RIP: Kasey - the dog

Kasey, our dog of 11 years, passed away on Wednesday morning, July 23.  He survived liver cancer last summer - going through a major surgery to remove a softball sized tumor.  He recuperated wonderfully and lived a great life for about 10 months.  Slowly in June he started to show some minor signs that he was getting sick.  He was more tired than normal, ate a little less, etc.  But it was nothing major.  Then, around July 15 he stopped eating.  Completely.

After a few tests, our wonderful vet informed us that Kasey had a recurrence of tumors in his liver and they were, most likely, inoperable.  

So, after a few days of thinking and consulting, we decided to let Kasey go.  He wasn't going to recover, the tumors were big and his time was coming, be it in a week, or month - he was going to die.  This way, he could go out without pain, and while he still felt fairly good.  He was losing weight and not eating (for 8 days!) and drinking very little.  The IV he was on was basically keeping him hydrated - so he couldn't come home...

It was a crappy decision to make because he still had energy and spunk, but he couldn't sustain himself...the vet was keeping him going.  So, we let him rest.

He was a great dog.  I picked him out at the shelter in 1997 and he was a great companion.  Once the triplets were born he got less attention, for sure, but he followed us (and the kids) around continuously.  He liked to make sure everyone was OK and he felt like he oversaw all we did and protected us in the process.

So, we are one dog lighter, but miss his companionship greatly.  RIP, Kasey.