And the hits keep coming. When my wife was working for the other rescue, we came across a bunch of French Bulldogs that were dumped in the night drop at our local shelter. All were female and all were heavily bred. And to top it off, all of them had the same congenital disorder of massive polyps in their ears. It was so bad, the ear canal was completely blocked and the dogs couldn't hear. So obviously they were dumped by a back yard breeder who no longer had a use for them. And seeming how Frenchies will sell for well over $3k a pup, the person was pumping out as many as they could to make as much as they could, regardless of the condition of the pups. So we secured them and the rescue paid for the surgery, sometime multiple surgeries per dog, just to be able to give them a chance at a normal life. And one of the pups, my wife took a strong liking to and fell in love with her. We named her Honey. She became comfortable at my house and with my kids and other dogs, but she was up for adoption. People came and had meet and greets with her but we never saw a connection with her and the potential adopters. So my wife talked to the rescue and we were able to adopt her. And she was safe and happy.
But as anyone knows, Frenchies are not without their medical issues due to line breeding in an attempt to keep the breed "pure" and keep specific traits ( as is with any "pure breed" ). She started having intestinal issues and cause minor prolapsing, which yes is disgusting, but meaning there is a more serious underlying condition. So we took her in and the surgery was going to cost upwards of $5k. But we made a commitment to this dog and we're going to do what we could to help her. So we started to save what we could, where we could and continued to treat her symptoms the best we could.
We noticed she was losing a little bit a weight and wasn't eating much of her food. And what she would eat, she would walk outback and vomit. Then she quickly lost a lot of weight and we took her into the vet. She was diagnosed with pneumonia do to her aspirating on some of the vomit. So we had her on antibiotics and changed her food to cottage cheese. Something that is easy to digest and easy on her stomach. And Honey was doing better with less vomiting and such but she still had a cough. So we continued the antibiotics and we're letting them run their course.
We noticed she started throwing up just foam like vomit. And it was hard to tell because it wasn't easy to spot on the ground. And unless you were hovering over her 24/7 you most of the time didn't know. That with the propensity of our other frenchy to come behind her and eat it ( fucking disgusting, I know
), most of the time we weren't 100% sure. Over the past week or so, we noticed a sharp decline in her health. So we scheduled the next available get appointment, which was for today.
Unfortunately, Honey didn't make it and she passed away early this morning. Wife went to let her out of her crate in out bedroom and noticed she didn't get up like she normally does. Reached in to give her some pets on the head in an attempt to gently wake her up, buy she was cold to the touch.
What makes this even more painful for me, wife and I got into an argument last night over dogs being on our bed. Due to Honeys prolapse condition, when we didn't catch it, she would jump on the bed and leave blood spots on the bed. And usually on my side because my wife goes to bed before I do on most nights. So we were constantly washing sheets, blankets and comforters. And when I was heading to bed last night, I noticed a huge foamy puke stain where Honey was laying, that went over the side of the bed, all on the comforter. So I was upset, not at the dog by any means, but the fact that I now had to find another blanket and go through the hassle of changing bedding and I was tired, in pain, and just in a funk mood. So I picked her up as gently as I could and put her at the entrance to her crate. I gave her some nightly neck scratches and some butt pats and sent her into her crate. But she was reluctant to go in her crate. Almost as if she knew she didn't have much time. Hindsight is a fucked up thing and the worst super power to possess. And when I went to change the bedding, the WW3 argument started between me and the wife ( but that's another topic for a therapist).
I get it, some people act like it's "just a dog" and why get so upset and emotional over a "pet". To us, she was more than a pet. She was a family member. She was a good dog that was saved from the brink or being euthanized due to her ear condition. But I loved that dog. She was so just chill. Never barked, never really did anything wrong. She didn't chew shit up, she only shit in the house when myself, of the kids forgot to open the doggy door. All in all, a great dog. She did really good on car rides. Wasn't much for going on walks, didn't like a leash all that much. But a good dog.
Sorry for the vent/rant/long post..... I apologize even more for those of you who read the whole thing just waiting to see how far this Trainwreck would go.
RIP Honey, I miss you and always loved you
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