Goodbye Dachuny

💔💔💔 

We said goodbye to our sweet sweet boy a week ago.  I don't want to get into the details of what happened exactly, as it's not something that will ever not be painful to remember.  But he passed in my arms, in the corner of the sofa where he frequently played and napped, with no fear and no pain.  He was just 3 days shy of turning 15 years and 9 months old.  

Grief has been intense for both of us; we call them Dachuny waves. They come in different sizes, from ripples to big waves, but as the days go by, the intensity and frequency has gone down, though there's a constant level of sadness and emptiness that accompanies us (like Eeyore's rain cloud).  

It's been interesting to notice how my body is reacting to the grief.  Chest tightness hasn't gone away since he passed, and I find it hard to draw a full breath a lot.  The only thing that temporarily eases it, is watching videos of him, vibrant and healthy.  

Half the time, I don't think my brain has fully processed that I won't see him again, but I think as each day goes by, the reality of his loss is sinking in.  

He came into my dreams twice, on the 2nd and 3rd day after he passed.  It wasn't a quality time spent visit, he was just there, or I was taking care of him as usual.  But I didn't get to hold him and cuddle him, or bury my face in his fur, in the dream.  I'm hoping that one of those will come up one day.  

We miss and love him so much.  Our hearts have a Dachuny shaped hole in them 💔  He was such a good boy.  Our best boy.  We will love and miss him for the rest of our lives.

Here is his memorial page: https://www.animalmemorialservice.com/memorial/dachuny/

Some recent pictures from the last couple of weeks before we said goodbye until that very sad morning.

Flowers for Dachuny from very dear friends.

Labs comparison

7/21

7/25

7/25 labs

7/21 labs and Xray findings

 

This was just today, with him wanting to get up to his bed.  Feeling better enough to stand on his back legs, after eating heartily, alert to be super anxious at the vet this morning. 

My dad LOVES him, and is so sweet with him.  He found a sweet spot behind his ears that Dachuny likes massaged.

Some noticeable things while being here - Dachuny's cough has been pretty non-existent, except for one car ride before he had his crisis.  I think the humidity helps his cough - note to buy a humidifier at home.

 

7/28

The last two days saw steady improvement still.  Today he got 70ml of fluids, and I took home supplies to give him every other day starting Wednesday.  His appetite was the best today, he ate hungrily and pooped a lot in the morning (yesterday was a good eating day - best at dinner) 

He also has to be on a kidney support diet now, with low phosphorus and controlled protein.  Thank God I brought some of his Darwin's kidney support.

Here is the beautiful pep in his step I had been missing

7/24 -7/25 - 7/26 (Thursday - Saturday)

The next couple of days saw steady improvement, in his appetite, alertness, energy.  He wasn't running around or anything, but on one occasion coming back from a bathroom break outside, I definitely noticed a pep in his step I was really missing.  He was giving licks again, and digging in his bed, and licking his paws.  His poops were normal (though very little in volume due to not eating much).  But these next couple of days, he started eating more.  And his pink tongue and gums came back, along with warm paws. (38.1 as of 7/25).

I didn't give him another subq fluid but did get repeat blood tests done.  His Urea/BUN improved but was still high, and the other two kidney values crept up a bit (still high) but his ALT was back to normal!  So the vet said he has kidney issues (and further research confirms he is stage 2 kidney failure) and recommended subq fluids at home, to be given every other day.  I'd pick up the supplies on Monday. 

Belly bruise slowly healing

licking off his plate of Japanese sweet potatoes - his absolute favourite (thanks to a dear friend for bringing them over when I couldn't find them at a local market!)