A Sad Valentine’s Day

My lady, Bea.

I (Buddy the Wonderdog) have bad news to share, especially on Valentine’s Day. You know how I was talking (gushing, actually) about my live-in girlfriend, Bea in my last post? Shortly after I wrote it, Bea started getting sick. She wasn’t acting like herself, she was throwing up, and she was panting like she had a fever.

Russ and Marie took her to an emergency vet because it was the weekend and the regular vet wasn’t open. That doggie doctor thought Bea had a disease caused by ticks, called anaplasmosis. The trouble was, this doctor didn’t know that her tick exposure happened a few years ago, and she never got sick from it. It happened so long ago that Russ forgot about it, and Marie never knew about it because she didn’t know Bea then.

So, the doctor sent them home with medicine to treat the tick disease. We all expected Bea to perk right up like dogs usually do after receiving this treatment. She didn’t. She wouldn’t eat, she couldn’t go very far on our walks, and, I hate to say this about my girlfriend, but she was peeing in the house, which she never did before. I wanted to play with her, but she just didn’t have the energy.

By this time, it was Tuesday and Bea’s regular vet’s office was open. The last time I saw Bea was before Russ took her on this trip. The vet told him she had something called pancreatitis. The symptoms are the same as the tick disease, so I don’t blame the emergency vet for being confused. Bea’s fever was even higher than before. The doctor wanted to keep her in the office and get her rehydrated with an IV.

Later that afternoon, she still wasn’t doing well. The vet wanted Russ to take her back the emergency vet’s office for overnight. So, he did that.

On Wednesday morning, Russ went back right when the office opened up. Bea was still very sick, although they managed to get her more comfortable. After a long talk with the vet, Russ made the hard decision to say goodbye forever to Bea because her pancreas was just too damaged. There was no coming back from it.

We all really miss Bea. I sat for a long time in Bea’s spot on the couch after they told me she was gone. I really don’t know what to do. I am just sticking real close to my people to make sure they don’t leave me, too.

Marie says we are going to get Bea’s ashes soon and release them on a lake up north where we always had a good time together. Life just isn’t going to be the same without her.