I am so sorry

Yesterday was a very bad day for rescue dogs.

I hate, gentle readers, I just hate to have to share this with you, but I feel it would be somehow dishonest not to.

Last evening, Matt called with the very sad news that Elsa/Shelby had died. She was undergoing her heartworm treatment (they had opted for the more gentle six month treatment, due to her heart enlargement) and things were going well. Then she came in season, only to find she had pyometra. They had no option but to do emergency surgery.

She seemed to be doing fine post op, but while she was still recovering at the vet's, she started to hemorrhage intra-abdominally (a common complication of pyo surgery) and had to have a second emergency surgery. Unfortunately, because her liver and kidneys were compromised from her malnutrition and/or the heartworm infection, she was unable to recover from the second surgery, going into multi system failure.

Molly and Matt were with her, and, after hearing the news from the vet that her situation was quite hopeless, they had just made the decision to end her suffering. Practically at that moment, Elsa simply laid her head down and stopped breathing. She probably had an embolism, or she maybe knew that it was OK to stop fighting and rest.

Please, dear readers, hold Molly and Matt, and Deb and Merle in your hearts. I pray those four good people are able to take significant comfort in the great good they did for this dog. Elsa/Shelby knew love and pampering and couches and sleeping in bed and good food and treats and play and more love. Dogs don't know time, but they do know love. And thanks to those good people, Elsa/Shelby knew an infinite love.

hug your precious hounds