Friday, December 29, 2006

Bye Max.

Fuck shit cunt bollocks and buggeration gets the swearing out of the way. In the weeks before christmas Max started having epileptic fits again and the only solution to this was to up the dosage of his medication (£40 a month that costs). A few days before christmas we took him for a walk, but he was weak and his back legs kept giving way. He only managed a circuit of a nearby sports field and three times I had to lift him from a sitting position back onto his feet. A subsequent examination by the vet showed him to have a healthy heart and to apparently be quite fit, so the vet gave him an injection to help out with his back legs and was going to supply anti-inflammatories for the problem.

However, on christmas eve he could hardly manage to get up and seeing him anxious to go for his walk yet his legs giving way on the slipper floor of the home’s front hall was heart-breaking. He went quickly downhill from then and further blood tests have revealed that his liver is failing. This is one of the penalties of his spending the best part of his life on anti-epileptics. Because of this failure the drugs are no longer as effective and giving him anti-inflammatories would only worsen his health.

The vet has advised the only option remaining to him and is calling round to the old people’s home to put him down this afternoon. It’s horrible, but stepping back it’s easy to see that Max is a luckier resident of that home, since he has a final option that the others there don’t.

Merry christmas and a happy new year.

15 comments:

Richie said...

Sorry to hear about this Neal.

Anonymous said...

So sorry to hear that Neal.
Max had a wonderful time with you, just think about all the fun you had together. Give him a pat from me.

I know exactly what you mean about the care home as well, my Dads moved to one earlier this year

Unknown said...

Neal,

Got to think of Max.

My thoughts are with you (and Max).

Unknown said...

Neal

got to think of Max.

My thoughts are with you (and Max).

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry to hear about max.

I also lost my dog earlier this year and to be honest i took it worse than losing some of my relativies.

he will always live on in your memories though, i will raise a glass of single malt for him tonight.....

Kirby Uber said...

8(

cheers to Max. he had a good run, and i'll second or third the "he has options" bit.

doesn't make it easy.

Bob Lock said...

Bad news, Neal, sorry to hear it. However, take some consolation in the knowledge that you did bring a lot of happiness into that dog's life.
This has been a horrible Christmas for us too, my wife's father was killed in a road accident and I've just come out of hospital after a throat op, I just hope 2007 is an improvement, for everyone.
Best wishes
Bob

Neal Asher said...

Thank you all. That lot rather choked Caroline. I console myself with the fact that it all happened in less than a week. At least he didn't spend a long time being ill, unable to walk and getting sicker and sicker.

Lot of red eyes at the old people's home. One of the women there admitted she feels more cut up about him than when the residents pop off. And Dolly, a Filipino woman, will particularly miss him since he followed her everywhere.

Anonymous said...

Hi Neal, sorry to hear. Hope you gave him some nice munchies as a treat.

MR

Anonymous said...

So sorry to hear about Max. He'll be missed by many.

CthulhuWhoWho said...

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."

The lose of a family member is not easy and a thing we all wish wasn't a part of life. I'm glad to hear Max did not have to suffer. Best wishes to you and your family during this time. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Anonymous said...

Damn, Neal. Nothing is worse than losing someone you care about.

Well, may Max rest easy now.

Respects,
Murph
Flyover Country, US

Anonymous said...

Good wishes and thoughts for Max, and you, Neal.

Hope the New Year brings good news, and happy endings.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to reads about this Neal. It never gets any easier, I lost my old Beagle girl this year, she managed to get to 15 years old but the last year was monthly visits to the vets to keep her going. She was the third we've lost since owning beagles and it's just as bad everytime. I console myself with the fact that by taking rescue dogs I've given them the best time they could have had.

Alex Cull said...

Hi Neal, very sorry to hear about Max. As a fellow pet owner who has lost pets in the past, I can empathise. You helped him have a good life though, that must count for something.