Zoe's Conclusion

Well I am sure most of you know by now but Zoe passed away on August 18, 2008. It was Monday morning and we were taking her into the vet to get some blood work done because it had been a full week since she had eaten anything and she was going down hill pretty fast. Before we left I took her outside to potty and she laid down in the grass facing away from the house. I let her lay out there until we were ready to leave because she seemed to enjoy it.

On our way to the vet she sat by the window and stuck her head out like she always did. Paul and I thought this was a good sign because for the past few days we couldn't get her interested in anything. When we arrived at the vet Paul had to carry Zoe inside because she was so weak and was obviously scared of this place. Once inside, a vet tech came to get Zoe. Zoe didn't want to go so the woman had to practically drag Zoe into the back. Paul and I were then led into a room to speak with the vet. Our vet, Dr. Peterson, came in after looking at Zoe and told us he would be doing some blood work because Zoe was very sick. He was then called out of the office by someone and returned momentarily. He said "Zoe has just arrested, they are doing CPR on her."

He left us in the room and came back about five minutes later and said that nothing they were doing was working and they had stopped resuscitation.

Needless to say, that was the worst day of my life and today is the second worst day of my life. I have suffered a great deal of losses in my life of people that I loved, but somewhere in the back of my mind it was always somewhat expected. The possibility that Zoe could die never crossed my mind. And when it happened it felt like my heart was pulled from my chest and now there is just a big, empty space where it used to be and it is the most unbearable pain I have ever known. Zoe was a light that brightened every one's life that she touched. She was nothing but goodness and love and now she is gone.

The Dr. did blood work after she had passed and he said that she was in kidney failure and her potassium levels were extremely high, which is why she went into cardiac arrest. He attributes her kidney failure to one of the drugs she was given during the course of her surgeries. He said that about .02% of dogs have this kind of reaction and it is extremely rare. He told us that even if he had diagnosed the problem sooner there was a very small chance that he could have reversed the damage.

So Zoe just got really unlucky. When we took her in for her second surgery the Dr told us that in all of his 20 years of performing these surgeries, he had seen a bent plate like Zoe's only a handful of times and that she probably just took an unlucky jump which bent the plate.

I don't really know what else to say. Everyone who knew Zoe loved her. I don't need to write about what an amazing dog she was because everyone who reads this blog already knows. She was always there, always with us. I know Paul and I are not the only ones who are going to miss her. The only regret that I have about her time here was that it wasn't enough. She had another 10 years to give us but fate had another plan.

I love you Zoe. Thank you for being a part of my life. You found your way to a place in my heart that dogs just aren't suppose to find. I think I loved you from the minute I met you and I promise I'll never stop.