I lost my best friend on September 3rd, 2025. This was the time line leading up to it. She spent almost her whole life loving us, loving me; I’ll spend the rest of mine missing her.
Saturday, 8/30 – Went in for normal groom at 12:30. PetSmart called a shortly after dropping her off and said her back left leg was bleeding and they couldn’t really get it to stop. Took her home, got some clotting powder, got bleeding under control. Plan was to take her to the vet on Tuesday.
Sunday, 8/31 – Slightly more blood, but nothing major. Dabbed with clotting power a few times, normal day.
Monday, 9/1 – Normal until we got home from picking up dinner. Came home to drops of blood on the floor and puddles of blood on the rug, in the foyer, and by the back door. I took her outside to wash her off and try to find the source of the bleed to get it to stop. She hid under the deck, but I was able to get her back on top and tied her leash off to a chair to keep her in place while I washed. She tried to lay down and almost hung herself, so I took the leash off and tried to clean her up. It wasn’t working and the blood wasn’t stopping, so we took her to VEG in Snellville. She lost more blood in the car and collapsed on the way into the vet.
The blood is still there. I can’t bring myself to wash it off.
VEG got the bleeding controlled with a hemostat. Gave her LRS and methadone for pain, though, I don’t think she was in much. After getting most of the LRS, she started to perk up. VEG sent us to UGA since whatever was going on was too much for them to handle.
We arrived at UGA around 10:45 PM. The vet wasn’t sure what it was, but put her on more fluids and said she would consult her surgery team.
Tuesday, 9/2 – We left UGA some time after midnight. We saw Sienna in a kennel before we left. This would be the last time we saw her alive. She was happy to see us and wanted to get to us so bad. She was on an IV though, and couldn’t come out of the kennel. We loved on her for a few minutes and made the long drive home. Doctors called the next morning planning for surgery and imaging. Chest x-rays showed some form of cancer; kind was never determined. CT scans showed the mass wasn’t too deep in the muscle and could be resected. We gave green lights for surgery and waited. And waited. And waited. They called us that afternoon with a successful surgery report, but said she had vomited after surgery and had some diarrhea. This had never happened before, but they seemed fairly optimistic she’d bounce back and would be able to come home by the end of the week.
Wednesday, 9/3 – Doctor called at 2:45 requesting permission for a second blood transfusion. Granted. Called again after 9 saying there might be some aspiration pneumonia, diarrhea hadn’t stopped, but they were going to change her meds and hoped she’d start feeling better. Said I could come see her around 3 or 4. Called again shortly after noon and said their criticalists had checked on her, saw her gums were turning blue and intubated her. When they intubated, her heart stopped. They briefly got a rhythm back with CPR, but lost it. Tried CPR for 10 minutes. Nothing. She was gone.
I can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened had I gone that morning anyway. Would seeing me have made a difference?
Lisa and I drove to Athens to say goodbye. We spent a while with her. They gave us a clay paw print with her name on it. We trimmed a patch of hair to keep. We said goodbye. Made cremation plans. Paid the hospital bill and made the long drive home.
Thursday, 9/4 – Talked to the doctor again trying to make sense of it all. They don’t really know what happened, but their best guess is a clot or an embolism.
Tuesday, 9/16 – I’ll pick up her remains from the funeral home
The silence in our house is deafening. I never realized how much noise she made just living. In time I’m sure we’ll get another dog, but nothing will replace her or even come close. She was too special and set the bar too high.
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