 |
| Our site at KOA Flagstaff |
We walked in the door, there was a poster indicating that Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives had been there in July and filmed an episode for his Food Network show. Wasn't that interesting!
When we asked our waiter about this, he said the response has been very good. Lot of new business. Anyway, the pizza here is very good. So was the local IPA beer and the wine.
We got back to our home at the KOA, and that is when everything went south. When we got back, Mary fed Molly. About a half hour later, she indicated that she had to go out. So we let her out to do her pee. She came back in and not 5 minutes later wanted to go back out. We should have listened to her and instead told her to go lay down. She went to her bed and promptly puked. This was not good. She didn't look good. After cleaning up the mess, we figured we would just let her sleep for a couple of hours and see how she felt then. She instead got up about every 1/2 hour and tried drinking some water. When she went back to her bed, I had to lift her in to it(it is on our couch). She looked extremely weak and looked unsteady on her feet. After 1 1/2 hours she was definitely not getting any better so we called the camp office to get a recommendation for a vet in the area. The one they gave us, we called and since it was like 4:30 pm they said they couldn't take us but if we called Canyon Pet Hospital, they were sure they could help us as they were open until midnight. We called, described the problem and they said to bring her in.
Within 20 minutes of filling out paperwork, the on call Vet was there talking to us. Dr. Miller, we later found out is also the owner. She was very understanding as Mary went through Molly's medical history and after initial external exam, they took a blood sample and did a blood test. 25 minutes later she came back and said she suspected pancreatitis, but would like to keep Molly overnight and next day schedule and ultrasound. They would also get her on an IV for fluids, as well as a sedative to help control her heart rate which was rather elevated. We left it that we would come back first thing in the morning with her food as well as the medications that she was on.
Next morning, first thing, we were there. Her "nurse" asked if we would like to see her and perhaps take her for a walk. Absolutely. She appeared to be better. Not wobbly like she was the day before. We walked all around the parking lot and then brought her back. They said we should wait for a call from Dr Sullivan following the Ultrasound. We waited all day. About 4:45 we got the call. I could tell it was not encouraging news when Mary began to cry. Dr Sullivan wanted to see us to discuss Molly. With heavy hearts, we drove down to meet her. They brought her in for us to hold her while we were waiting for Dr Sullivan. She was not the same dog that we had left that morning. She just laid there. Barely responsive. When Dr Sullivan came in, she started off with the results of the UltraSound, which she said were not conclusive. She suspected something going on with the liver, maybe a tumor. Not sure. Her medical opinion was that Molly's liver was failing. At this point she said, we had 3 options. Surgery to look for a tumor. Very expensive, and no guarantee that it would solve the problem, owing to her PLE history. Do nothing and just take her home and let nature take its course. Or, end her suffering and consider euthanasia. With Molly's medical history and all that she had been through, we knew that this day was coming, but we were both just not prepared for it. Not Molly. Not now. In the end, we both agreed on option 3. She said she thoroughly agreed with us. It was the best thing for Molly. And so we sat there together, holding Molly until she stopped breathing. We were and are, both devastated. We left Canyon Pet Hospital with Molly's collar and all of our memories.
The next day we gathered up all of her stuff and put it in a container to save. We also called the Cococino Animal Shelter and asked about donating the remaining dog food. They said they would be glad to accept it. So the next afternoon we took a ride there and then to Canyon Pet Hospital to drop off a thank you card for the staff and the balance of Molly's prescription drugs as well as used Hypodermic Needles for disposition. On our way back home, we had to admit that we were fortunate that what happened to Molly happened here, and not a week earlier when we were in Monument Valley, as we don't know what we would have done. Thankful for at least that.
At this point it is friday already and we have absolutely no desire to go sightseeing. What a terrible week. On monday we leave the memories of Flagstaff behind, but not the memories of Molly.
