A Sad Story With A Warning For Dog Owners - @averageoutsider Contest Entry. Tribute To A Much Loved lost Pet.

This is my entry to @averageoutsider contest - Tribute to a much loved pet who has since passed on.
@averageoutsider holds contests often that give SBI shares and/or other rewards. If you are a fan of contests give it a go. He is so community focused and has a fabulous future vision. This growing, enthusiastic community of his, of ours is always looking for fun, new people to join us for the journey of a lifetime :)

I remember the first time we laid eyes on her as if it were yesterday...

Lady as she would later come to be known, named after the popular spaniel from the Disney animation "Lady and the Tramp" was the dog who had seemingly targeted us as her new owners. All of the other dogs at the shelter were running around scratching, barking and bouncing against the inside of the enclosure that housed them. They all seemed to be trying to communicate with us as if they were yelling "Choose me...Choose me!"

But she was different, she was shrewd. She just sat there immaculately looking at us with the most adorable big brown eyes we had ever seen. Her posture was so perfect she sat up straight with a regal air that oozed an aura of

"I'm different, you really should make the wise decision and take me home"

As I am sure you have already realised, we did just that. Lady was a beautiful, sweet and perfect addition to my young family. For many years we loved her just as much as she loved us back, unconditionally and with a complete heart. She was a Springer spaniel crossed with...Uhm...We never did find out but we didn't care as far as I am concerned she was crossed with awesome (fairly certain that is not a variety recognised by the kennel club or crufts!)

She was full of energy and loved to run and play, everybody who encountered her fell in love at-least a little bit. I remember the first time we took her to the seaside. She loved to run along the beach at a blistering pace as if it was the most exciting, unbridled joy she had ever experienced. When we led her to the gentle tide rolling lazily up the beach she was mesmerised but this turned to trepidation. My partner and I along with our Daughter threw aside our shoes and begun to paddle in to show her it was fine. She sniffed at the waters edge and finally pawed at it, decided it was safe and she never looked back, splashing, bouncing and having so, so much fun.

We chose to not have Lady spayed (the equivalent of neutering in bitches) as we had no intention of letting her out alone and she would not be bred so I felt no need to put her through the ordeal of a medical procedure she would never need. The fun and happy memories lasted 15 years with Lady as an invaluable member of our family...

A worrying time happened upon us when Lady seemed out of sorts for a few days and wasn't so interested in food, never a great sign with dogs! With a heavy heart we decided to take her to the vet. Lady detested the vets surgery and felt completely out of her comfort zone and in unquantifiable territory but strangely she seemed resigned to undergo examination as if she too knew it was necessary.

The sad truth took just seconds to confirm in the shape of a distressing diagnosis for all of us. Lady had pyometra.

The following definition is form VCAhospitals.com and will save me 200 words of explanation. (Lucky reader).

Pyometra is defined as an infection in the uterus. Pyometra is considered a serious and life threatening condition that must be treated quickly and aggressively. "Pyometra is a secondary infection..." Pyometra is a secondary infection that occurs as a result of hormonal changes in the female's reproductive tract.

When the main cause of pyometra was disclosed to us I was floored! It is an infection that mainly strikes bitches that have not been spayed. I felt guilty and more than a little angry too.

• Guilty at my choice to avoid the medical procedure early in her life misguidedly believing I was saving her the stress of the ordeal.
• Angry that all of the leaflets and books that we are given or purchase as new dog-owners contain no information about not spaying being potentially lethal.

It turns out that this is one of the biggest killers of bitches that have not been spayed, had I known this I would have made a much more informed decision.

The Vet suggested we leave Lady there for immediate, emergency treatment that could hopefully save her life. We were in absolute shock, if truth be told. We hastily agreed. We received a phone call later in the day telling us that Lady would not see the next dawn as her organs had begun to fail. Oh man! we were crushed and numb with the over emotional time we had endured. We told them that we would be there within minutes...

The vet told us that as they had already closed the surgery doors for the day we would not be able to visit with Lady. He said the only option was to give her something to keep her alive till the following morning so that we could say goodbye...Who could keep a loved one alive and in pain for 15 hours just so that they could have one final hug? We were devastated at the disjointed feeling of Lady slipping away so close to us but not being able to comfort her and guide her on her way to the next part of her journey. We told the vet to end her suffering ASAP and to give her a massive hug and make a fuss of her from us. For one reason and another we never laid eyes on her again.

Our beautiful, loving girl was gone...

Needless to say, many tears were shed at home over the following weeks. (I promise you more than a few are being shed right now...Unexpected...But the human condition and all...)

After swearing that I would never have a dog again to avoid the pain of loss. We did get another dog (Holly)after a couple of years because as we all know that without the risk of loss and grief there can be no love and that would simply be too high a cost.

@averageoutsider although right now I am emotionally wiped out, I am so grateful to you for choosing this prompt. I enjoyed reliving the happy times as well as the "others."