I just watched this an hour ago and as this video has been recently uploaded, I thought it would be appropriate to share this documentary here. 🙂
And no, I've never owned a Maglite before. I've seen them sold at specialty hardware stores but Maglites were too expensive for me when I was younger.
I found this by chance the other day. This video also mentions Jorge Salecedo, Pallomari, William Rodriguez Abadia ("David" in the series) and Joe Toft (Feistl's real life DEA partner).
I also learned that the character Van Ness is a fictional one and that the Search Bloc had to climb up that very steep and muddy hill to get to the same height as the high rise apartment block that Miguel was holed up in.
What's interesting is that, Miguel wasn't arrested after being side swiped in his Mercedes getaway car. That never happened IRL. 🙂
I've very recently put my beloved Little Joey to sleep at home. 😥
He had end stage CKD and had tumors growing in his abdomen. We discovered this only in March when I decided to have him checked by the vet. I wanted to know why Joey was losing weight by the week and why his muscles were shrinking. When I saw the ultrasound image and video, my heart dropped. There was no way Joey could overcome all this new complications. Not at his age.
Back in 2019, when he was first diagnosed with Stage II CKD and warded for 12 days for constant vomiting, his kidneys were still somewhat functioning. I did a lot of research on CKD and found that a daily dose of the right probiotics would help get rid of the toxins in his bloodstream which his kidneys could not handle. In the meantime I had also found a holistic veterinary practitioner who offered Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and acupuncture.
So I sent Joey for a total of twelve acupuncture sessions (6 per package) with a rest period in between. It was expensive, but it worked much better than giving Sub-Q fluids alone and hoping that his kidneys would auto-repair on their own.
I stopped giving Joey subcutaneous fluids at home after a year. I became emotionally and physically tired from the procedure. Sure, I had our live-in maid help comfort Joey while I did the difficult, but necessary task of identifying the right place to poke him. In six months' time I became proficient at it and learned about the various needle gauges, settling for 20-gauge as it wouldn't poke huge holes in his skin but was quick enough to transfer 200ml worth of fluid.
Fast forward from 2020-2024, Joey was in a much better condition and I spared him from follow-up blood tests. He had been to the vet again, but it was for his ear mites and fleas, since he liked to be in the garden. I had Joey weighed each time and was pleased to learn that he had gained weighed. There was one bloodwork which I reluctantly agreed to and the results couldn't have made me any happier - Joey was at Stage 1 on the IRIS (kidney disease) scale. So I thought we had it under control.
Towards the end of 2025, Joey began to look thinner as usual and I thought it was because he had not been eating as much as he should. He had always had his primordial pouch under his belly and I had mistaken the bulge in his abdomen for belly fat.
Only that it turned out that it wasn't. When we had him scanned last March, Joey had already grown large tumors in his liver and/or spleen (the vet couldn't determine through the blurry ultrasound scan) and there was no stopping them.
My heart sank. I knew that this was far too much, too complex for the holistic veterinarian to fix. Even back in 2020 when I sent Joey to her clinic for the first time, she did remind me that Joey was her first attempt with a cat with renal failure. Joey was still 9 years old at the time and except for his kidneys, his other organs were fine.
Joey's end appeared much sooner than I thought, but his heart was strong. He held on to dear life - despite his gaunt appearance, his loss of traction on the floor. He still had appetite but couldn't eat properly. He couldn't hold his head long enough and he would fall face first into his saucer of food or water.
It was such a pitiful sight. I texted one of this vets who had a house call service but they replied they needed two days' notice. That was probably the longest 48 hours that I had experienced. I wanted Joey to be rid of his suffering and pain but the vet could only make it on Wednesday evening. Eventually she arrived, with her tech assistant in tow.
I didn't choose a particular spot in the house (he didn't have any favorite ones) but we had already laid him on the bed in the spare room. It has an AC unit on blowing a gentle cool breeze as it was very hot outside.
Before that day came, I had hoped that Joey would quietly slip away into the night as he slept. He was mostly drowsy from the dose of daily gabapentin which another (different) vet had prescribed. Every few hours, I would pop into the room and check on Joey.
He would sometimes lie on the floor when he got uncomfortable in the scratch basket. His breathing was getting shallower by the time, but he held on to his life. I was half hoping to find that he had already left, but he didn't. It was the vet's job to help him pass on and leave the sad and pitiful body behind.
I also asked the vet, "Is there anything that can be done for Joey to ease his pain or his current condition?" The vet shook her head and said no. At least I had a medically qualified person to be in agreement with me after examining his vitals. No one in my family could accuse me of putting him to sleep too soon.
I knew I had made the right decision, but kicked myself for not having done it sooner.
I had already done my research on the uncomfortable subject of euthanasia, so I knew what was being done to Joey. The vet explained that she was giving Joey the first dose of propofol, which would render him unconscious, like in a deep state of sleep. Joey was already half conscious at the time the vets arrived (from the gabapentin from the day before).
I gently rubbed Joey's chin while kissing his head and whispered into his ear - thanking him for his time with me and apologizing for taking him to numerous trips to different vets throughout his life. I told him that I was freeing him and to trot into the light when he sees one. I also whispered a few verses from the Qur'an which I had remembered (I was raised in a Muslim family). Maybe they might help too.
The vet indicated to me that Joey was already sedated in about 10 seconds. It then time for his "lethal" injection - the one that would stop his beating heart. I nodded and quietly told her to proceed, in between my tears. I can't remember what it was, but it wasn't potassium chloride or magnesium sulfate. I had read that some vets use either compound but it would be a painful injection if the animal was not properly sedated. I hope it was pentobarbital, as it's considered the "gold standard" in animal euthanasia.
Joey didn't go at first. His heart was strong and resilient. The vet drew a second dose because we had to make sure he crossed the Bridge completely and not hold on to its rails. There was no turning back for him. He didn't have a proper cat's body that would support him.
I was relieved that there was no "groan" or "rasp" from Joey as he crossed. I've heard that sound twice in my lifetime and it was something that was very difficult for me to forget. My cat before Joey, died in my arms at the tender age of 1.8 years from Feline Infectious Peritonitis complications. It took me years to forget that last sound which she made.
I noticed that Joey's chest had totally stopped moving. The vet checked his vitals and pronounced that he was "gone". I heaved a sigh of relief as I knew my best friend was no longer in pain and he was probably seeing the wondrous sights that he had never seen before.
The vet and her assistant removed the catheter and bandage from Joey's forearm. It was done.
Our live-in maid, who was standing outside didn't know that Joey had left us. She thought he was just "sleeping' as his eyes were partly closed. When we told her that Little Joey had already died, she bawled and cried uncontrollably. She didn't know that the procedure was quick, or she had thought she had at least half an our to spend time with Joey while he was sedated.
I thanked the vet and her assistant for their services, showed them the way out and told them to send their bill to my phone.
That was it. It was my first time witnessing an euthanasia done in front of me - to my own cat. I didn't want to be haunted by Joey if I had left him alone in the guest room with the vet and her assistant. I didn't want that to be on my conscience for the rest of my life.
I didn't know had it in me to actually oversee Joey's euthanasia. I'm a 61M and I've always avoided seeing the last rites performed on cats and dogs by veterinary professionals. I usually avoid reading posts on r/SeniorCats and the r/rainbowbridge because they usually make want to cry.
And yet here I am, writing this post as I wiped away my tears. If you've made it this far, thank you for reading.
Apologies if this is a repost, but I've been looking for behind-the-scenes shorts of Narcos Mexico and stumbled upon this. 🙂
The entire show is so intense, dark and gritty that it was hard to imagine the actors having a good time on the set. I also found out that the producers filmed the Guadalajara International Airport shooting scenes at the smaller, Mariano Matamoros Airport in Temixco.
I have no idea how the real Guadalajara International Airport looked like back in 1993 but the stand-in location was quite realistic.