Distracted from the decision

Within a week or two of getting this news about the buyout option, my daughters dog, who had become my dog, since she moved out, suddenly became ill. Precious was 16 years old but still in what I thought was really good health. She would sometimes cough and occasionally throw up. Then the coughing got worse. I took her to the vet and they said she had fluid around her heart and needed a heart pill and a diuretic to remove the fluid and get her heart beating correctly. A couple of days after putting her on the medication she began to throw up at least twice a day. So I took her back to the vet on Monday. They gave her a shot for the vomiting and pills for it also. I took her home and tried to get her to eat and drink. She would eat very little and drink occasionally. She was vomiting two to four times a day now. So on Wed. we went back to the vet for yet another shot for nausea and vomiting. It didn't seem to help. Thurs. she was getting her appetite back and drinking more by herself. Unfortunately, this only lasted a day. On Fri. she had a mild seizure and began vomiting again. Back to vet for another shot. She had lost two pounds by now. I tried force feeding fluids throughout the week. But it only upset her and she would throw up soon after taking it in. She had another seizure on Saturday. A little worse then the first one. Then on Sunday, while I was getting ready to leave for church she began to vomit and went into a bad seizure. She was spewing vomit as she slung her head back and forth. Then her back arched so severely I thought it would break. She looked me square in the eye and screamed in pain. I could not take anymore, so I called my daughter, Ashley and informed her that I had decided it was time to put Precious to sleep. I did not want her to suffer like that again. Even though it was Sunday I called my vet and he told me to meet him at his office. Ashley and Forrest (her husband) came to the house and off we went. Brian D. met us there also. I did not want to have to make this decision. Dr. Cleveland proceeded to anethesize her so she wouldn't feel any pain. After she went under he proceeded to put her to sleep. Forrest then built a wooden box for a coffin and we went out to his parents farm and buried her. Brian was a tremendous comfort to me in this time of need. I was so thankful he cared enough to be a part of it. It meant the world to me. Then, Ashley and I spent the afternoon grieving our loss and reminiscing about how Ashley had begged to have Precious for a pet and what an awesome pet she had been. Even this, I feel played a part in this journey I am on. I feel Precious being ill was a much needed distraction to keep me from overthinking this decision. I will miss her terribly and will not be getting another dog anytime soon. Who knows what my next job will entail. I will have to wait and see where I end up and if it is even feasible to have a dog. Precious died on March 8th. I had to make my decision by the March 20th. So I now had less than two weeks to make my decision. God knows what we need and brings it to us in what may seem like an untimely manner. But He sees the entire picture and pieces it together for us in small doses. He knows we would probably be totally overwhelmed if we saw the whole picture. Plus, it builds our faith, this way we have to trust Him every step of the way.