to try and get her breathing back to normal and figure out what was going on. They retook x-rays, only to discover the pneunmia was completely gone. There should be no reason why she was struggling this much. The Vet felt she might have asthma or be suffering from allergies since the weather had been improving the last few days. He also mentioned that her breathing could be caused by scar tissue from her pneumnia but wanted to try this course of action first. So again we took her home to watch her and prayed for improvement. Over the next few days she seemed to be improving alittle but it definitely wasn't a vast improvement.
When I got home Tuesday night I did my routine of giving her medicine to her and then fed her. A little while later, she threw up her food but I didn't think too much of it because the medicine had been making her have stomach problems. A bit later in the night she just started randomly barking and then it turned to cries. Her breathing became extremely labored, her tongue turned purple and her eyes were glazed over. She was in so much pain she couldn't walk and every breath was painful. We called the Vet and he was nice enough to meet us down at the clinic late that night. Once we got there the Vet informed us he didn't believe she was going to get better. He felt she had scar tissue in her lungs and it was making it very difficult for her breathe. At that point Matt and I had to make an extremely difficult decision and had to put her to sleep. It was the only way she was not going to suffer anymore.
Even though Matt and I did not have her very long it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Those of you that did not get the privilege to meet her, she was an extremely sweet girl who gave kisses and loves to ever person she met. I'm sad that she wasn't able to lead a long life and I honestly don't know how much she was able to experience in the short time she was on this Earth. I do know she made Matt and I laugh a lot with her cute quirks. She would chase her tail and once she caught it, watch out!! She would wrestle on the floor with it in her mouth, determined to be victorious over her sworn enemy.
A few weeks ago she ran out of the garage as the door was shutting. I ran down the street chasing her but honestly was no competition. Suddenly, there was a car driving down the street and she felt it necessary to chase it and bite at the tires. I thought for sure she was going to get run over but luckily the car stopped. Well she felt that she was victorious and stood in front of it like it was a show down. I had to go grab her and tug her back to the house, which was no easy feat, she thought it was a game and rolled around in the middle of the street. Finally I had to just pick her up and carry her the rest of the way home.
Even though things didn't turn out like any of us had hoped, I'm glad she was part of our lives even if only for a short while. We love and miss you Sadie. I hope you have plenty to chew on and lots of mud to play in.
