Posting Picture

Good afternoon. I have been able to post a picture of my dog on my profile but no picture appears next to my posts or replies to other posts. Does that make sense and can you help me, please? Thank you, Patricia

Lost My Boy A Month Ago

Hi, folks. I'm new here. I lost my 7-year-old dog on May 14. He was such a good boy and got along with all my foster dogs. Actually, he was my second foster and I fell in love with him. He was at a kill shelter and one of the techs pulled him believing he just needed a few more days of exposure for him to find his forever home. He only had my home and I only had him for three years.

Ernest used to sleep with me and he was not your typical bed hog. He would settle on one side of the bed and not move until I did. Then he'd just resettle and not more again. In the morning when he thought I was getting up for the day he'd just lift his head and look at me to be sure it was a new day and then he'd stand on my chest. Ooff!

On the Sunday before I put him down I got out of bed and discovered blood on my sheets. I saw blood in his mouth and thought maybe he had an abscess. The problem was, I was leaving that morning to fly to Florida to help out my dad with some things. My mom, the person I loved more than anyone in the world, September 1. The young lady watching my house, my dogs, and my cat called my friend to say that Ernest had blood in his urine and his poo. My friend took him to emergency services.

For the next three days I worried and authorized procedures to get his platelet levels up. That's why he was bleeding everywhere. It was horrible that I couldn't be with him. When I returned from Florida I went to see him and he looked very, very tired. He was shaved all over, panting, bleeding, and had a catheter in his front leg. I laid with him until he stopped panting and leaned up against my leg they way he always did.

I made the decision to let him go. First I had to go teach a class. I rushed back to the emergency hospital and got all my crying done before he was brought in. Again, I laid with him until he stopped panting and relaxed against my leg. I called the doctor in and as he was administering the first needle Ernest was licking at the catheter and the doctor's hand. Within a minute he just slumped over and was gone. I was assured that his illness was nothing that I had done and that things would not have been different if I had brought him to the vet sooner.

Ernest's illness coming too close on the heels of my mom's death has sent me into a very downward spiral. I miss him so much. Can anyone offer me comfort?