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2 August 2000
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6 June 2007
DEARLY loved and missed by all who knew him
Sunday night, 3 june 07, I took Ruffles up to see a friend of mine I'd not seen in awhile. All day he'd been acting fine, when we got there, he was acting fine, and when we'd taken him for a walk, he started acting weird, like it bothered him to go to the bathroom. So I picked him up, as it looked, too, like it was hurting him to walk, and we went to the store with my friend to get soda and we walked back to her house, the entire time I carried him.
About 2/3 of the way back to my friends place, I ended up having to set him back down so he could walk, and he acted like it was a new adventure in pain. This really scared me, but I thought maybe he was just acting up because he thought he was being punished, which he's known for doing in the past. I reassured him I wasn't punishing him, and that he was getting heavy so Mommy had to set him back down so he could walk.
When we got back to my friend's house, he was fine. Running and playing with my friend's daughter and her daughter's friend. Then he'd come into the kitchen where we were sitting at the table playing a game and hopped up on my lap to give me kisses then hopped back down to go play some more.
When my friend and I were done with our game, I mentioned having to get home, as it was 1 in the morning already, and I was getting tired. Ruffles heard the word "home," and he got all excited and went and sat by the door with his ears perked up. He came back over to me when I asked him if he wanted to go home. He ran back to me, hopped up on my lap and started giving me kisses. I was petting him, and I noticed a lump the size of a plum on the left side of his tail. This concerned me, and I asked my friend if she knew anything about animals. She said no, but it did look serious, and she said I should get him to a vet asap.
As it turns out, I've tried the warm compresses and peroxide. I didn't know about the seriousness of his situation until I sat down on the floor with him to attempt this 1st aid. When I went to lift his tail, I saw a huge, swollen area where his butt should be.
I stayed up all night with him that night, trying to find a vet in the area who could see him and it would not be over much to bring him in as far as the office visit and all. I eventually found a WONDERFUL vet in Hililiard. So I took him out there, got his Rabies booster for the year and got him examined all in the same visit. The Vet we took him to had been practicing for 15+ years, and had a small practice, so I figured he'd work out very well. He was able to diagnose Ruffles in a matter of a gruesome exam and told me all that the surgery would entail. He advised I not wait very long, because it was pretty serious. The bulge, he'd said, he didn't know what that was without opening him up and looking around in there and fixing what he could.
After a gruesome exam, Ruffles was diagnosed as having an inguinal hernia. It's a hernia that's down in the groin area. He told me the surgery would cost roughly $600 to $800 to do. If everythig went well, then it would be $600. If not, GOD forbid, then closer to $800. Hence not being able to give me a definite on the price of the surgery and all. Where were we to get that kind of money? We sold a good bunch of our DVD collection, Eric sold his PS2 and his games, and I sold my books, and we had my friend in Michigan helping and two ladies from my church have offered to help. True blessings.
I had put him on his leash so we could walk home, we'd gotten across the street from my friend's place and he started acting like he had to go pee real bad, so we stopped so he could mark one of the bushes. When he hiked his leg to pee, he kept looking at me like he was having a hard time, and didn't understand. He'd stop, walk a few feet, and try again, this tim to attend the other part of nature. Again, this time however, a more serious issue, and still it bothered me, so I carried him all the way home, and when we got to our yard, I set him down so he could make a visit to nature before we had to go inside, and he acted like he was having trouble. I called my friend up in Michigan to see how much experience she'd had with dogs and this type of situation, by this time, however I was crying so hard, I could barely get the words out. My dog, for anyone who knows me, is my world. He is my companion, and if anything happens to him, you may as well check me into a state institution.