[Sparty]

Sparty had an awesome weekend. We took him to all of his favorite spots (and ours too)! He had his picture taken with my girls. He was even given white chocolate (safe for dogs kind) from a Chocolatier.He was weak but he had a really cool looking doggie bag to ride in. On Monday morning, he didn't leave his cage until mid-afternoon. I got face to face with him and he just looked at me with such sad eyes, then he moved his little head to a different position. My husband had seen his state prior to going to work. We decided it was time. I called the vet and made an appt. for Wed. at 5 pm. I told my oldest daughter today and she was very distraught. I told her to take him outside (it was beautiful and the sun was shining) and enjoy her time now. She came back in within 2 minutes because he didn't want to play and kept trying to go up the stairs and into the house. That spoke volumes to her. He loves nothing more then to find the sunshine. He has a knack for finding it streaming thru a window indoors. He never would've turned down a chance to be in it in the past.

With all that said, I have taken both comfort and knowledge from all the information shared with me. I plan to take him for a second opinion prior to 5 pm. The Vet did blood tests on his organs over a month ago. Based on what I have read, I want to know if he is indeed in Renal failure. His symptoms are spot on. I don't mind going to the same vet for the test. I trust him (after all, this is my only dog and he won't make money off of me if he is gone). If it is Renal Failure, I want to know how bad. When I read the article that was linked in a msg above (thanks), it said it can occur thru an infection in the mouth. Ironically, I mentioned to the vet that Sparty was licking his mouth a lot and in an odd manner that showed his side teeth. The vet told me it appeared he may have an infected canine tooth and the infection has gone into the nasal cavity. So, now alarms are going off in my head. If that is what started it....I am devastated. The reason I say that is I made the decision last year to have his infected teeth pulled and get his mouth in order. That was at the end of last summer. I did it then to make sure it did not cost him his life!

So, I think that is what I am going to do. If I am convinced he is for sure dying, I will be strong enough to put him out of his misery. Weird thing is, I believe he knows. He actually went to the door yesterday when my husband came home. My husband had posted on Facebook earlier that day how much he missed that. Sparty had not done it in weeks. And then,after barely moving all day, he did it. He was more active tonight then he has been in weeks. I think he's trying to get his family time. Unfortunately, it makes me wonder even more if putting him down is the right thing. I told my daughters that my Grandmother and their brother would come to guide him to heaven. I believe that in my heart. My grandma loved Sparty so much. She would fuss at me if I fussed at him! She always said "Leave my boy alone". And even though he was young and rambunctious when she would come to visit, he quickly went into old folks mode! She was battling cancer and would sit on the couch for hrs. He would hope right up next to her and my grandfather and just chill out with them. My girls came in from playing outside and they told me Alex was playing with them. That is the name of our son that died before they were born. After swinging, they headed up the steps and turned around only to find the swing had started back up and it just kept going and going. I know it may sound crazy to most people. But believe me, it is not the grief talking. My son has made his presence known before in even more shocking ways! So, if I have to let go of my lil Sparty, I know he is in very good hands. Instead of worrying about what to do with the body after and how much to spend (cremation, burial can be costly), I am going to put that money to good use. Peace of mind! If nothing can be done, he will have a nice burial on my property and be memorialized in so many different ways.

I can't thank you all enough. My biggest regret is that I did not search for this group sooner. I hate that I may only be a one week member :-( All of your kind words have been such a blessing. I always told people at my door whom my dog barked at not to worry, "he's a lover, not a fighter! Worst case is he would lick you to death. I don't know if yorkies make people more loving because they are so loving or loving people are just attracted to loving dogs. All I know is I've never seen so many good hearted people on one web site. Thank you all so much. I promise to update either way.