Sad Day at Cicero Veterinary Clinic

I just finished euthanizing one of my very favorite patients. Eddie was a 10 year-old Airedale who I have treated since he was a puppy and one of the nicest dogs you could ever meet. He was so excited whenever he came into the clinic that his whole body quivered and tail wagged furiously the entire time he was here. Eddie would leap happily onto the exam table and submit to whatever indignities and pain I would inflict upon him, tail never stopping. Eddie's owners are just as sweet and likable as Eddie.

We got the call this afternoon that Eddie wouldn't get up at home. We feared the worst and told his mom and dad to bring him immediately to the clinic. My hopes were raised when they got here, because Eddie actually walked into the exam room. But that hope was short-lived. As I began examining Eddie, he laid down on the table-a first ever here. Eddie's heart had an irregular beat, he had lost ten pounds since his last visit, he had an acute colitis; but, worst of all, he had a suspicious mass that I felt in his abdomen that had not been there a month ago when I had examined him. All these symptoms suggested that Eddie probably had cancer.

His owners discussed all the pros and cons with me and we finally came to the difficult decision to end Ed's suffering today. It is so hard for all of us to do this, but, bottom line, our dogs and cats just do not live as long as we do. And they rarely die in their sleep. In the 33 years that I have been practicing veterinary medicine, we have had to make this final decision in the overwhelming majority of my patients.

It is very difficult, but it is the last thing I can do to help an old friend. Eddie ate treats while I shaved his leg and injected the euthanasia solution. Jill hugged him tight and petted him, as he laid down for the last time. We all were crying. Good-bye, good dog, I know you will be waiting patiently for your master and mistress over that Rainbow Bridge.