Crystal was my dear friend, Becky's, girl, from Beth Blankenship's kennel, Trumpet Keesies. She was one month younger than Lava, so they grew up playing and taking many classes together. She was a princess and a bit of a diva, but she was a sweet girl and devoted to Becky.
Becky called me crying several weeks ago. Crystal was at the vet, she'd just had some sort of stroke while in the yard. This was on the heels of Becky losing her other keesie, Crystal's daughter, Dora, just weeks before that to a freak accident. After some tests, an X-ray showed she had what looked like a snowstorm (on X-rays) in her lungs. Lungs should be very dark on X-rays. The white flecks everywhere spelled trouble and I had my fears of the C word. After blood tests and despite six lung biopsies that couldn't detect any cancer present, snowstorms are just so classically endemic of cancer that the options were few.
I told Becky then that we were going to go on my next day off so I could take some pictures of Crystal for her. Thursday the 18th dawned rainy and overcast. After stopping for a hot breakfast, the sun came out and I told her to come on. We were gonna make it happen.
We had a super nice morning, if a little chilly. I could tell that Crystal was having a hard time. She wanted to walk slower. She was content to sit where we put her and stay, her breathing was more labored. Subtle signs, but present none the less.
Without a definite diagnosis, Becky had hope, but if I've learned anything, I've learned to listen to that inner voice I have, and I had a bad feeling this was going to be far quicker than any of us wanted, diagnosis or not.
On the 23rd Becky called me crying again and said that our vet did an ultrasound and found the problem. Hermangiosarcoma. This is a nasty cancer - a tumor at the heart - and there is nothing to be done.
It's hard to say that at least you have an answer. And it's harder still to see the very small silver lining - the gift she got that most people never get. 99% of owners never get any clue their dog has hermangio until they find the dog gone. Passed in their sleep. Or out in the yard. Crystal's stroke gave Becky a warning that their time together was short. We just didn't know how short. Crystal passed away peacefully in her sleep the next afternoon.
We are going to miss Crystal. My guys all loved to visit her (tho she found them a huge inconvenience on occasion - especially lava who took her spot on the bathroom floor in the summer!).
Below is one of the photos I took that morning. My favorite one. Godspeed Crystal. May the squirrels be stoopid and slow at the rainbow bridge. Say hi to the guys from WooPak when you see them. And the rest of the RiverFox family too.
1 comment:
Beautiful photo, that's a wonderful thing to have forever of her
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