The tough part of having pets

Last week, I was lightheartedly commenting on the subject of procrastination and linking it with the Alaska statewide muzzleloading shoot happening near Talkeetna. I did have every intention of participating in at least a few aggregates at that shoot. As things turned out, I was unable to even attend.

A week ago Tuesday, I noticed one of our little dogs, Heidi, was acting out-of-sorts. On Wednesday, she quit eating and was acting very lethargic. On Thursday, we took her in to see her veterinarian. A series of tests indicated a very sick little dog and the recommendation was made to hospitalize her overnight for supportive care, observation, and further testing. They were able to stabilize Heidi well enough that she only required the one overnight hospital stay.

We were returning to the vet hospital every day with Heidi for supportive treatment and monitoring of her symptoms, and continued testing. The doctor narrowed things down to basically two options based on blood samples. Heidi’s white blood cell count was astronomically high, her red blood cell count was low, and her platelet counts were almost nonexistent.

That combination of factors is indicative of a serious auto-immune response caused by either a serious infection or cancer. When performing an abdominal ultrasound, the doctor detected a mass in one of the lobes of Heidi’s liver. This mass was most probably the cause of Heidi’s problems.

The drug therapy was then oriented toward heavy doses of steroids to slow the possible cancer and antibiotics to treat infection. The good news was that the area of Heidi’s liver where the mass was located would have been operable with a high probability of successfully eliminating the probable cancer. The bad news was that Heidi’s almost non-existent platelet count made surgery impossible because, without adequate platelets in her blood, clotting could not occur and she would bleed to death on the operating table.

Despite intensive drug therapy to try and offset the auto-immune activity which was destroying the blood platelets, Heidi continued to decline. After six days of intensive treatments, no improvement, and no hope of recovery, the decision was made to end her suffering.

I want to make a couple of points here. First, the medical treatments were expensive and we still lost Heidi. Many folks would simply have told the vet, at the first indication of a serious illness, to euthanize the dog. I understand cost can be a real factor here.

My wife and I see things a little differently. No, we are not wealthy. In fact, this episode will set us back substantially. But we both believe that owning a pet is a lifetime commitment. That animal is a part of the family. When some serious illness occurs, we believe in doing everything possible to achieve a cure, if possible. If recovery is not possible, as with Heidi, then ending the life humanely and painlessly is warranted.

Second, Heidi was my special friend. She was my baby. I will miss her. Tawny, our oldest dog, was my wife’s bestest buddy. We lost Tawny this past January 20 in similar circumstances to Heidi’s situation. We’ve lost two of our four little girls in six months. We almost lost Suzie last November until a diagnosis of diabetes and Cushing’s disease was made and treatments started. Suzie is doing quite well now.

Many of you are pet parents and I’m sure any of you who have owned pets over a period of years has experienced similar situations. It’s hard to lose a beloved friend. It’s even harder when you have to make the call to end that life.

I’ve had one or more dogs for over forty years now. I’ve dealt with a lot of sickness and, ultimately, death. It doesn’t get any easier as time goes on — trust me! I have very unique memories of every individual dog I’ve owned. That eases the hurt somewhat. We still have two dogs and they will keep us busy. After they’re gone, I hope to take a “breather” and see where I’m at health-wise. After an appropriate time, we’ll probably get another dog.

I’d like to thank Dr. Amy Lehman and the entire staff at VCA Big Lake Veterinary Hospital for their kind, professional and compassionate treatment of our little Heidi. They did everything possible to affect a cure, but cancer is a terrible disease. I’d also like to thank the staff at Far Country Animal Hospital for their overnight backup support in this event.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This column is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman or its parent company, Wick Communications. You can leave Delo a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.