Dakota

Saturday (April 24) took a sharp turn for the worse as I was driving home from camp and received a phone call that Dakota (my six year old lab) was extremely bloated. I immediately took him to the Mission Med Vet since they have 24 hour service and spent the next five hours waiting to hear from the doctor. Thankfully, I had my laptop and was able to chat with my mom so I didn't go completely stir crazy. The news was not good. They were able to rule out heartworm and heart disease but they needed to do an ultrasound to check his liver function which could not be done until Monday. Suddenly, the joyous trip that I had been anticipating for so very long seemed very unimportant. Despite the fact that Shaunda and David were kind enough to tell me to do what I needed to do, I didn't feel like I could change our schedule. There were so many hurdles to jump to get their pets ready to fly and I didn't want to have to do it all again - for a third time! My two roomies and my best friend, Lesa, were willing to help me out so I left Dakota in their hands. It was really hard to leave. I prayed for a miracle but on Monday we found out that he did indeed have liver disease. It's just a matter of time but since he isn't acting sick, we decided to try some meds to see if we could keep him feeling good at least until I get home. If my dear baby has to be put down, I want to be the one to hold him until he takes his very last breath. On May 5, I received word that his energy is up and he seems to be acting like his old self. It was the best day I have had so far!