Saying Goodbye to Sariah

We met with the oncologist this morning, and we have a diagnosis. It's not good. Sariah has disseminated Histiocytic Sarcoma which is an aggressive form of cancer and is affecting her spleen and liver. With chemo she would have a 30% chance of surviving only six months. The cancer usually returns while the dog is healing from chemo. There was no guarantee she would survive the chemo. The doctor said our pup was suffering, and we didn't want her to suffer anymore. She has been declining rapidly this past week. So, tonight, after prayerful consideration, we tearfully said good-bye to our sweet puppy. She passed peacefully surrounded by our love witch each of us petting her gently.

Our girls have been troopers. It's finals week for the semester and not a good time to lose a beloved family pet. We knew we didn't want to wait once we found out. Not only the suffering but the waiting for the inevitable would be worse.

We decided to save pups ashes in a beautiful box. After spending nearly $4,000 on all the testing, we didn't want to spend more, but the thought of leaving her there was awful. At least with our little box we would be able to keep her with us for a little longer. I never thought I'd be like that, but I needed to know this wasn't "it" when we left the hospital. I think the girls felt better about having her ashes also.

We drove to In-N-Out for dinner, and the sky was beautiful. Jenna said it was Sariah in Heaven saying hello to us and letting us know she was okay.

The breeder has been outstanding in her support, and willing to answer all our questions. When she found out what was going to happen, she cried. She has offered us a puppy from their next litter which she knew wouldn't replace Sariah, but she wanted to do something. It was very nice of her. The pups aren't due until March. We'll see how we feel then. For now we will mourn our sweet pup as we walk in the door and experience the absence we feel expecting our pup to come to greet us.