A Dog's Life

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SteveW

Trad climber

The state of confusion

Nov 18, 2013 - 10:36pm PT

Chiloe
I'm so sorry about your pup. There aren't words.
But you'll have wonderful memories of Jack.
My condolences. . .

drljefe

climber

El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson

Nov 18, 2013 - 11:01pm PT

apogee

climber

Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy

Nov 19, 2013 - 11:40pm PT

FRUMY

Trad climber

Bishop,CA

Nov 23, 2013 - 11:13am PT

Bad Climber

climber

Nov 23, 2013 - 12:06pm PT

Apogee! I love that shot.

Nice "mood piece" Jefe.

BaD

Edge

Trad climber

Boulder, CO

Nov 23, 2013 - 12:31pm PT

splitter

Trad climber

SoCal Hodad, surfing the galactic plane

Nov 23, 2013 - 01:00pm PT

speaking of 'yellow labs' and mans best friend in general...
[Click to View YouTube Video]

Chiloe

Trad climber

Lee, NH

Topic Author's Reply - Nov 23, 2013 - 04:50pm PT

A dog's life goes on....

Brandon-

climber

The Granite State.

Nov 23, 2013 - 05:00pm PT

Sorry to hear about Jack, Chiloe. It seems as if he had great humans to spend time with.

thebravecowboy

Social climber

Colorado Plateau

Nov 23, 2013 - 05:18pm PT

apogee

climber

Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy

Nov 23, 2013 - 06:16pm PT

Edge

Trad climber

Boulder, CO

Nov 24, 2013 - 03:16pm PT

[Click to View YouTube Video]

The Larry

climber

Moab, UT

Nov 24, 2013 - 03:46pm PT

apogee

climber

Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy

Nov 24, 2013 - 03:54pm PT

Damn, Edge...them's some short legs...

thebravecowboy

Social climber

Colorado Plateau

Nov 25, 2013 - 01:51am PT

pyrosis

Trad climber

Bishop, CA

Nov 25, 2013 - 10:29am PT

Read about this whole thread over the last week, it has helped me grieve the loss of my best friend. Chiloe, really sorry to hear about Jack. He looks like he was an amazing fog. Frumy, looking forward to meeting you and your beautiful canine friends out at the boulders some day soon. I would like to tell you guys the story of my friend.

Kayla

Kayla came to me by way of this photo, seen on the flyer from Big Pine animal shelter in the fall of 2004. I was in love before I even met her, drove down immediately to meet her at the shelter. Her demeanor was so sweet and calm, I couldn't leave there without signing the adoption papers.

Over the next nine years she was my constant companion, always bringing her positive independent spirit with me on all my adventures. She was an amazing dog, full of love but very independent and tough as nails. Her well of psyche never ran dry.

Well this past spring at age nine, she developed some little sore spot on her butt. We took her to the vet multiple times and were told that it was just a skin infection etc, she was given antibiotics and prednisone but it never got better. Finally we got a biopsy and it came back as epitheliotropic cutaneous t-cell lymphoma, aka mycosis fungoides. It was a death sentence, she had 6 months to live or so.

So all summer we spoiled her, she spent a lot of time running in the hills, eating steak from the table, and hanging out with her BFF Rousseau seen above. Throughout all the treatments, the chemo etc, she displayed a remarkable courage. She was never afraid to go to the vet, and just kept living one day at a time with the same positive attitude she always had. She must have known something was wrong though.

This photo was taken in September, it is the last photo I have of her where it isn't obvious that she is ill. Things really started to go downhill fast after that.

About three weeks ago it really got bad, it was obvious that she was starting to suffer. She never complained though, just kept plodding along stoically - kept keeping us company on our climbing adventures and everything despite the fact that she had tumors growing all over her. We did the recommended 5 treatments of chemo over four months, and then did two more at the end just to buy her some time because it really did help even if it didn't ever cure her, it always seemed to make the tumors shrink for a week or so before they would get worse again.

A week ago today we knew it was the end. We got home from climbing and she went straight to her bed. For the first time in her life she would not eat. She didn't cry, she didn't even whimper, but from her fast ragged breathing and her lack of interest in food we knew she was hurting bad. The next morning she was worse. With tears in my eyes I called the vet and arranged a house call, I said please come as soon as possible. We went into the back yard and dug a hole in what was to be her final resting place. Then we went and got her, she managed to stand on shaky legs and walk into the back with us. We sat in the sun as you can see above and she came to us, turned around three times like she always had, and laid down. I laid with her and hugged her and cried and cried. The vet came and asked if we were ready and I could only nod. Kayla didn't even flinch when the needle went into the vein in her back leg, and as I hugged her and cried she just sighed once and laid into my arms and breathed no more. We wrapped her in her favorite blanket and laid her in the hole on a bed of autumn leaves and she looked just like she was sleeping and I covered her face with the blanket and then covered her with leaves. I couldn't even see as I filled in the hole and we built a cairn of rocks and put dried flowers among the rocks and in the spring we will plant a cherry tree there to shade her.

She has been gone less than a week but it seems like forever. She was my first dog and she won't be the last but I don't know if I will love another ever quite like I loved Kayla. I still feel like she is here, watching over my shoulder...