[Dailydrool] Basil Houndini Baker-ATB

[Baker, Edith - BLS]

At about 3:15 pm, on Sunday (April 25, 2010), our sweet Basil was helped
to go to the Bridge. Basil was suffering from renal failure for the past
2 years. We were giving him subcutaneous fluids on a nightly basis. We
are so grateful for modern medicine for allowing Basil (who loved life
and all living beings) to be with us on Earth that much longer. When he
was diagnosed with renal failure, I promised him that as long as he
wanted to live, I would help him stay alive. The last year of his life
was hard on us humans. He lost control of his bladder and he became
incontinent. He tried not to do it the house but 75% of the time he
didn't make it. Now that he is at the Bridge, my carpets will need to be
replaced or, at least, be cleaned thoroughly. The last months of his
life, he lost control of his bowels. Yes, we cleaned so much after him.
I remember one day, during my weekly shower with him (I washed him while
I was showering, because, due to his incontinence during sleep, his
entire was urine soaked and he just smelled bad), he lost control of his
bowels. I looked at him, as I was disposing of his stools down the
drain, and realized that I must love him a lot for putting up with his
lack of control. And yes, I did love him. There will never, ever be
another Basil.

I was hoping that Basil would go to the Bridge under his own terms. I
didn't cherish that I might wake up one day and find him gone. But I
think truly that's what he wanted, too. My vet told me (and I know from
past experience) that when it will be time to go, he will let me know.
So, for the past three days, he refused to eat. Not even cold cuts would
whet his appetite. Yesterday, he lost some control of his legs. He could
not walk on the kitchen floor without doing a spread eagle with his hind
legs. This morning, Basil woke us up with his loud whimpering. He was
whimpering all day long. He wouldn't drink, wouldn't move, except to
thrash his head or to move his legs as if he were running. We took him
to the 24-hour emergency vet service. While on the way there, he soiled
himself. The stool was tar black. The vet said that more than likely he
was suffering some internal intestinal bleeding. It was time to let him
go to the Rainbow Bridge. Please hug your pets extra hard today!

If you are interested in reading more about Basil, I have numerous
entries about him and his illness in my blog:
http://spicedogs.livejournal.com/tag/basil

Edith and the remaining Spices