The Daily Fizz: Izzy has Always been so Strong!

3.13.13
I did my daily calls to vets today asking the same questions as yesterday, hoping for different answers. Looking back, that process right there is telling. But what occurred was very, very helpful.
A vet that Izzy used to see in the past and we like very much happened to be on call. She returned my call and our conversation invited me to an unexpected place of peace.

She answered my question about the blood, the constant red, clotting blood. She explained it is like troops being sent out to battle . Usually the body will send out the little guys, and then as things get tougher and the battle gets harder, all troops are called to the front lines. The bright red bleeding is "all hands on deck and the body is at war"

She shared some of her personal experiences that she and her husband had to face with their dog recently. She said they had to ask the hard question..."what would one more day or two more days add to my dogs life?"

I could feel my body relax as she spoke to me on the phone.

She then said she sees a lot as an ER vet. She sees dogs being brought in at all stages of life. She noted it is never an easy decision to know when the time is right, but she clarified to me a few essential realities.

1. Izzy is a lab and to wait 'til no tail wags, no eating, no pees and poops- then that would be waiting through a lot of suffering. She reminded me that labs will do all they can to keep their game face on.

2. She informed me that Izzy is suffering and there is pain. We may not see it, but tumors in the mouth are painful and very aggressive.

My ears were listening, my eyes were tearing, but my body was relaxing. I was experiencing a clarity that I had been looking for but didn't know it existed. She wasn't telling me what to do. No one has... but the voice of reflection and question was what I needed to hear.

I will bring Izzy to visit ginny this evening and I will say my final goodbyes but most of all thank you's as I did with her sister Magi.
As any animal lover or human lover knows, a longtime companionship or relationship , especially with a dog, fills one's life to the brim!