Friday, June 11, 2010

"She died"

We named Mahoney after the character Molly Mahoney in "Mr. Magorium's wonder Emporium".
Towards the end of the movie, Magorium tells Mahoney,
"When King Lear dies in Act V, do you know what Shakespeare has written? He's written "He dies." That's all, nothing more. No fanfare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words. The culmination of the most influential work of dramatic literature is "He dies." It takes Shakespeare, a genius, to come up with "He dies." And yet every time I read those two words, I find myself overwhelmed with dysphoria. And I know it's only natural to be sad, but not because of the words "He dies." but because of the life we saw prior to the words. I've lived all five of my acts, Mahoney, and I am not asking you to be happy that I must go. I'm only asking that you turn the page, continue reading... and let the next story begin. And if anyone asks what became of me, you relate my life in all its wonder, and end it with a simple and modest "He died." "

Mahoney died yesterday. Joe, trying to comfort me- says that her passing was sort of like how Magoirum died- and describing King Lears death, she died. Northing over the top, not tragic- just she died.
It was tragic for me of course.
She died of Parvo, which is a horrible disease. It is one of the top, if not the number one reason, dogs die (disease wise). Dogs infected with it have about an 80% chance of living- and puppies that get it have a less likely chance.
It is a virus, so there is no cure. It basically destroys all of the cells that reproduce fast- affecting the intestines. So, for puppies who do not have a strong immune system, their intestines are weak and easily affected, cells not able to keep up with the rate the virus is affecting them.

She started having signs on Tuesday- but both of us just thought it was a cold, she was just throwing up, not wanting to eat. We figured she had some bug in her tummy she was trying to get out. Wednesday she still had not eaten, was moving more slow, and just looked sick. I took her to the vet, where she showed every symptom of Parvo except for dehydration- which is what in the end tends to kill the dog. The doctor said that it was Parvo- and we got pills to give her. We bought Pepto and pedialite for her, and I stayed with her 24/7, giving her one pill every 12 hours, another every 12, pepto every 3, trying to monitor her water intake so she would not just go throw it up, and using a syringe all the time.
It was a long few days- Joe and I not sleeping very much since we got her for various reasons, and this night was the worst, taking her outside, always carrying her- trying to keep her alive.
Thursday it looked like she was getting better- but around 4 pm she started heavily panting, close to 5 I layed down with her and fell asleep holding her for an hour. When I woke up Joe was not home yet- and when he got home 30 min later, he knew that we would be lucky if she made it through the night. She was stiff, dehydrated, and as I lifted up her head to try and give her more water, she stopped breathing and I started crying. =[

To say the least, it was a horrible day. I only had her 11 days- I know, but oh I miss that girl. I miss taking her on walks and her innocent curiosity at everything. I miss her cuddling next to me on the couch and following me EVERYWHERE I go. I miss her sticking her head out the window to see where I am. I miss her following Penny and trying to play with her. I miss her being such a good dog, and laying down when we go in the car and sitting when I tell her to. I loved watching her be a dog. =]
It was a good week Mahoney. I love you, and I miss you.

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