a sad, sad evening

Our hearts are aching tonight because we had to say goodbye to our puppy. Madison has been apart of our family for just over 11 years.

Without warning, today she woke up very weak. I took her to the vet thinking it would be another simple prognosis but the vet had other news for us. It seems that a very agressive tumor had taken over her spleen. The vet estimated it to be 7-9 pounds. While the symptoms she was presenting was consistent with her spleen bleeding out, an ultrasound didn't confirm that. Bleeding out would cause her to be weak but there was only a small amount of blood in her abdomen.

There's a lot more to the story but the vet couldn't be certain that the tumor had spread to other organs and after Madison had a couple episodes during the x-rays, they came to the conclusion that it might have already spread to her brain.

Lisa and I came to the conclusion that this was Madison's time. There were too many signs pointing toward more than just a benign growth on her spleen. Still, we were very uncertain of our decision and cried and prayed all the way back to the vet.

When we returned, the vet told us that a chest x-ray showed something else unusual...Madison's heart was much smaller than it should be for a dog her size. The vet was afraid Madison would not survive the surgery. While it was hard to hear, it was obvious now we had come to the right decision.

Lisa and I stayed with Madison until the end. It was the most difficult thing I've done in my life. We assured her over and over that we loved her. She is going to be missed.