Our sweet Bella passed away yesterday. Even given her age of 11, we thought (and hoped) we had a few more years left...
The boys and I were out playing in the snow (for maybe 5 minutes) and I turned around and Bella had collapsed. She couldn’t get up, so I called Dan and we got her in the car and we rushed her to Ellisville vet. They took great care of her, but she was seizing and they had to give her meds to make her stop because she wasn’t responsive with them. They suspect that she had a brain tumor. They allowed us back into the room with her while she was heavily medicated and no longer seizing or in any pain. Fortunately, we didn’t have to make the choice to put her down since she decided to go on her own while we were in the room with her. We’re obviously heartbroken and in shock. All of us were there, so we all got to be with her and say goodbye.
I also want to say that she had a great day with us. She loved playing in the snow with the boys, she even went out a few times earlier and just sat in the snow. I had to bribe her to come in with treats. I’m happy that she acted like herself, until the very end. We didn’t have to watch her suffer. Yesterday morning, she came into our room (which she doesn’t always do because the stairs can be a little difficult with her arthritis) and I sat down with her and petted her for a while and held her paw. (If you ever dropped her paw, she could keep giving it to you...she liked to hold hands.) The day before, we played a family board game and she was there, right in the middle (trying to sit on the game board)...
I’m forever grateful that we brought Bella into our lives 11 years ago. We got her before we had the boys. She was our first baby. We knew we wanted a golden and she was perfect (even if she snatched fully made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and full loaves of bread from the counter). She brought us so much joy and she was always good with the boys, even when they were babies. We have so many good memories with her.
I’ve never lost my own pet before and wow, does it hurt. We are reminded of her everywhere in the house. I was cooking dinner yesterday and she wasn’t there waiting to catch what I dropped. So heartbreaking. It’s going to take a while to get used to this….
RIP sweet girl (2009- February 16, 2021)
Memorial contributed by Bella's Auntie Carol