I am so sorry to have been away so long. It has been an unusual and stressful month—as I imagine you all have experienced. Mine started in early March. About two weeks before the world changed, my 16 year old puppy died. My Chloe.
One day, she began to cough and couldn’t stop. She also was having trouble catching her breath. A two day ordeal at the veterinary ER then hospital revealed she had developed pulmonary hypertension. She was unable to get enough oxygen into her body. They treated her with medication, put her in an oxygen filled kennel, and kept her comfortable. The prognosis early on was good. Since they’d figured out what was wrong, they knew how to treat it.
After a couple of days in the hospital, it was clear she wasn’t responding to the treatment. She continued to need oxygen. Just a few moments out of the enriched air she struggled to breathe. And she looked so tired. My usual feisty baby girl barely responded to my voice or my touch. The vet sadly told us that at this point, given her lack of response to the medication, Chloe would get much worse, suffering terribly. We made the only decision left to make.
It was horrible. I still can’t think of those moments without crying.
After this sad ordeal, there was barely time to grieve before the rest of the world turned on its head. But I’ll write more about that another day. In the meantime, remember your pets cannot transmit the COVID-19, #washyourhands, and #staysafe.
