Today, I lost a loved one. I’m going to miss you!

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It has been a roller-coaster day for me. I have papers due for class and an exam on Monday. I had to write the paper and planned on studying for my exam tomorrow. The most unexpected event throughout the whole day happened to me today.

My baby, Simba (a Shih Tsu) was not feeling well since Thursday. It is very unusual for Simba to be inactive and it seemed as if he was lethargic. I took him to the Vet on Friday and his temperature was above normal. The Vet gave him a shot to get his fever down. They ran blood tests to make sure that nothing else is wrong, including a Lyme disease test because the signs he was showing were similar to that who has Lyme disease. Wobbly while he walks and not eating.

The tests came back negative for both and nothing really concerning. Until yesterday when he wouldn’t eat and just laid around. He will not even pay attention to Pupperoni, his favorite treat. It got me concerned so I took him back to the Vet and she prescribed antibiotics to get rid of any viral infection that he may have. I was told to watch him the whole weekend and if he’s not feeling well by Monday, to take him back to the Vet.

By this afternoon, he was like a vegetable so I paged my Vet and was told to take him to the hospital. Minutes from when we walked in, the Vet assistant took him from me and administered an I.V. A half hour later, I was told that he had turned for the worst. They were going to go through x-rays and more bloodwork but before they could even do this, he crashed. They administered CPR on him and was able to bring him back. His heart started beating again and he was able to breathe on his own. The Vet suspected that he has Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC).

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), also called consumptive coagulopathy, is a pathological process in the body where the blood starts to coagulate throughout the whole body. This depletes the body of its platelets and coagulation factors, and there is a paradoxically increased risk of hemorrhage. It occurs in critically ill patients, especially those with Gram-negative sepsis (particularly meningococcal sepsis) and acute promyelocytic leukemia.

I was told to leave him at the hospital while they watch over him and suggested that we go home and they will give us a call if anything. A half hour when I arrived home, I was told that Simba crashed again. They were able to bring him back again but was told that they could be doing this all night but cannot guarantee that he will come out of it. This from being as healthy as a horse the week before with no signs of any disease.

I was asked to make a difficult decision. “If he stops breathing again (which he most likely will), would you like us to continue to keep him?”, was the Vet’s question. By this time I didn’t know what to think. I could go on and tell them to go ahead but it may just prolong Simba’s sufferings. I had told the Vet that if that happens again, to let Simba go.

Ten minutes later, I received a call. My baby, Simba had passed away. Thanks to Lee, Ruth, and Gilbert who were with me throughout the whole ordeal. And special thanks to Reynz for driving us to the hospital. Thanks to Andy for his support and driving all the way here to comfort me. Thanks to Tasha, who with work responsibilities could not be with me during this time but expressed his sympathy over the phone.

I don’t know what to make of this. It was unexpected to say the least for Simba has never had anything wrong with him since he was a baby. He was never ill. But this disease took no less than three days to overtake and take him away from me. I am still in total shock.

I will surely miss Simba. He was the best dog I’ve ever had and will ever have. I hope that I’ve done everything to keep you here, but God must need pets up there – and you surely are a perfect fit. I love you Simba!!

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