The last 12 months have been hell.
Well that is an understatement of the century! Let me tell you why.
I love dogs! I was lucky enough to have my very own, small, medium and large, in the form of Tiara the naughty beagle, Tinker Bell the moody cocker and Mojo the handsome golden. I quit my job when they came into my life so I could take care of them.
A little over a year ago, we moved to a new house. Everything was going great. Then a few months later, Mojo and Tinker bell became sick. They were diagnosed with ARF - Acture Kidney Failure. I was aghast. I, till date, can't understand how? The only thing that they both had, which Tiara did not, was an antibiotic called Sporidex, to help with a minor skin infection. The Vet told me it was probably spurious and toxic! My anger and helplessness knew no bounds.
If you are in India, just buy an alternate brand, to be on the safe side. AVOID SPORIDEX!
A pet with a renal failure means a special diet, getting IV Fluids twice a day, no medication except a probiotic called Azodyl available only in the US that needs a cold chain. Abject despair when you are told there is no cure. I didn't give up, I tried everything, but it was pointless. Mojo passed away within that month. I didn't even give myself time to process it and focused all my energies on helping Tinker Bell. I learnt how to administer the IV myself. After much research, found an alternate to Azodyl, in India, known as LOBUN.
If you know someone whose pet suffers from renal failure, and stays in India, TELL THEM. LOBUN helped, it extended Tinker Bell's life by 5 months and I cherished each of those moments.
November 16th I had to make the most difficult decision of my life- euthenising her. I decided to stop being selfish and let her go.
When I came home that night, I felt a clawing emptiness. I felt suffocated, like I couldn't breathe. But I had to pull myself together for Tiara who was unusually subdued and acting needy. Days passed, but her reactions didn't change. She was ok when Mojo went. Mojo was my husbands dog and came into our lives much later, but she missed her sister who was there from the beginning.
I realized that life had to go on and chose to bring another beagle into our lives. She is my darling Pixie! She will be 9 months soon. But in her first month with us, she swallowed some discarded toy while playing in the garden. She narrowly avoided a surgery, after spending 3 nights in excruciating pain. I have become even more vigilant now, which means I can't leave them alone even for 1 second.
You would imagine, it can't get any worse right? Well you would be wrong. Tiara just underwent a surgery. She had multiple lumps that had to be removed. We still don't know if they are cancerous or what has caused them. Her platelet count was 1000, 5 days back. No one knows why? The doctors are perplexed! I can't help but think something Evil resides in my house that kills perfectly healthy dogs, so I have decided to stay at my parents place, at least while she recovers. I probably sound insane and maybe I am. But can you really blame me?
This is the first time I have put me thoughts to paper, about this. I hate reliving it. But I felt I needed to.
- There are people who believe that spaces can be cleansed and if you know how to do that, please let me know. If not, just resteem this post, so it reaches more people, hopefully someone who knows how, will read it.
- If you stay in India, please share with all your friends and tell them to stop using SPORIDEX. Use any of the other alternatives, available to you.
- If you are in India and have a pet suffering from renal failure, feed them LOBUN. It helps.
- Lastly, if you can do none of the above, just pray for Tiara that she defeats her illness.
Thanks for reading!