Sad Day

Today we had to put our chocolate lab Miss Maddie to sleep. Wednesday night she was no longer able to fully use her right leg and today her left paw would twist inward when she tried to walk. But she showed no sign of pain. Today was the first appointment we could get to see the veterinarian and she suspected degenerative nerve damage due to Maddie's age (she turned 12 this past Oct. 25) and the posturing of her paws. They offered us pain reduction regime, but also said the nerve damage is not curable and would only get worse.  So we made that hard decision.

I was afraid this might happen so before we left the house I cut up  some cheddar cheese for her (her favorite) and the vet tech checked to see what they had in the lunch room, because why not spoil her now? The refrigerator had been cleaned out, so all she could find was some whipped cream! A first time for Maddie and she thought it was GREAT, cleaning the plate! They also made a paw imprint in some plaster like stuff  that takes 48 hours to cure which is in a nice display box with the Rainbow Bridge Poem and place for her photo.

We stayed with her and I gave her ear rubs, belly rubs and gentle petting as she went to sleep. It was hard, but she had not been able to move around and was not able to do all the fun lab things she did before, even simple things like rolling over for belly rubs, patrolling her yard, greeting visitors, etc.

This is one of my favorite photos of her, she is very perky because I have a piece of cheese in one hand. If you look closely you can see a little bit of anticipatory drool on her right whiskers! I call it "Cheese Please"

Miss Maddie

10/25/2004 - 11/26/2016

Rescued by us 7/5/2008