Saying Goodbye to My Girl
Hi community. My first service dog had a bad medical episode yesterday morning. She has long been retired and is 14 years-old, and I thought I was going to lose her. We sat on the porch hanging out for the sunrise and birds chirping. She recovered and we got her checked out. She's on meds and IV fluids for the next few days and she's looking alright.
I had to make a decision about her end of life care and something people don't really talk about is the emotional and physical stress of getting her comfortable. Old dogs require a lot of care. Frequent bathroom breaks, specialized medicine, frequent incontinence and cleaning, mobility issues. I had to measure how much I could handle and how much of it was messing with her quality of life. She has dementia so I watch her blank out sometimes, but she was super lucid yesterday morning thankfully...
I made the appointments for her to get ushered to Rainbow Bridge in a few days and the cremation procedure. I'm so distraught over having her gone when she's still here. I think the next few days will just focus on having her thr best days left and yeah...I'm just so sad.
She was my first service dog and first dog ever. She's done so much for me and this is the least I could do for her...advice appreciated. I took days off work to manage this as if she were a loved one passing. Too bad the company doesnt offer grievance leave the same way they do for people...