This week has been full of both the good and the bad, the expected and unexpected, smiles and tears.  It’s been an emotional roller coaster, for sure.  Rescue could actually be described as such since so much can change in an instant.  Just like Keseff.

Keseff was with me only a week and a half when things started going awry.  He had a cough and a runny nose, so I assumed he had an upper respiratory infection.  He’d been on meds for a swollen scrotum after his neuter, which also treated URIs, so I wasn’t concerned at first.  The day after, however, I walked in and noticed my living room covered in blood…blood coming only from Keseff’s nose.

Nothing stopped the bleeding as I continued to wipe his nose during the drive to the clinic, then in the waiting room, and then in the exam room.  When Dr Houlberg walked into the room, he, too, became immediately concerned.  Bloodwork showed that Keseff possibly had a tick borne disease or an autoimmune disease.  I prayed for tick borne.

The next day, Tuesday, we went back in to check his blood levels.  Frighteningly, they’d worsened.  I left him at the clinic for supervision, for I felt it safer.  Wednesday showed that medications did nothing to improve his bloodwork or improve his condition.  At that point, the next step was a blood transfusion.  I felt that he deserved the chance, so they began the transfusion that afternoon.

Thursday I delivered Brooklyn to the transport so that she could head to her new home in CT.  Edie also traveled with me and met her new parents so that she could go to her new home, as well.  It was bittersweet leaving my two girls, as I already missed them, yet was happy for their futures.  I headed back planning to go see Keseff.

I faced a delay when my car decided to malfunction, so I waited on a friend to arrive and take me home.  While I waited, I called the clinic to check on Keseff.  Dr Horner was busy but said he’d call me back soon b/c he wanted to talk to me.  I waited anxiously for his call.  When the phone rang, the conversation led to Keseff failing vs. improving.  The bloodwork had worsened, yet again, and we were at a point where we needed to make a decision because he was too weak to fight anymore.

I couldn’t stand the thought of him passing alone in the middle of the night, and I hated to think that it could add pain to what he’d already endured.  So, as I sat stranded in the BP parking lot, I decided to end his pain and struggling, and let him go in peace.  It hurt that I could not be with him, so I asked doc to tell everyone to give him a hug and kiss for me.  He was happy to do so.  I was so grateful that since I couldn’t be there, people who were kind and genuine, who fell in love with him during his stay, were there to hold him as he left this world.

After an exhausting and emotional week with Keseff, and his euthanization yesterday, I returned today for a brief visit with a couple of other rescues.  When I walked in the door I was greeted by caring faces who told me how sorry they were, each of them truly genuine.  I was told how much they liked Keseff and how they all said goodbye.  They talked about his sweet disposition, how heart wrenching it was to see him decline, and how it was emotional week for them, as well.  A tech even told me that Dr. Horner gave Keseff a kiss himself for me since I couldn’t be with him.  I was touched.

Both Dr Houlberg and Dr Horner checked on me and again said how sorry they were, giving me their condolences.  They were both so incredibly kind, as always, and I was so appreciative.  They reassured me that we did all we could, and I knew without question that they’d given 200%.  They, too, thought a lot of Keseff, and hoped for the best, but unfortunately Keseff was just too ill.

It says something for doctors and their staff when they individually say their goodbyes to your pet, come in after hours, and basically feel for him as their own.  I was fortunate to have them on my side, as was Keseff.  You see, when Keseff came to me he was shy and afraid.  I worked with him a great deal in the short time he stayed with me, and he’d reached a point of walking up to me with his wagging tail and plopping that big ole’ pyr head of his in my lap for some snuggle time.  In this short time I became very attached to Keseff.  I know he must have been afraid in his kennel, unsure of why he was there and why he felt so frail, away from me, his new friend.  Yet I knew he’d soon learn he was safe and cared for with the doctors and staff.  So during both his stay and his passing, I couldn’t have asked for him to receive more love. They made sure he knew how much they cared.

Thank you to the doctors and staff at Orchard Park Animal Hospital in White House, TN.  Thank you for your devotion and your hearts, and for going not only the extra mile, but the extra 2 or 3.  I know Keseff felt safe with you, as well as loved.  May God Bless you all.