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November 22, 2005
Sabrina (1)
Sabrina in Younger Days
On Friday Karen and I had to take Sabrina to the vet to put her to sleep. Like most big dogs, her back had given out. While the front end was fine, the back end wasn't working the way it should. It was a tough decision. When is it time?
In May she had her first bad set of days. We thought it might happen then, but she bounced back and lasted longer than anyone thought she would. While there wasn't any one thing that tipped the scales, she had a lousy last 4-5 weeks. She just wasn’t having any fun.
Sabrina was a fantastic dog. She was gentle and loving-- always looking for a belly rub. Karen and I had her for almost 13 years. While the birth of our girls was a big change for an older dog that had been treated like an only child, she managed to adjust quickly.
The trip to the vet was much harder than I thought it would be. Fortunately we have a wonderful vet, who has treated Sabrina her whole life. The girls have taken it pretty well. Of course Francesca still asks, "Where's Sabrina? Is she at the doctor?" Francesca was very attached to that huge fur ball. She would bend down nose-to-nose with the dog and laugh or scream. Sabrina would look to one of the adults with a possible plea for help.
Sabrina was a good dog, and we're going to miss her.
Posted by Rich at November 22, 2005 8:21 AM
Comments
I'm not looking forward to the day when we have to make the same decision. Our oldest dog, Barney, is about 10 years old, and definitely not the peppy pup he once was. I'm sure he has a few years left, but I'm still not looking forward to explaining things to my kids when the time comes...
Posted by: Jeff at November 29, 2005 1:58 PM
