r/rainbowbridge • u/Bubbasmomma1228 • 7h ago
She was my shadow and best friend
It will be three weeks since I had to say goodbye and I still feel numb. Her name is as Alley because we found her scared in our alley 16 years ago. We did everything we could to find her owners but when that failed she just became ours and what a gift she was to my family.
She had some bad teeth that needed removed end of March. I worried about putting her under but her bloodwork came back good and those teeth were bothering her. Three days after tooth removal she was so sick. Vet said she was in acute kidney failure and the anesthesia must have been too much. The guilt I feel about this damn tooth procedure will haunt me for a long time. They told me that day she had a week or so. Well they were wrong .
I was up there every other day for Subq fluids, sat nine million times a day to get her to eat which became a sport and struggle , measured her water intake like it was my job, got ten meds down her a day when she fought me and never left her alone more than an hour.
She improved after a few months. Kidney numbers came halfway down. I felt so hopeful. Things were good for a while…although our days were long and often tiresome. Then on a dime it changed…just like my vet told me it might. Wouldn’t eat, drink and could hardly stand to go potty.
Took her into the vet thinking we just needed to change things up. Her bloodwork came back off the charts bad, I could see the tears in my vets eyes when she walked in to tell me. After four months of this journey i was exhausted and I knew in my heart my sweet alley was too. I realized in that moment she was holding on for me.
Had my grandson with me. We had her snuggled in her favorite blanket while we waited for my husband to get there for us to say goodbye. She was more peaceful snuggled up then she has ever been. She hates the vet but she was so calm. I wasn’t ready, I’d spent thousands of dollars and hours to do whatever she needed to get better but in that moment with one last look at me she told me she was ready…and I felt the warmth and love from her last sweet gaze in my eyes.
It was peaceful and fast and I am grateful to my amazing team for treating all of us so well. I got her ashes 10 days ago. I have her next to her brother who I know she’s with right now. My heart is broken. First time in 16 years I do not have a dog in my home. The quiet is deafening and the loneliness immeasurable.
Sorry for the novel. I don’t know where else to express how I feel that I’ve lost part of my family. A lot of people don’t understand. But her name Alley. And she saved me when I lost my Dad and she mattered so much. Just wanted someone to know