Goodbye Zoe

About 3 weeks ago I came home and noticed a very large lump on Zoe. I called the vet and they told me to bring her in that night. She stayed the night and the next evening we talked to Dr. Martin about what was going on.

At first, Dr. Martin thought that it was just something little that could be removed relatively easily. Because of Zoe's temperament, we all decided that it would be best for her and everyone involved if her exam and clipping was done under anesthesia. The clipping served two purposes: Dr. Martin could examine the lump more closely and to remove the mats that developed behind Zoe's tail because of how long and thick her hair was. Long story short, Dr. Martin didn't know exactly what the lump was unless she did surgery. Surgery would be very risky because of Zoe's age and because the tumor was attached to her chest. But, Dr. Martin was willing to do the surgery if we wanted to go through with it. After a long and emotional discussion, Jeremy and I went to the vets with the thought that we were going to have to have her euthanized that night. Dr. Martin assured me that she wasn't in any kind of pain and that we could certainly bring her home to spend some more time with her; it could be days, weeks, months, or years - who knows!

Extra time turned into about 3 weeks. The other day I noticed that she was getting a raw area on her lump. I kept my eye on it and cleaned it with wound spray. Tuesday night when I went to put her in her crate for the night I noticed 2 little puddles of something. I looked for Zoe and saw that she was laying by the bathroom (which is normal). There were two small puddles there too. I saw that her lump was draining.

I waited until about 7:30 yesterday morning and called Dr. Martin on her cell phone. She told me to bring her in and drop her off at the hospital and between surgeries she would look at it. After work I called to see what was going on and Dr. Martin gave me the news. She said that surgery was still a risky option and that she could do it that night... or it was time to let her go. Within 3 to 5 days Zoe would develop a severe infection and maggots would develop on her open tumor due to the time of year. Since Jeremy and I had already ruled out surgery there was only one thing left to do.

When I got to there, they showed me to our room and they brought Zoe in. We had about 15 to 20 minutes together. Then they took her in the back to give her the tranquilizer shot and brought her back to me. When the tech opened the carrier Zoe shot out and jumped in my arms where she stayed for a little while. I kept stroking her and telling her that I loved her. 20 minutes later I rang the bell, the tech came in and carried Zoe in the back where Dr. Martin would give her her final shot.

So, Zoe - I will always love you and remember you. Thank you for finding me that day years ago. We were together through a lot. Until we meet again and cross over the Rainbow Bridge together...