A Very Sad Day!

We lost our sweet Kate, who turned 13 last May!

Yesterday we had an easy ride down the Cumberland River, 110 miles from Gallatin to Clarksville, and never had to wait for either of the two locks. We tied up at Clarksville Marina since it was going down to freezing at night. Around 4:15 we were going to take Kate for a walk. She didn't quite make the jump from the bottom step to the dock. She was hanging on by her front legs, and I pulled her up. Immediately she walked very stiffly, favoring her right hind leg. Her head was down near the ground, and her tail was straight out. Very strange posture….she walked up to the grass, and after 10 minutes refused to walk any more. A lady named Patty, walking by, offered to get her car and call her vet. A young man helped Don carry Kate to the parking area. Such acts of kindness will never be forgotten...

X-rays and ultra-sound were done, but nothing definite could be assessed. Kate was totally unresponsive. They recommended Emergency Veterinary Specialists in Nashville that had better diagnostic tools like c/t scans. We were told to get Kate there as quickly as possible, and I didn't tell Don that the vet said she could die on the way. By 6 pm he was busy getting a rental car to drive the 50+ miles. 

When we finally arrived, she was alive but still unresponsive, and we were told they would assess her thoroughly, giving her fluids and meds during the night. In the morning they would have a better picture of what was wrong. We came back to the boat, and our phone rang around 9 telling us that x-rays revealed a ruptured bladder that was usually an easy fix.

However, the surgery had to be done ASAP because the fluid in her abdomen contained urine plus huge amounts of bacteria. There was more going on than a bladder tear. Her white blood cell count was practically zero...she was so septic she wouldn't have lasted the night. During surgery they called us around 1 am…highly recommending that we euthanize her. Her intestines and stomach were a bad color. Sometimes after blunt force trauma blood clots form which seemed to be the case...and she would have such an uphill battle, which they didn't think she'd win. The surgeon also suspected spinal problems. The doctors just couldn't account for her being so unresponsive. They never saw a case quite like hers. Kate is unique! Some dogs go days with ruptured bladders before anyone knows something major is wrong. So she never suffered any more and "went to sleep", still under anesthesia, around 1:15 am. We would have loved to keep her with us, but we did what was best for Kate….we had to let her go.  She will be cremated and our dear friends from Nashville, Jim and Olivia, will pick her up and deliver her to us when they see us at Joe Wheeler State Park in two weeks. 

We could not believe how fast everything went. We think we are all cried out for a while and are concentrating on the good times we had with Kate…and her late sister Lacey. Losing the two of them within 5 months of each other is very difficult. We have never been without a dog since we met in the late 70's! Jim and Olivia drove down to spend most of the day with us which really helped us feel better. We feel so blessed to have had such a wonderful dog like Kate!

I have selected some pictures from the past boating year…..I call them, "Kate being Kate!"