Hitch has always been terrified of loud noises. Thunder, fireworks, yelling, etc. When we got home about 12:30 am Hitch didn't greet us at the door like normal. Instead, he was found in a corner of the house looking so terrified that it broke my heart. He slowly raised his head to look at us but didn't get up. We thought perhaps he was simply scared of the fireworks that the neighborhood kids were shooting off behind our house. I carried him outside so he could go to the bathroom but he refused to move. We carried him to our room and put his food and water next to him and went to bed. I woke up at 5:30 am to head to the hospital, and found that Hitch was in the exact same position as 5 hours before. I woke Chad up when I left at 6:15. Poor Chad was immediately worried. He jumped out of bed, loved on Hitch and googled the number for our veterinarian. They opened at 8, so Chad got ready and took Hitch in.
The vet decided to draw some blood and keep Hitch for observation. The lab work showed that Hitch was extremely anemic (hence the lack of energy). We didn't hear much throughout the rest of the day, but thought of Hitch constantly.
Thursday the vet called and told Chad that Hitch wasn't improving, but wasn't getting worse. He still refused to eat so they began to feed him with a syringe.
Friday when Chad spoke with the vet he told us that Hitch was tolerating the syringe feeding well, but still wasn't moving much or eating on his own.
Saturday after I worked we were going to drive to Sweetwater to see my sister, Robin, and her family. Before we left we stopped by the vet's office to see Hitch. We couldn't leave Turk home alone all day so we took him with us to see Hitch. This might have been one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever done. The vet reported to us that Hitch still wasn't improving like he was hoping. At this point the diagnosis was hemolytic anemia. The vet told us that in the past he had given dogs blood transfusions, but that each time the dog worsened after the transfusions. He was still hopeful that Hitch might pull through.
Turk and Hitch had taken a trip to the groomer's just a few days prior to Hitch getting sick. Thankfully, I snapped a few photos of them. At the time I had no idea that these would be Hitch's last glamour shot.
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I took up golf during the summer(that's another post), so Chad and I had been spending our evenings practicing our swings at the elementary school down the street from our house. We took Turk and Hitch, and made them fetch the balls. :-) |
After Hitch's final trip to the groomers. Sweet dog.
They carried Hitch into the exam room with his IV pole. Within 2 days he had lost about 8-10 pounds. He was still there, but didn't have the strength to lift his head. Turk was eager to see/lick/smell Hitch so we put Turk up on the table with Hitch. Little Turk just cuddled right up next to him and laid down.
After about 30 minutes we said our goodbyes, kissed Hitch a million times and carried Turk out of the room (he did NOT want to leave). The vet promised to call us Sunday morning to update us.
He called about 10 am and said that Hitch was doing better, he had eaten a very small amount on his own, and was raising his head and moving his legs when the vet checked on him. We were thrilled, and hoping this was the turning point and Hitch would be back home soon.
Chad went to play basketball Sunday afternoon and on his way home the vet called again. This time he told us that Hitch had passed away at some point Sunday afternoon. We cried like babies. Oh, the heartache. Poor Hitch.
We spent several nights in tears remembering funny Hitch stories and really missing him. Turk was especially clingy for several weeks. He wouldn't leave Chad's side and insisted on being in our laps every single time we sat down. To summarize this long post:
Dear Hitch,
Thank you for being such a good, sweet dog. We miss you tremendously. I even miss how you used to trip me on the way to the door every morning, and how you insisted on inching your way into my lap. I miss your eagerness to greet me at the door, and how your jowls would get stuck on your teeth when you "smiled" at us. I miss waking up with you in the bed when it thundered. And most of all, I miss how much you loved all people and animals. We like to think that you're running around up in heaven with all your other dog friends, and that you'll be eager to greet us when our time comes to meet Jesus. We love you sweet dog.
Chad, Lauren & Turk
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