Sad

If you're my FB friend, then you know that we recently had to put our four-legged child to sleep. Neither Ryan nor I have really ever had to do this before. We've both had family dogs that we've had to say goodbye to, but this was our first child. She was only 8 months old, she was the prettiest (and smartest, and sweetest) dog we've ever seen, and it just doesn't seem fair.

She was diagnosed with HOD (hypertrophic osteodystrophy) at 8 weeks old, which meant that she had some growth pains in her legs (at best) and would possibly have deformities in her legs (at worst). It caused her to have difficulty standing up for a day or two, but then, with pain medication, she got much better. She got over it. We knew that it was strange for her to even have this condition, but didn't think much of it once she got past 6 months old.

On Valentine's Day this year, she started to show signs of being sick. We assumed it was something she ate (she ate everything), but after two weeks of not getting better, we took her back to our vet for some answers.

She ended up having histoplasmosis. This is a fairly common thing for dogs to pick up. It's a fungus in the soil that becomes more rampant when bird droppings fall on it. This mostly happens in hunting breeds, because their noses are always to the ground, but lots of dogs get it, form a cough, and get over it without any treatment. It usually stays in the lungs.

Hers spread to her intestines, leading to weight loss and organ failure. We're pretty sure that her immune system was a bit weak from the start. This would explain why she showed signs of HOD.

We knew that we had to let her go. Her sweet doctor broke down as she told us the diagnosis (seriously, how do veterinarians do it?) We had a few sweet days left with Libby. She ate steak, sunbathed on the deck, and enjoyed lots of treats. Her walking and breathing then became too labored for her. We had to say goodbye.

We know that we'll never get her back, but we've started the process to adopt another GSP. We simply can't stand to see that empty dog bed much longer. There are treats and food in the kitchen, a dog bed in our bedroom, and a big back yard just waiting for someone else to fill it up. Hopefully we'll find them soon.