A Sad Time Approaching

Our beloved dog, Molly, is breathing her last.  If she makes it through the night I will be surprised and happy.  Why happy?  Because that will mean the vet can take care of her tomorrow.  A professional.  A man with a heart for animals and their owners.  As we watch our old girl struggle with her last breaths we pet her and kiss her and tell her what a great dog she is, has been, always was.  

This morning the king and I rose from our bed to the sound of Molly barking and barking and barking.  The sound was unusual because she has rarely barked these past 6 months, since she has been on the decline.  With her poor vision and poor hearing, she hasn't picked up on the mailman at the front door, the UPS guy, the rabbit running across the lawn.  She stopped spending time watching out the front door when it got cold in October.  

As we came down the stairs I knew immediately something was wrong and saw the kitchen floor.  It was full of vomit, urine and feces.  It looked like she just emptied herself in the middle of the floor and made it to her bed to collapse.  Her neck is arched back and she can't stand or sit.  We called the vet, but it is Sunday.  I half-heartedly expect a call back.  Years ago he took care of a bird we had and that emergency was dealt with on a Sunday.  But these days he has a young family and it is the Christmas season.  We'll see.  

The king sat on the floor with her, stroking her and talking to her.  I cleaned up the mess.  Molly kept breathing heavily, almost gasping for air.  Our hearts were breaking.  It suddenly occurred to me that she needed to calm down.  I found a prescription for sedatives she had from a few months ago and gave her one.  She almost immediately calmed down and her breathing became more regular.  She is lying comfortably in her bed while we wait and watch and give her our love.