WEDNESDAY JULY 14 2004

NOON UPDATE

Erin reports on Tuesday's vet visit to Dr. Reeves' clinic in Tyler ...

Katie has crossed Rainbow Bridge

     Today (Tuesday) Katie was the only dog I took to see Dr. Reeves. When we got there in the middle of the afternoon, the old girl was totally exhausted and breathing very hard. Even with the air-conditioning in the car, it must have been stressful, and just being outside for a few minutes (between the car and the clinic) must have been way too much for Katie in the 100-degree weather.

     Katie lay on the cool tile floor of the clinic waiting room, looking pitiful and half-dead. Then finally she cooled off and stopped panting. Mrs. Reeves brought water, but Katie wouldn't drink. She did eat a cookie, though.

     The doctor took care of the patients who were there ahead of Katie, and then I took Katie back to her familiar table in the examining room. I asked if perhaps a couple more acupuncture treatments would (or could) get Katie walking again. The doctor didn't know. He felt her legs and feet, and Katie didn't bark at him as she usually does. She was quiet. She didn't look happy.

     The doctor and I talked about letting Katie go today. I didn't really want to let her go today, but I didn't want the coming days to be worse and worse for Katie. I wanted any suffering she might be feeling today and any suffering she might feel in future days to end.

     I asked that Katie first be put into a deep sleep, same as if she were going to have surgery, so Dr. Reeves gave her an anesthetic. As she was beginning to get groggy, we petted her and talked to her, telling her what a good dog she was and how we have enjoyed knowing her. We thanked Katie for letting us know her, and we told her we loved her. Dr. Reeves said he wanted to give her a good ending to her life. Then the doctor set the timer for 20 minutes, and he left me alone with Katie. Katie took quite awhile to fall into a deep sleep. All the while I talked to her and talked to Mom. When Katie was finally deeply asleep, I was able to hug (formerly Sassy) Katie like I'd never been able to before.

     The doctor was busy with other patients when the timer went off, so I stayed with Katie longer, thinking about her life.

     When Dr. Reeves came back in, he said that Katie's blood pressure was low (normal for animals under anesthetic). When he was ready to administer the euthanasia drug, it took the doctor a couple of tries to find Katie's vein as it seemed to have scarring on it. It didn't matter, though, because Katie didn't know what was happening.

     When the Beuthanasia-D enters the system, Dr. Reeves said, everything stops at once. The brain stops, the breathing stops and the heart stops. After a few moments when Katie's breathing stopped, I listened for a heartbeat, and there was nothing but silence.

     Somewhere across Rainbow Bridge Sassy Katie is herself once again. We don't have to try to get her walking anymore. She's already running. She's left us with her old body that was hardly working, but her strong spirit and never-give-up attitude is a legacy she's also left us that we will be reminded of whenever we think about her. Thank you for your inspiration, dear Katie.