Sunday, December 18, 2005

Chewie Passed Away



My beloved Chihuahua Chewie passed away today. It was time, it seemed. I'm one to hang on until the last possible moment but last night, during a birthday party my husband was throwing for me, Chewie began to have consecutive seizures. The guests all left and we brought him straight to the vet. They immediately took him from my arms and into the back room where they administered some valium to help break the cycle of seizures. Then they wanted to keep him overnight. I told them he was a rescue and the stress of being at the vet is usually too much for him. But they let me go back to see him in a kennel. He was laying on a pad and covered with a towel and they put heated rice packs on either side of him to keep him warm. He was sleeping soundly, not stressed at all. They said they would call me if he started seizing again to decide about administering even more valium to sedate him. They didn't call last night but in the middle of the night, my husband was up and called to check on Chewie. They said he hadn't seized. This morning, though, he had not woken up from the valium. They said based on the dosage they gave him, he should have snapped out of the sedation in 2-4 hours. He was still sleeping soundly although they considered it a comatose stage. They let me sit with him and then hold him. He was limp and snoring. He didn't even stir no matter what I did to try to wake him. I layed his head against my chest and held him like a baby. Finally, I realized it was time. The vet said it would take 2-3 seconds once they administered the drug. I held him the entire time and it was a matter of seconds. I held my hand on his belly to feel him breathe and then it stopped. It was quick and peaceful - I would not have done it in any other way. Then we wrapped him in a towel and brought him home. I had him for 10 wonderful, adventurous years full of love and fun. We had a good life together. He had a good life.