It is natural for a body to release fluids and solids as the soul
leaves it. This is true with animals and with people. It is not a
sign of pain. It is a sign of muscle relaxation. This is one reason
a vet may wrap a body in plastic. I never, ever, never have or will
leave a friend to leave this world without me holding him/her and this
happens. It also happens in natural deaths. Don't ask about releases
when a person commits suicide or even is murdered. It can be awful if
a family member discovers the body. This, again, is not a sign of
pain.........
On Jul 6, 2011, at 4:25 PM, Ben Williams wrote:
Thanks so much, everyone. It's been a really hard day for us and I'm
haunted by seeing Dexter this morning struggling so hard to live.
You've
all been so wonderful and your kind comments have really helped
today - if
anything, we are realizing even more now just how much we love that
little
boy. He was so special to us.
If I may, I have a question regarding Euthanasia for those of you
who have
been through this before - for those of you who are squeamish,
please just
skip this one:
Dexter passed peacefully when Dr. Cantrell administered the
euthanasia this
morning. He let out a small sigh when the initial sedative was
injected and
silently slipped away when the final injection was made. A few
minutes
later, as we were still petting him, a fair amount of yellow, clear
liquid
came out of his mouth and nose. I assume this was fluid that had
started to
collect in his lungs, perhaps part of the jaundice from his liver?
I don't
know - I just can't stand the idea that he was in severe pain for a
while
there and that, perhaps, we put him through it. He had a chest X-
ray on
sunday night and no fluid was visible. Or, maybe it was missed.
Sorry for
the awkward question.
On Wed, Jul 6, 2011 at 12:46 PM, Lynda Wilson <longhornf...@verizon.net
>wrote:
My heart is breaking after reading your story! I'm truly sorry
Dexter is
gone, but he will live within your heart now.
You did so much for him and he fought the battle as much as he could.
My thoughts are with you at this difficult time.
Lynda
----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben Williams" <drsiebl...@gmail.com
>
To: <felvtalk@felineleukemia.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2011 9:46 AM
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Dexter
I'd like to start off this message by thanking all of you for your
kind
words regarding Dexter over the past few days - - my wife and I have
shared
and appreciated every one of the emails - it's meant a lot to us.
Unfortunately, this morning has proven to be heartbreaking to us
both - we
received a call first thing this morning from East Dallas Animal
Clinic's
Dr. Ken Cantrell that Dexter's condition had worsened over the
course of
the
night. After picking Dex up from the Emergency clinic yesterday
morning,
we
immediately took him to Dr. Wright at Lakewood Vet Center. Dr.
Wright has
been on vacation since last week and we were told that he would be
back
yesterday morning - but he hadn't yet returned. I took Dexter to
see him
on
three occasions last week for his lymphocyte T-Cell Immunomodulator
injections, but was only able to see him that Monday. When we
took Dex in
on Friday when the swelling of his feet and face had begun, we
were given
no
advice by his staff who were unable to do anything other than give
Dex his
shot and usher us out the door. They are all very caring people
and I
don't
blame them for anything, but I feel that any vet who runs a
practice where
he is the only doctor on staff, should do a bit more to keep his
patients
informed about his availability - that way precious minutes or
hours or
days
aren't wasted waiting for him to return. Fortunately, several
weeks ago,
when trying to convince Dr. Wright to order the LTCI treatment
(which took
him over a week to do) I was referred to the East Dallas Animal
Clinic by
the LTCI folks - they had used the medication before. East
Dallas Animal
Clinic is a wonderful place. We've worked with Dr. Ellsworth and
Dr.
Cantrell there - - they are both compassionate and make a point of
taking
calls from concerned pet owners. They have both been wonderful to
work
with
and have been open to taking every conceivable avenue with Dex's
treatment.
I only wish we had been seeing them from the start. We rushed Dex
to them
yesterday morning as soon as it became clear that Dr. Wright
wouldn't be
returning. Again, I don't blame Dr. Wright, but when we took
Dexter in
for
his checkup three weeks ago and Dr. Wright informed us that anemia
had set
in, his advice was to "take him home and make him comfortable." A
week
passed as I researched and tried to communicate with him about
alternate
treatments and off-label meds. When you factor in that week and
the week
he
took to order the LTCI meds, that's two out of the last three
weeks where
Dex had little treatment. Again, why the difficulty in getting
anything
done for Dex? East Dallas, however, fit Dex in on the first day
we spoke
with him and started him on Acemannan injections. They had two
remaining
doses remaining of that drug; a drug that was very beneficial to
Dex last
year when he was first diagnosed. they sacrificed those 2 doses
for Dex
without question - had I gone to them earlier, perhaps it would
have had
more effect on him. Regardless, Dex seemed to make improvements
while on
Immunoregulin, LCTI and the acemannan. FeLV and FIV are horrible
diseases,
though, and I felt like there was something always sneaking up on
Dex
while
we treated him. We seemed to reverse the anemia, but his Lymph
nodes were
swelling. Some days they would go down, other days, they would
blow up.
When the mystery feet and face swelling started last week, he even
responded
well with benadryl. That thing sneaking up on Dexter? Full blown
cancer
-
it wasn't just in his lymph nodes, it was in his liver and spleen
- it had
probably made his heart swell. His breathing was becoming more
and more
labored and we struggled with the decision of when Dexter was in
too much
pain to continue. Yesterday, Dr. Cantrell started chemotherapy on
Dex, as
well as steroids. He seemed to tolerate the meds well, but over the
course
of the night, he became more jaundiced and vomited, while his body
temperature dropped to 94 degrees. His little body had given out
as this
terrible disease had taken almost everything from him. I say almost
everything, because when we arrived at East Dallas Animal Clinic
this
morning, even though he was being hand fed oxygen while under a
warming
pad,
little Dexter still had a playful wag of the tail when we placed
our hands
on him and told him how much we love him. Dexter died at 8 this
morning.
We are heartbroken that our sweet boy is gone and that he was only
with us
for a year and a half. He was such a wonderful, sweet and special
kitty -
we will miss him terribly. He was a huge part of our family - not
some
"pet" or animal. We have four other wonderful kitties at home who
are not
FelV or FIV positive. They have been wonderful as our attention
has been
so
focused on Dex for the last month and we owe them some serious one
on one
time right now. While all of the kitties get along well, Dex was
the one
cat in the house that all the other cats adored. He was never
involved in
spats with any of them and they all took turns cleaning him and
looking
after him. Dex was special to everyone. In the end, I wish there
was
more
I could have done for Dex - I look back at the timing of
everything and
how
the last three weeks have gone for him. Could the outcome have been
different? I'll never know, of course, but I'm not done fighting
this
fight
with FeLV and FIV. These diseases took our boy from us and I will
not
stop
until they are both a thing of the past. Its the very least I can
do in
honor of Dexter - a wonderful boy who fought with dignity and
calm, and
above all else, the special brand of sweetness that only he had.
Thanks, everyone.
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