Our beloved Armani...our baby boy passed away last week. It still seems like a bad dream...I have never felt so much grief or pain. Sometimes I feel like my heart has been ripped from my chest. Even though he was with us for only 19 months, he had stolen our hearts and became the center of our world. He was my best friend...
Armani got sick about 10 weeks ago. He started sneezing one morning and suddenly started to become very lethargic. I noticed he was bleeding out his nose (not alot, but a little). So, I took him immediately to the vet who told me he probably had a sinus infection and gave us an antibiotic. By the time I got him home he was almost completely catatonic. He didn't know who anyone was, wouldn't walk, laid on his side completely still and stared blankly at nothing.
I took him immediately back to the vet who did blood work on him and put him on an IV. For over 6 days, no one could tell us what was wrong with him. He didn't improve and the saddest part is he didn't even recognize me when I visited him (which was 3 times daily). On the 7th day, when I was holding him I noticed his right eye was extremely swollen and there was blood near the lower part of his eyesocket. When I pulled his hair back, it exposed a maggot! Or as the doctor called it...a cuterebra!
I took him immediately to a different vet (an internist) who ran numerous test on him and he finally determined that he had sniffed up a cuterebra, which hatched in his nose, burrowed through his nasal cavity, through his frontal lobe of his brain (hence the brain damage), and out his eye socket. The brain damage was permanent and there really wasn't anything else they could do for him. He had numerous health issues over the following 2 months and last week he finally succumbed to his numerous illnesses.
My heart broke when I held him as he took his last breath. I cried so much...and still cry daily when I think of him. He was my best friend, my daily companion, my baby boy. My life will never be the same without him and as I promised him....he will NEVER be forgotten.
Before Armani died, my husband and I adopted Bella and Baci to help with the loss of our baby boy. Even though Armani was here physically, he wasn't the same puppy we once knew and loved. The puppies are adorable and loveable and already follow me everywhere just like Armani always did. Having them has helped me with my grief, but I'm not sure I will ever be the same since the loss of my adorable baby boy...
I miss you baby...take care in heaven my little angel and always remember how much I loved you and I always will....
