The McDaniel's: Rest in Peace our sweet Bruiser! 4/23/12

So a few weeks ago we decided that we needed to find a good home for our black & white chihuahua Lexi. We had several reasons why, one being that it was very expensive for us to have 2 dogs, and another reason was it was too much to have 2 dogs in the house. We were okay with Bruiser, but Lexi would always have accidents when she got nervous, which was basically anytime someone went to pet her. We found a good home for Lexi and we were so excited to have Bruiser back in the main part of the house! We went out and bought him a new bed, new toy, some more dogfood, a new brush, and a new collar! He was getting spoiled again and he loved it!

Bruiser was fine for a couple days after Lexi leaving. How could he not be? He had all this new stuff, we cuddled with him on the couch, and we snuggled with him in bed at night. We had our baby back in the house! Well about a week after Lexi left, Bruiser started acting kinda sad, like maybe he was grieving. We took him outside a lot and played with him to keep his mind off of Lexi. But day after day he just kept looking and feeling worse. He got to the point that he hadn't eaten anything for days! We decided that we would take him to the vet on Monday to see what's wrong with him. I thought maybe it was because of Lexi and he needed some type of medicine to help with grieving.

Well... we were way wrong! I had taken Haley to gymnastics that morning and just met up with Trey to get my oil changed then grab some lunch. The vet called and gave us the news, Bruiser's kidneys had failed. He had a low heart rate that never went to normal, and a really low body temp which explained why he was shaking all the time at home. They found out about his kidneys after doing blood work. He also had xrays done and was hooked up to an IV since he hadn't eaten.

I decided that day that I would ride with Trey to do his work so if we got any other news, we could be together. Haley of course went with us that day. Hours went by and Bruiser never improved. Dr. Rogers at the vet told us we need to take him to a 24 hour care facility so he can be monitored over night. Leaving him at the vets office for 3 days was going to cost us $1200 and taking him to the 24 hour facility was going to cost is $1500 or more! We were going to do whatever it took to have our baby back to normal. Trey told me to ask Dr. Rogers an important question, if we do all of this and he does pull through, will he ever be normal again? Our answer: There is a slim to none chance for him to pull through, but if he did, there is no telling when he would relapse to this again since he would have kidney disease and his quality of life would not be good and his life span would be shortened. Our poor baby was suffering. So the next question: Since we know he isn't going to make it long if he does at all, is it wrong to put him down now to keep him from suffering? Our answer: There is no right or wrong answer but putting him down wouldn't be wrong to do at all at this point.

Right then and there I decided and broke the news to Trey that it was time to put our baby Bruiser down. We were in Katy, and it was an hour drive to the vet. It was horrible traffic and all I wanted to do was get to the vet to hold him. Dr. Rogers stayed late so we could hold him and spend a little time with him, and of course say our goodbyes. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. It was so hard knowing that this would be the last time I see him alive. Our 4 years with him were cut too short. After saying goodbye and told him how much we loved him, we watched him fall asleep for the very last time.

My parent's came over and my dad and Trey started digging a grave for Bruiser. We put him under a pretty tree where I can see him from the driveway. My dad made him a temporary cross out of sticks to put on his grave. I am very happy to have spent the 4 years I had with Bruiser. I will never forget my sweet little baby Bruiser.

Rest in Peace Bruiser 1/15/08-4/23/12

The Last Battle

If it should be that I grow frail and weak,

And pain should keep me from my sleep,

Then will you do what must be done,

For this, the last battle, can't be won.

You will be sad I understand,

But don't let grief then stay your hand,

For on this day, more than the rest,

Your love and friendship must stand the test.

We have had so many happy years,

You wouldn't want me to suffer so.