My heart hurts to write this post. We lost our sweet Callie on 12/4/15 at exactly 7.5 years old and while the pain of that loss is subsiding a little each day, life will never be the same.
It all happened so quickly. The day before Thanksgiving Callie got sick while we were all in the garage. The next day we took her and Cash to Middletown with us for Thanksgiving. By Saturday morning we took her to the vet since she wasn't feeling well. They prescribed medicine for what they thought to be a UTI. Sunday she vomited profusely and by 7pm Matt was on his way to the emergency vet with her. They gave her some fluids and anti-nausea injection. She ate and was a little perkier on Monday, but stopped eating Tues. and Wed. On Wednesday I took her back to the vet, they did blood work and gave her another round of fluids and anti-nausea meds along with an appetite stimulant. She was severely dehydrated by this point and losing 1-2 lbs. per day. Thursday we got a call that blood work came back and doctor wanted us to take her to their emergency clinic to get an ultrasound to check for liver or spleen cancer. I left work and took her to that appointment around 11am on Thursday....Callie would never return home.
They called us Thursday and said they thought she had something stuck in her intestines, that she was dangerously dehydrated and was in a lot of pain and they'd need to operate immediately. If she wasn in pain she never showed us, she was definitely sick but you couldn't touch her and tell where her pain was. The doctor did tell us she could not believe how sweet Callie was given the pain she must be in. That's our Callie!! They weren't positive what was up, but they wouldn't know until they operated. Callie made it through the operation but by that time, the piece of fabric she'd ingested had torn her intestine in a few places, letting intestinal matter out into her stomach. Friday morning her blood pressure was dropping, by Friday afternoon they told us we could come see her if only for a few minutes. Matt and I went to see her and she tried to get up to leave with us a few times. We only stayed a short time because she was hooked up to so many machines and we didn't want to stress her out. She was fighting, she wanted to come home with us!! Friday night around 6pm we got a call that her glucose levels were dropping, she was becoming septic and we should come say good-bye. Maddy fell to the floor but was so brave and understanding that we needed to go be with Callie. Mom came over to be with the girls and by the time we got to the vet our poor Callie was just laying there. She opened her eyes briefly and we knew we had to make the impossible decision to let her go. Matt and I were with her when she left us. Losing Callie has put such a huge hole in our lives and I'm not sure if it will ever stop hurting. We are thankful for every single day of those 7.5 years. Callie went through a lot and unfortunately was not born with the healthiest of bodies, but she did have an amazing personality and spirit. In her final moments with us she did attempt to get up one more time, letting us know how much she loved us, but we told her it was ok and she laid now, never opening her eyes again. She went peacefully.
We love you Callie!!
In honor of our sweet Callie here are some of our most favorite pictures
Spending time with Molly
Her tongue
In her later years, after all the time she spent on steroids, she'd eat just about anything...like spinach!
If we think we miss Callie, imagine how Cash feels. If anything, Callie's passing was her final gift to Cash, giving him all our love and attention and making sure we can reduce the stress this will cause him. Cash goes on daily walks now and gets all our love and snuggles!
I'm so glad our family pictures and Christmas card this year include the dogs.
This is the very last picture we have of Callie. Helping us decorate our tree, this was just a few days prior to her passing. And here is a video of her and the girls while decorating....
Callie slept in this doggie bed which ended up in the corner of our room every single night. Since her passing Cash has spend many hours in this bed...not sure if he's happy it's his now or if it reminds him of his sister.
Just pups...all 3 of them :)
Callies first Christmas.
And first snow...
Best buds
Boxer pile
Callie put up with a lot in her short time here...Cash being one of those things...
She was so small we needed to get a cat collar for her in the beginning.
She loved Uncle Zach.
She helped with yard work.
She modeled Maddy's clothes before she was born.
She passed puppy class...the look on her face here I've always loved, like she hated us for making her wear that stupid hat.
Callie, you were an amazing dog and we can't thank you enough for all the love you gave us and the girls. You were always there for us, always around, you just wanted to be near us. You were gentle and sweet and wanted to please us. If you ever got in trouble you knew it and would sulk, like you were telling us sorry. The many nights you were up with your stomach in knots from whatever ailment you may have been suffering from, you'd go to the basement as to not disturb us. Even in the very end, you were always right there with us, when you didn't feel well you were still your sweet gentle self. I can't believe I'm saying it but I miss my 5am Saturday morning wake-ups with your low growls asking us to get up and feed you. If you couldn't get us up, you'd go get Camryn because lord knows she's up early. I'll miss how jealous you'd get when we'd give Cash too much attention, always butting in and grumbling for us to pay you some attention. I'll always laugh thinking about Maddy putting treats in her bedside table drawer to bribe you to sleep with her. You were one of a kind!
We love you so much!!
