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<DIV><FONT size=2>Beth</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> I understand a little
what you are going thru, I just lost Toby after 12 wonderfull years and I made
it about a week and a half before I got Einstein. The Tobester passd away on the
way to the emergency room and it was heartbreaking. I will always remember him
and I buried him in the back yard. I could not even fathom giving the
responsibility of living or dying to a friend let alone one that has been thru
what you have been thru. I find it hard to beleive that she didn't know
something was wrong when she left. Bassets are very expressive and their owners
sense or see problems. She sound as if she was guilty before she left. It is not
fair to put the responsibility on you. CALL HER!!!! If you dont she will not be
happy and if you do she will not be happy its not your deciscion it is
hers.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Hinchliffe@aol.com
href="mailto:Hinchliffe@aol.com">Hinchliffe@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=dailydrool@dailydrool.org
href="mailto:dailydrool@dailydrool.org">dailydrool@dailydrool.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, September 16, 2009 9:41
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Dailydrool] Urgently need
advice</DIV>
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<DIV>I'd really, really appreciate it if anyone could give me some perspective
on what to do -- I'm so exhausted and stressed and confused and worried that I
know I'm just not thinking clearly.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>One of my closest friends has a dog I adore, who has spent much of her
life at my house (I work at home, so she comes here most days while my friend
is gone). Karen (my friend) is away on vacation this week, so Emma (the
dog) is staying with me. I'd really been looking forward to this,
because Emma helped me through losing my Blueberry last year, and I yearned to
have a little furry one to snuggle up to.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Karen left Saturday. She left instructions that she didn't want her
vacation interrupted by calls with any bad news about Emma. She told me
that if Emma got sick (she wasn't sick and there wasn't any reason to
anticipate that she would be -- this was just covering the bases, along
with what to do if her house caught on fire), to use my own best
judgment about what to do, tests to have, etc. She even said that
if Emma died, not to tell her (Karen), just ask the vet to put her in the
freezer till she got home.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Well, on Sunday Emma suddenly collapsed on the floor. I raced to
pick her up, and she was so limp that I thought she was dead. Then her
bladder emptied all over me. It's been getting worse every day, now
she's not eating or drinking, her stomach is twice the size with fluid, I
won't go into all the symptoms, but it's clear that her systems are all
shutting down.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The vet, who is wonderful (she's known Emma since the day she was born,
and took care of my Blueberry her whole life), has spent a lot of time with
Emma and with me this week. Today, after the third visit, she said that
if it were her dog, she would put her to sleep. The x-rays show that
she's full of something, and the vet thinks it's cancer (she can't be sure
without an ultrasound, but an ultrasound would only confirm tumors, and with
Emma's other health problems she's not a candidate for surgery, so it doesn't
really make sense to have one). She said she doesn't think she's
suffering pain, but is just feeling really sick.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I need help from dog people to know what to do. Do I keep her
going, either hoping that somehow she might rally but mostly just wanting
Karen to be here to say goodbye and hold her? Do I call Karen -- even
though she'd said not to (of course, this particular idea didn't come up
specifically) and ask her what to do? I don't want to ruin her vacation
(Emma is like her daughter, and she absolutely dotes on her) by knowing the
bad news (she works really, really, really hard and has had lots of
difficulties in her life this past year and really needs this one week away,
she's been saving for it all year -- and she's almost the entire way
across the country, with non-changeable airline tickets, so she can't just fly
home).</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If Emma were in pain, I would call her. But should I keep her
going, feeling sick but not suffering, until Karen comes home (Saturday
midnight)? Should I call Karen and tell her all the details and
ask? My mind aches with spinning, I've been up all night
holding her head up to help her breathe. (The vet did a procedure today
to remove some of the fluid, so she's breathing better right now, and she
won't need me to hold her up tonight.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I'm sorry for rambling, I'm just so tired and scared and grieving and
overwhelmed by the responsibility that I can't see straight. And I feel
like I'm right back in the anguish of Blueberry's last days, too.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I just want to do what's right for everyone -- sweet, dear little Emma,
who with a few more days wait could go to the bridge in her mom's arms; and
Karen, who needs the chance to say goodbye, and who also needs the peace of
this vacation.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>(I'm also worried that if I do call Karen and she says for me to make the
decision, I will just crumble. I'll always think that I made the wrong
decision and robbed Emma and her Mom of the chance to say goodbye. Or,
if it's the other choice, that I made the wrong decision and made her
continue being sick for a few more days.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If you can make any sense out of this and could give me guidance on what
you would do in this situation, I'd really appreciate it. I'm just so
deeply trapped inside the middle of it that I can't see the forest for the
trees, and I'm finding it hard to even take a deep breath.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thank you so much. Please pray for Emma.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Fondly,</DIV>
<DIV>Beth H. (Duchess ATB and Blueberry ATB)</DIV></FONT>
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