It is with a heavy heart that I report the passing of my
dog, Stevie Ray, at approximately 11.35h today, August 20th.
He was a Siberian Husky and he would have been seven years
old next month.
As some of you will know, he had been ill for a few weeks.
Reduced energy. Weight loss. Vomiting. Loss of appetite.
It was the last symptom that caused most distress to my wife
and I, as Stevie, like most dogs, would eat anything and would
spend mealtimes waiting patiently by the table for scraps of
this and that.
Recently, however, although clearly the will to eat was there,
he was eating very little. And what he was eating, he was
bringing up.
He was at the vets a couple of times. He had a gastroscopy
and some blood tests. All normal. Still his symptoms persisted.
I had to drop one of his two daily walks because he was tiring.
I telephoned the vet yesterday and made arrangements to take
Stevie in this morning for some x-rays and, if necessary, a
laparotomy.
I took Stevie for his last walk this morning.
I got a phone call from the vet at about 1045h, to say that the
xrays were OK and that he was going to proceed to the
laparotomy. I got another phone call at 11.35 to say that he
had found cancer involving 50% of Stevie's stomach, spreading
up his oesophagus. In the vet's opinion, it would be best to
deepen the anaesthetic so that Stevie would not wake again. That's
what happened.
Stevie, I will miss you. Good boy.
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