It's with a very heavy heart that I write this. We lost our first baby yesterday, May 2nd 2014. Bryan and I got home from work around the same time, and our garage door has been messing up. It wouldn't close and Bryan was trying to fix it. Kelty was in the garage with him and he spotted someone across the street. The friendly dog that he is, he ran to say hi. Bryan yelled for him to stop but he didn't listen. And just as he got to the street a car was passing. The sweet guy tried to stop but it was too late. Kelty ran up to the front door so we thought he was fine, until we looked at his stomach. It was blood red, you could tell he was bleeding from the inside.
Thankfully our vet is only 2 blocks away so we made the short drive. They started him on an IV to help with the shock. He was so brave! Didn't make a sound, and I know he was in so much pain. They took him back for x-rays and said they would call when they knew more. The phone call from the vet brought bad news. His diaphragm was ruptured and all his organs were up by his heart, not where they were supposed to be. Sweet boy had a tire mark that went across his back so we knew the results would not be good. Through tears we made the tough call to put him down. I cannot say enough great things about our vet. They were so helpful and very compassionate. They gave us some time with him. We talked to him, took off his collar, and told him how much he was loved. We told him he could go find Heidi (Bryan's childhood dog that died a few months ago). We told him he was our baby and we were sad he wouldn't get to meet our future kids. They gave him a tranquilizer that put him to sleep and we stepped out of the room. Our sweet vet assured us that he would in fact be euthanized. Thanks to crazy people, and a story that was recently in the news, it makes me sad that he had to assure us. As soon as we were both in the car we lost it. It was crazy. How could this have happened. The day started out normal and all within a few hours our beloved dog was now dead. It was a crazy turn of events.
The worst part was the neighbor that had hit him came back by to check on Kelty and we had to tell him the news. Him and his wife cried with us as we told them he didn't make it. They felt so bad, and I kept apologizing saying it was not his fault. It was really our fault. He shouldn't have been in the street. I apologized for ruining their night, and they apologized so many times. In the midst of sadness I am thankful that there is still good, caring people in the world.
Today has been very rough. Little things have set us off all day. Neither one of us slept well, fighting with the what if's and if we made the right decision. We will not be the same. The evidence of our sweet pup is in every room in the house. From the gobs of white hair on our dark wood floors, the multitude of toys strewn across the floor, to the water bowls on the back porch. He is here. As we picked up all his stuff we are missing everything about him today. His snuggles, following Bryan around the house, being right by our side as we ate hoping for a tiny morsel. Even the things that used to annoy us. There was no one to bark when the planes flew above our backyard, or when the mail main brought the mail. The hardest part is that when we returned home from being out, there was no happy face and wagging tail to greet us. Our house feels quite empty. He was a great dog and for the 5 years we were his parents, we loved him well. He slept with us, traveled with us, and we couldn't imagine life without him. As we face it now, it's tough. He really was a special member of our little family and will be missed.
Kelty loved water, walks, peanut butter, playing with his cousin dogs, being Bryan's shadow, being the man of the house when Bryan was gone, and loving unconditionally. We love you so much sweet boy and know that you will never be replaced in our hearts. We just know that God is in the good days and the bad days. He uses both to accomplish his will. We just pray for grace and plead for God to comfort our broken hearts. We appreciate all the sweet words, calls, and texts to check on us today. They mean more than you know and we are thankful to have people to walk through this sad time with us. His picture still sits in the frame with the words "Best Dog Ever" written on it and now his collar lays on top. Night, night Kelty boy, we love you soo much!
Posts
