rescue     .     rehabilitate     .     rehome

Angel's story is a bit of a roller coaster. One filled with extreme highs but very low lows. 

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Angel was a client's dog at my animal hospital. Skipping great detail, she was a 9 year old Rottweiler and was just diagnosed with diabetes. Her owners brought her to the office to be euthanized because they could not or would not deal with her diabetic needs.

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After a good conversation with my parents who mind you, were at their Florida house at this time, and had never met Angel before, agreed to adopt Angel. They've had a diabetic dog before and were aware of her medical needs. It took a lot of convincing on the owners part, but they eventually surrendered Angel over to us.

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Angel was a total sweetheart of a girl, and was a lovely addition to the family. My parents and I immediately started Angel on insulin, a special diet, and many different medications to help her debilitating arthritis. She was at least 25 pounds overweight, which was not helping her joints at her age. She was doing seemingly well, and lost 15 pounds over a few weeks! And my parents obviously fell in love with her right away when they returned to NY and met her!

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After a few months of things going well, Angel would go through inconsistent spells of nausea and an off appetite. We did every test under the sun, including bloodwork, x-rays, echocardiograms, ect. We did conclude that our girl had a bout of pancreatitis, which is a greater possibility of getting because of her diabetes. We treated her accordingly, and she had some better days, and some crummier days where her energy and appetite were low. 

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She was a part of our family, and we were willing to do whatever it took to make her feel better.

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A few weeks later, my mom looked over at Angel and she was breathing heavier than normal. She called me immediately and I rushed over. We agreed to bring her to the emergency vet where there was 24 hour care to get evaluated. She was on a ton of medications for the diabetes and the pancreatitis, but labored breathing was not something related to this, and being an LVT, I was well aware that this was not good.

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She was evaluated and placed on IV fluids at the emergency hospital, and was scheduled to have as repeat echocardiogram the following day. I got the call after her echo the following day and it shook me to my core. Within the three weeks from her last echo to this echo, she was riddled with cancer. 

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The sudden news broke my family and I, but we wouldn't stand for her to suffer a second longer. We raced over there to be with her. We gave her a cheeseburger which she inhaled with great joy before saying goodbye to our best friend. My parents and I were both with her and holding her as she took her last breath. She was never alone and she was loved beyond measure.

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I took comfort in knowing that Angel left this earth because there was absolutely nothing more that could be done to save her, and not because tending to her diabetes was an inconvenience for someone. We only had about four months with our girl, but we like to hope that they were four of her best months.

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Rest in Peace Angel

We love and miss you always <3

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