Coughing, Congestion, Nausea, & Tears...

...yeah, that was our Christmas this year. It was rough, to say the least! We had three separate bouts of colds in December as well as stomach flu. 

Then, on December 23, I noticed our elderly dog, Ben, wasn't looking good. His immune system, liver & eyes had been failing for some time, but he had been fairly stable on his multiple medications. His eyes looked really bad though & my vet decided to conference with a canine specialist. We got in to his office the next morning (Christmas Eve) with Ben looking even worse. His left eye had developed an ulcer overnight & was blood red. I felt physically sick at how he looked & must be feeling.  He was still his sweet self with tail wagging & kisses for me. Oh my breaking heart! After lengthy discussions with my vet & his staff, I made the wrenching decision to let my sweet boy fall asleep forever and leave his pain behind. (There were just no good treatment options left: only medical band aids that would just prolong his experience.) If you are not a dog person you will not relate to my anguish, but if you are, you will know that Ben was a much loved, dear old friend who had traveled all over N. America with us & who had been my "demo-dog" for 4-H demonstrations on pet/child safety, as well as visits to mentally handicapped adults & Senior Citizens. . We are all feeling his loss in a huge way.