Toby, My Heart Dog
One week ago, Toby’s CHF worsened quickly. He refused to eat. No more dancing and barking in the morning. Panting occasionally, coughing and gagging intermittently. We have been monitoring for six months since he came home from his annual cardiology appointment with a Holter monitor.
Of course, this had to happen on a weekend when all of his care teams were closed! VEG ER animal hospital was extraordinary, but just as we had been told by his cardiologist in March, his heart was enlarged, and now his lungs were filling. By Monday morning wee hours, Toby died in my arms. Gutted is exactly how we feel and is a perfectly English word to describe the loss of my English Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Too soon! We expected this path to be longer, four years longer!
My long-planned retreat starts Wednesday and I have decided to keep it and go. If it’s quiet enough I will stay, pray, sketch, grieve, and perhaps be able to know where I go from here. Hug your babies and take them with you wherever you go. You are their everything!
