Ok, that was difficult. I've had to put down cats before and everyone gets a little sad, but those were never like what we went through last night. First off, the dog was in horrible shape. When I went home for lunch yesterday, she was just standing around in too much pain to even get herself positioned on the floor to lay down. She couldn't even bend her head over to get a drink of water. I filled a separate bowl and raised it up to mouth level for her but she wouldn't take a drink that way. I let her out back and she just wandered around and she had difficulty maneuvering the single step up into the house when she came back in. She was clearly ready to go.
Around 5:20 we loaded her into the car. I drove the short distance to the vet, paid and signed paperwork, and drove her around to a separate space behind the building where they do the euthanizations (this is a nice place.) We got a muzzle on her and the assistant guy picked her up out of the car and carried her inside. This is a dog who would never let you pick her ass up under any circumstances and she didn't even resist. She weighed in at 24 pounds and change, a far cry from the 40-45 pounds she weighed in her prime. I'm not kidding when I say she was a bag of bones. We laid her down on her side on the examination table and she stayed there. Again, something she would never do before. She was breathing heavy but we kept her calm. The assistant left to give us some time.
That's when Mrs Tit and Titette started losing their shit. I expected Titette to be upset over it all, but I didn't think Mrs Tit would have such a problem based on how the cats brought a sniffle and maybe a single tear from her. Both were a mess. Tit Jr is a chip off the old block, so he tends to deal with this kind of stuff with humor, and I tried to explain the gravity of the moment with him. He understood but kept on with his way. He eventually asked if he could wait outside. Titette wanted to be there so the rest of us stayed.
The doctor came in and explained what was going to happen. He stated that the medicine takes about 10-15 seconds to knock her out and that it ceases all brain activity first, while the heart stops shortly after. In between the two, there may be some sudden movement from the dog, but it's completely natural. He reiterated this several times so we would understand, which was a good thing.
He got the needle ready, and the assistant held her down. The doctor stuck the needle into a vein on her front leg, drew a little blood into the syringe, and plunged her fate into her body. She resisted a bit, but we comforted her and assured it would be alright. I got down to eye level with her and looked right at her, scratching her head and telling her it would be okay. Then slowly, the life left her eyes and she was gone.
The doctor left, giving us some time again, and everyone was still a mess. I asked Tit Jr if he wanted to come back in to say one more goodbye, and he did. That's when the dog started moving. If you've never had to put an animal down, then you might not know that their eyes don't close when they go. That's creep factor #1. #2 is the sudden muscle movements, and the combination of the two makes you think the animal is still alive for a moment. I've seen her make the same movements while she was asleep, and it seemed like she was still there. I looked at Tit Jr and suddenly his face was flushed. He was on the verge of tears, but he held them back and asked to go back outside. I made a mental note to talk to him about it later.
The doctor came back in, listened for a heartbeat, and found none. As time went on, the involuntary movements decreased. She eventually looked like a dead dog on an examination table. We removed her muzzle and collar and took them with us when we left her behind. We said a thanks to the doctor and his assistant, got in our car, and drove away.
Then we went and got tacos.
Epilogue: As the night proceeded forward, the mood around the house lightened quite a bit. Titette, who is a normal 13-year-old loaded to the gills with attitude, was in a good mood as the night wore on (after a pillow throwing episode when we first got home.) We hung out, laughed, etc. as things returned to normal. It was strange to not have the dog in the vicinity of our activity, but we accept it and we are moving on. She was a good one. We loved her a lot and we'll miss her.
This is my shout-out to you, Ginger. Break 'em off some.
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