My Little Lulu Options

[Lulusmom]

Hello,
Thank you for letting me join your forum.

I lost my dog, Lulu, on February 11, 2017. She was the most adorable 5.5lb 11 year old Yorkshire Terrier and she was my life. She had been having some issues with coughing from a collapsed trachea and kidney issues and had been misdiagnosed with congestive heart failure for about a month until I took her to a new vet. She also had a bout with hemorrhagic gastroenteritis on the day after Christmas 2016 but was hospitalized and recovered very well from that. All in all, her collapsed trachea and her kidney disease were being managed successfully and she had just had an echocardiagram on February 6, 2017 in which the specialist ruled out heart disease as a cause for her cough. He did recommend we restart her on Enalapril to ward off any congestive heart failure for the future. We had a narcotic cough suppressant on order for her coughing. So after months of back and forth to different vets and resolving and/or managing her issues, we had hope that she was on the right medical path and she was happy and eating well. She was doing some coughting but that would be resolved when we got the new medication.

We went to bed on the night of February 10, 2017 and Lulu was shaking a bit and breathing a little heavy but this was not unusual because she would get scared of the weather or outside noise frequently. When we got in bed she settled down and we went to sleep. When I woke up the next morning she had passed away in her sleep. The vets think it was some fatal arrythmia or a blood clot because of how fast she passed. She looked so peaceful and there was no indication that she struggled in any way. The vets assured me after a very stressful time that it was nothing that I did or didn't do and even if I had witnessed whatever happened to her, I would not have been able to save her.

I am completely devastated and crying as I write this. Lulu was the love of my life and my first dog. She was never alone because when I went to work my Mom watched her. She was like a human to us and a big part of our family. Every day I woke up to her little face it made me smile and grateful to have her in my life. I was always kissing her and telling her I loved her throughout the day. She was everything to me and now I feel so lonely and lost without her. I keep remembering her wherever I go and even though I am trying to keep busy with work and other routine things, not a minute of my waking day goes by that I don't think of her and miss her. I also wonder why this had to happen when we just got her medical care under control and all indications were that she would be with us for some time yet.

I am really not sure how to cope with this loss and the grief books that I have read have not really helped. As the days go by, my grief seems to be getting worse. If you have any advice for me I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Colleen (Lulusmom)

[Lulusmom]

Thank you, Jud, Trulie and Moonbeam. It is so nice of you to take the time to read my post and reply with your kind words. I am going to try to take things one day at a time like you suggested. I sleep with Lulu's favorite blanket now and I find it comforting. Moonbeam, you are right that the "first" time for things without Lulu is so hard. I even look at the dates I completed projects at work and think "that was before Lulu passed away" or "that was after Lulu passed away".

I will definitely keep you posted on how things are doing and post a picture of my little girl next time I am here in a day or two.

Thanks again. Your support and understanding mean the world to me.