So, ten months after my McCarthy died at the good old age of 14 years, my beloved Higgy said goodbye at nearly 15 years of age.
Similarly, Higgy’s passing came as a surprise. He was living happily as an elderly dog and had been such a wonderful companion through my unexpected doctor-caused injury. One day he started coughing more than he had before – I was used to the bouts of “honking” as he had the typical collapsing trachea which is common in the Yorkie breed. I kept a close eye on him that day. The coughing worsened and then his breathing became laboured. I contacted his vet and took him in immediately. She was concerned about the breathing as it seemed he had fluid on his lungs. She gave him a prednisone injection as a first step, but a few hours later he wasn’t any better so I rushed him to the animal hospital where he was admitted.
A batch of x-rays was undertaken which revealed the fluid on his lungs, but also an enlarged heart. The vet gave him oxygen and kept him in the oxygen tank for the night and administered diuretic medication to help eliminate the fluid retention. The next morning he was slightly better, but by that afternoon when I visited him, he had regressed. I knew he wasn’t going to pull through, I think he knew it too as he ambled towards me as I stood at the oxygen-enriched cage and held him. I couldn’t bare seeing him suffering like that and inwardly decided that if there was no improvement within two hours I would have to make the incredibly difficult decision to euthenise him.
I could, unfortunately, not stay with Higgy any longer as the hospital visiting hours had long passed and the vet asked me to please leave as they had to attend to the animals. I left with a very sore heart and not an hour later I received the dreaded call that Higgy’s heart had stopped and he had passed.
In my eyes, it is one of the worst experiences in the world to lose one’s beloved pet who you have loved and received unconditional love back for so many years. I don’t think it gets easier no matter how many times one goes through the experience, but the memories live on and I know my life was all the richer for sharing so many years with my two beloved Yorkies. I swore that day that I would not adopt another pet EVER and in a way that was true, except I did not swear that a pet would not adopt me….