15 years ago Beth and Molly came home from the Humane Association with Rosie. We think she is a Sheltie mix. When Rosie was 4 we got Snicker, a beagle mix, who was 2 at the time.
Rosie is now nearly completely deaf, has arthritis, kidney disease and is senile as the day is long. Other than that, she has always looked younger than Snicker.
Snicker, at 13 has been as ornery as ever (never mean, just getting into the trash or the pantry and trying to run away). I have always said, "It's a good thing she's cute." Aside from a degenerative disc that hasn't really bothered her for several years, and allergies, we felt she would go on forever.
Over the past couple of weeks, Snicker's breathing has become difficult, as she had apparent nasal congestion. We figured it was due to her allergies and treated it as such. Last week, her cheek swelled up so we took her to the vet. Figuring she has an infected tooth (Snicker wouldn't let them look at it), they put her on antibiotics and hoped it would clear up not only the tooth problem, but her breathing as well.
Sunday, I reached down to pet Snicker as I usually do and she yelped as I touched her face. Upon closer examination, I saw that her eye was looking really weepy, almost conjunctive. She also had swelling over her nose. She looked miserable.
Today, the vet looked at her briefly and diagnosed a tumor in her face. The options were few and not very promising. He told us that prednisone might help alleviate her discomfort for a week or two. Other than that there really wasn't much they could do to save her.
So we brought her home since we hadn't given Molly a chance to say good-bye if she wanted to. Snicker slept hard when we got home - absolutely worn out. I spoke with Molly this evening to tell her.
By the end of the week, I'll make that journey I dread. You wanna know the truth? One of the biggest reasons I dread it is what condition I will be in as I lead her into the vet's office for the last time. It's the right thing to do. I won't regret it. It will just be hard.
Despite her orneriness, she's a sweet dog. A good companion. And still really cute.
We'll miss her.
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