Heartache

On May 15th, 2007, we had to put our dear Ella to sleep (she was only 7 years old). She hadn't been eating her food, and when she did eat her food she would throw it all up. I took her to the vet on Thursday, May 10th and they did blood work and x-rays on her. They didn't find anything except that she had really bad arthritis. She was put on 5 pills a day for her tummy ache and arthritis and we were sent home. She did great until Saturday night (just like all kids - they're always well until the doctor's office is closed!). She started throwing up her water. I took her back in early Monday morning and they ran a barium test on her. The barium stayed in her tummy and they found out that her tummy was really stretched out and there was some sort of blockage. They wanted to do exploratory surgery on Tuesday to find out what was wrong. They thought that she had eaten a diaper and that they just couldn't see it on the x-ray. They called me at noon on Tuesday when they were ready to open her up. About 10 minutes later they called back and told me that they had found inoperable stomach cancer. I could try radiation and chemotherapy or they could call a specialist in to look at her, but Joe and I decided not to prolong her pain. Also, they found arthritis in her legs and pelvis and in her back and they told me that it was very painful for her. Will, Lauren, and I were in the car on the way home from the park when they called. Joe was out of town on a call, so I had to handle Ella with the kids. We drove straight to the vet and Will and I got to say goodbye. She was still under anesthesia on the operating table (we decided that it would be too hard on her to wake up so we could say goodbye), but Will and I gave her kisses and told her goodbye.

This has been so hard on us. Ella was our first baby and she was part of our family. Since I stay home, Ella was with me all day and I really miss her company. On Tuesday, Will kept crying and screaming, "I want my Ella back." He and Ella were great pals and they did everything together. He would always talk to her like she was a person and she was his first friend. We have tried to explain that Ella was so sick that the doctors couldn't fix her and they had to call Jesus so he could fix her. The only way that Jesus can fix her is if she goes to live with him in Heaven. Jesus took her pain away and now she feels better. Of course, Will wants to go to Heaven to see Ella and he asks often, "When can we go get Ella back from Jesus?" He wanted to see the picture of Jesus with Ella in his little Bible, too. Last night when we were driving home from the mall, Will said, "She's not going to throw up anymore." It was just right out of the blue. I can tell that he thinks about her often and that he really misses her. I can understand because I miss her, too. She was the best dog and she loved us so much. We will miss her and we're looking forward to seeing her again.

I've posted some pictures of Ella with the kids over the past year. She was loved by everyone and our hearts ache for her.