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Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Why it was the worst day

A Golden Heart stopped beating.

This is a post my friend Leslie wrote. It was so touching that I thought I should share!

As some of you may know Rico has been very sick over the last few days. Our veterinarian believes that he had “Doggie Dementia”. This is where he will be perfectly fine than without notice freak out, stop than wonder what had happened or what he was doing in the first place. This change came all so sudden. Rico has seen the same veterinarian for 4 years now and knows what kind of dog Rico is. Sweet, loving, and the biggest baby.

Luis and I found Rico in the early summer of 2006 in the Hope Mills, Wal-Mart parking lot. He was very tiny and probably too young to be away from his mother. Luis and I quickly agreed that he would be a great addition. Mind you Luis and I were still only dating. Chloie didn’t like the decision for the first month. Slowly but surely he grew on her. From than on out they were best buddies. We lived with my mom in her small apartment for a few months, but shortly after Luis and I got married I moved to Hope Mills. The only family or friends I had were them. Luis was deployed for 15 months. Wow! They got me through everything! They saw me in my best and worst times. They always showed me the most unconditional love.

Luis got home from his deployment, we got pregnant and had our first son Carmine. Both dogs followed Carmine everywhere making sure he was ok. In the last year Rico really enjoyed playing with Carmine and our neighbors son Owen. He would tickle them by nibbling at their toes and hands and licking them until they couldn’t take it any longer. Rico was amazing! Everything anyone would want in a dog.

Last week Rico started to change. His attitude was very off so I scheduled a appointment with our vet. After a thorough exam by not only our regular veterinarian but buy another they sat me down to explain what was wrong with Rico and that it is not something that is curable. The only choices were to keep him shut away from the family the rest of his life or put him down. After much talking, research, thinking, crying, and doing all these things over and over again. Luis and I decided it would be best to put him down. He was suffering and we couldn’t bear punishing him for the rest of his life by keeping him secluded.

Today I had a friend come watch Owen and Carmine while Amy went with me to the vet. They gave Rico a sedative, Iv, than the medicine that would ultimately end his life.  Rico passed peacefully in my arms at 3:45pm Tuesday, March 1, 2011.

This was the hardest decision I have had to make in my entire life. How are you supposed to make a decision of death? Especially for a family member who is loved so much. As his heart stopped beating today a part of mine did as well. He is loved forever and always and will missed tremendously by everyone who knew him.

Some pictures of the last days and moments of Rico’s blessed life. A horrible disease that unfortunately picked him.
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1 comment:

WeeMasonMan's Mom said...

Those last pictures made me cry like a baby. I dread the day that I will be making that same trip with my four furry kids. I'm so sorry for your friend's loss. Thank you so much for being such a good friend and going with her!!