Peppy Pets Pet E-letter
Dec. 01, 03
The Sad Day when Muffin had to be put down
By: Jalyssa Eliasen
When my family and I left to go to California for vacation,
I had no idea of Muffin’s drastically decreasing health.
She had seemed a little old and slower than her former
years, but I thought nothing of it, the dog still seemed
lively and herself. After two weeks of fun and games in
California, we arrived back to our comfy home, tired and
exhausted.
Waking up the next morning, I went to see my splendid pet,
Muffin, but laying my eyes on her I was filling with grief.
My healthy, energetic pet was now a skinny, undernourished,
sickly, tiresome, bony…dog. I couldn’t believe how much she
had changed! At first I thought it was just me imagining
things, but petting Muffin seemed different.
Her breathing was faster and awkward, as if she was giving
birth or something (like a labored breathing.) Her spine
was sort of sticking out of her lower back a little, and her
shoulder blades were also. She was found lying down more
often instead of up and walking about. My parents kept
telling me that the dog was getting old, but I didn’t want
to hear it, I didn’t want to hear that my dog was very
slowly…dying. I refused to believe, I carried on with my
daily activities and routines as if nothing at all had
changed.
Time slowly passed, and Muffin got worse. Her breathing was
irregular and faster, her meat and muscle of her body seemed
to be wearing away and her bones seemed to take over, her
nose seemed more dry and she almost found it impossible to
get up from the ground once she had lie down for a rest.
Going down the steps in the front of our house to go to the
bathroom appeared not possible, so I found myself carrying
her downs the steps. Muffin had even started having much
more “accidents” than usual around the house. I couldn’t
stand seeing Muffin like this, but I didn’t want to come to
the conclusion that she really was dying and we had to do
something about it.
One day, as my older brother, Jed, and I were hanging out in
our basement, my dad called us to have a serious talk with
him. We sat in our basement sofa, and my father began to
explain Muffin’s situation. We both understood what he was
trying to say, but hey, no one said it was easy to hear it.
My dad said that the following day in the morning that he
would be taking Muffin to a Veterinary Clinic to be put to
sleep. I couldn’t bear to hear, I couldn’t. I cried. My
father comforted me through my tears, I didn’t want my dog
to go, but I knew it was the best for her. She was
suffering. She was dying. My dad asked if one of us wanted
to go with him to the Veterinary place, and I agreed to go
with him. I figured that if I were dying, I would want MY
family to go with me, so I wanted to keep Muffin company as
we drove her to her death.
The next day came and my father woke me from my sleep, I
knew it was finally the day for my dog’s passing away. I
got dressed and ate breakfast. I was ready to go, and so
was my dad. My mother said her last goodbyes through tears,
she, too was sad for Muffin’s dilemma. My dad placed Muffin
in her bed and carried the bed to our car. I followed and
sat next to her bed on my left side. My father drove and we
were off.
On our way there, I petted and comforted Muffin as much as I
could, taking my last few strokes of here coat of hair. My
dad and I talked a great deal about Muffin’s passing. He
told me that Muffin had a long and grand life, and told me
all about Bible verses related to the passing of animals.
Mathew 10:29 states that “Are not two sparrows sold for a
penny? Yet, not one of them will fall to the ground apart
from the will of your Father.” This verse means not one
animal will die without the Lord knowing and caring about
that one animal. He said that once Muffin dies the Lord
would take care of her. That made me feel better, but I was
still distressed about my canine buddy. My father explained
to me the process of putting animals to sleep. He said that
the vet would give Muffin an overdose of anesthesia, a
substance that puts people to sleep before surgery. This
injection of anesthesia will make Muffin relax and very
sleepy. As she closes her eyes and falls asleep, all her
organs will slow down and eventually stop, so the procedure
is harmless and proper for an animal.
Once we arrived, my father carried Muffin into the clinic
and put her down on a bench right next to me. Waiting for
our turn with the doctors, we spotted a cat in the room. My
father and I both knew that Muffin hated cats, but I doubted
that she would move an inch to chase after it. Once she
spotted it, she flung her ears up and gave a little grunt,
but nothing more than that. The doctor signaled us to come
into the room, where a table awaited Muffin. We entered and
placed Muffin on the table, she was breathing hard and fast,
as I described before, and she immediately lay down since
she could not produce any more energy to stand up on her
own.
The doctor discussed with us Muffin’s health problems and
how the anesthesia worked. When discussing Muffin’s recent
behavior, the doctor concluded that Muffin was having kidney
failure. What happens with kidney failure is when the
kidneys do not work anymore, all the poisons and other toxic
matter spread throughout the body since it was the job of
the kidneys to clear out all toxins that enter the body.
People or animals with kidney failure usually stop eating
and urinate more than they should. That explained Muffin’s
malnourished, bony body and her many “accidents” around the
household. The doctor then explained how the anesthesia
worked. When injected with an overdose of this, the
anesthesia immediately takes affect. In under a minute, the
animal is dead. With that said and done, the doctor gave us
a pet cemetery brochure and other information. The time
came. The doctor went into the next room and brought a
needle filled with a pink-looking liquid with her assistant.
I couldn’t take it, I cried hard.
It’s not every day that you see a loved one die. After a
moment, the doctor found a vein spot in Muffin’s right front
leg, and stuck the needle in her flesh. With one squeeze,
Muffin was injected. I waited. I watched. Muffin right
away slowed down her breathing. She tilted her head slowly
and laid it down. I thought she would close her eyes, but
they stayed open. She stopped moving completely. I looked
at her. I looked at the doctor. The doctor took out her
stethoscope and placed one end on Muffin’s chest. She
looked at my dad and nodded. Muffin was dead. I wept. My
dog was dead, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I petted
her head. The doctor and my dad left to go into the next
room to make phone calls to pet cemetery places. I was left
alone with the corpse. I petted Muffin; unable to believe
she was gone. I tried to close her eyes since they were
still open, but they refused to shut. I prayed to God to
help me get through this. After awhile, I stopped crying.
I thought about what my dad had said about Muffin’s death in
the car, and how God would take care of it. I felt much
better. I stopped feeling sad. I was happy for Muffin! Her
pain was gone, and she was in better hands.
I took Muffin’s paw, raised it in the air, and dropped it.
It fell with a thump. Well, she was dead all right. I took
her head and slightly waved it back and forth, she was as
limp as a sock. I felt good. I felt happy! When dad came
back he discussed with me about taking Muffin’s body home to
bury her in our backyard, in the woods. I agreed, and we
were off.
On the way back home, I told my dad that I wasn’t feeling
sad anymore, and that I felt kind of good that Muffin wasn’t
suffering anymore. When we arrived back at our house, my
mom greeted us at the door, but was still crying. She saw
Muffin dead in her bed as we carried her into the house. My
dad got dressed and headed into the woods with a shovel in
hand, with me close behind. We picked a good spot to bury
Muffin, and decided to put our dog’s grave in front of a
large stone sticking out of the ground, which would
represent her tombstone. My dad started digging and I
headed into the house to get the video camera ready, I
didn’t want to miss this opportunity to film all this. Once
dad was finished digging, we headed into the house and
wrapped Muffin in a plastic bag three times, so the smell of
her decaying would be unknown to scavenging animals in the
woods. Once wrapped in the bag, my dad, mom, and myself
went back into the woods to the grave (Jed was at work and
Keni would not have understood Muffin’s passing.) Dad
positioned Muffin in the grave as I recorded, and started
filling up the hole. Mom was still crying for Muffin, and I
was about to also. My father finished filling the grave,
and we left the woods to go back into the house.
Elvis
Elvis was given to me about 4 years ago. He was a stray cat
who was badly beat up. My former landlady took him in and
cared for him, she had him neutered, and he had all his
shots, she had to move out of state and her son and
daughter in law took him in, but Elvis didn't like sharing
with two other cats, he would always eat their food or wait
to try and attack them.
So I finally got him for my own, which he always wanted to
be the only one. Elvis has a split tongue, has most of his
whiskers missing on his left side, and his ears are
tattered, but he is my best friend, we've formed a very
special relationship, he is King of my house and he knows it.
Elvis Lives (LOL) I don't know what I would do without him.
Sincerely
Annie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Toby Joe Kerr
Donna Kerr
I have ruptured discs in my back. Back in 1999 I was trying
to ease my pain and I accidentally took an overdose of
aspirin. I got such a headache it confined me to bed for
four days and nights. My dog and best friend Toby would not
leave my side except to use the bathroom and to eat and then
he came right back to me.
In my opinion Toby is the one that gave me a reason to go on
living because my Mom had just died also. He is my pride
and joy. Toby and his mate are dogs but they are more like
our children. I hope you enjoy this true story.
Thank You Donna
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