 Lost my little boy Leo
I lost my little boy Leo this week. He was a 7-month old teacup yorkie who was the absolute light of life. He was brought home on Christmas Eve and passed away Wednesday. I had my little guy for less than 2 1/2 months but the joy and happiness and laughs he brought into our home was immeasurable.
In a nutshell, Leo developed a cough a few days after being home. The vet determined it to be Kennel Cough. He was treated with all sorts of antibiotics but his cough never really went away. Mind you, during this whole time he was active, eating, and played all the time. About 2 weeks ago, we went back to the vet, she took x-rays and found that his lungs were congested. We tried a strong antibiotic for 10 days but it didn't work. She suggested that at that point we see a specialist in respiratory diseases for dogs. This past Tuesday, we brought him to the specialist in NYC who was going to put him on even stronger antibiotics but also wanted to do more x-rays, take some blood, and do a tracheal wash. We agreed to everything including the wash which involves sedation and putting tubes into the dogs lungs, injecting saline solution and sucking it back out to have it examined so they know exactly the type of bacteria they're dealing with. We were warned about the procedures but were told that negative side effects were rare. We had been told by our original vet that they would never give him any type of anesthesia because of the cough. We were concerned about that but were reassured it should be okay.
After walking around the city for a few hours, the doctor called me to come back. Leo was not fairing very well after the procedure. She thought it would be best to keep him overnight and then I could take him home the next day. Poor Leo looked terrible. He was out of it from the anesthesia and crying the entire time we held him. The next morning I get a call from the doctor, Leo had gone downhill overnight. He was in an oxygen tank and had fluid building in his lungs. An after-effect, I was told, of the tracheal wash. We visited him around noon and he knew who we were. He was weak but was responsive to us. We could only visit for 5 minutes since he was in ICU. We were told to come back for a second visit later. We did. He looked awful. My partner reached in to pet him and he collapsed. We were ushered out of the room. Needless to say, Leo had gotten incredibly worse. At that point, there was only the humane thing left to do.
I was supposed to have brought my baby home Wednesday but instead I had to put him to sleep. He only went in for some tests but never came back out. I miss my little boy and have been crying for 5 days straight. I can barely sleep, didn't go to work. I can't believe this happened. His toys are still waiting or him. I've never had my heart break like this in my entire life. He was a baby, he still had baby teeth but yet he's gone. I'll always miss the way he licked my face, always happy to see me walk though the door. There's a hole in my heart that feels like it will never go away. I'm sorry I wrote a book but I just wanted everyone to know about Leo, how he left so suddenly this week, and most importantly how much I loved him and still do.
I need to let the world know that Leo existed. He may have only been in this world for 7 months, but he was here...he lived and breathed...he touched so many lives in his short time. He taught me about friendship and unconditional love. He showed me that I was capable of a love so deep and profound, that my heart is breaking in a million pieces right now...I loved him more than life itself. I've attached a picture of my little angel for everyone to see. I love you Leo. |