Lily – A Giant Schnauzer
2 December 2007 – 4 April 2017
a beautiful, expressive face – circa 2013
For the past few years, Lily has seen a number of bumps and lumps that would come up, on her back, on her abdomen, even on her neck. Many would disappear after a short time, many did not. We knew that at her age, as she approached her 8th birthday, she was likely to be dealing with some form of cancer or other cysts. By 5 years old, she had already had several sebaceous cysts identified and removed.
After her 9th birthday, we noticed her slowing down – a bit. She still ran like the wind with her Great Dane brethren, Oscar, Aerie, and Luna, out in our new back yard, but she started having issues with the stairs, or getting up. Looking back on it now, she must have been trying to please me, as I hadn’t seen any indication that she was ill enough that it might be time to let her go. Last evening, Monday, 3 April, 2017, after I got home from work, I took all the pups outside. I wanted them all to run a little, especially after checking with Kim, and learning that they’d been in most of the day because of the rain. So, out we went.
As we walked some laps around our yard, they heard something and all four of them lit out toward a distant corner of the yard. Their path took them behind our trailers and sheds, and it was then that I heard a horrible yelp from Lil’. Sadly, I’ll never know what happened, whether one of the other dogs ran into, or over, her, if she slipped, if she just pulled or strained something, but when she emerged from behind the sheds, she had pulled up her left rear leg and just would not lower it to the ground, let alone, put any weight on it.
We made it back to the house, slowly, and three-leg hopping all the way. Once we got in, she laid down in the bedroom and just wouldn’t/couldn’t get back up under her own power. It was almost dinner time, so I gave her a 100 MG Rimadyl to ease the pain and help reduce any inflammation. I took her dinner to her in the bedroom, and she kind of ate a little…she has ALWAYS been a finicky eater.
Not more than an hour or so later, while I was watching TV in the theater, I heard Oscar come down the steps. He’d been keeping her company up in the bedroom. Shortly after that, I noticed Lil’ lying behind the chair to my desk, which is a favorite location for her. I never heard her come down the steps! How she managed that, with her bad hip or leg, I’ve no idea!
Though the NSAID had obviously helped her enough to get down the stairs, she was still really uncomfortable. About 10:00, I picked her up with the intent of carrying her outside to pee, but she really wasn’t comfortable in my arms, and she ended up going back into the theater and climbing up on the loveseat. She stayed there until about 2:30 in the morning, which, coincidently, is about the time she ALWAYS goes outside to pee every morning.
This time, she let me carry her, and we went out where she relieved herself, and then hobbled back in. I wouldn’t let her downstairs this time, and she ended lying down on the carpet in the kitchen…where we stayed all night. I grabbed her favorite blanket, and curled up on the floor with her until about 6:30. I gave her another Rimadyl, and held her for about another 40 minutes, and then at 7:30 called our vet and made arrangements to get her right in.
While I had gone to get my coat and hat to start the van, she had somehow managed to get up! I let her out, and though she hobbled, she went right out and peed, then made it to the van with a lot less of a struggle than I would have expected, where she crawled/hopped right in! Kim and I got her to the clinic, and they were great. We only waited in the van about 5 minutes while they got her room ready. We took her right in, and we laid her down to get her comfortable.
Our technician came in and after attempting to console us, administered an intramuscular shot in her thigh to calm her and help with the pain. Once she was quiet and seemed a bit more comfortable, the technician administered the euthanizing shot. Within two minutes, at about 8:45 a.m., her breathing stopped, and she was pain free…
We had said goodbye to our sweet, amazing, beautiful, stubborn, little girl. We stayed for just a bit longer; we weren’t quite ready to leave her right away. We both wept and kissed her goodbye one last time. The local pet crematorium is going to see to her, and we have been home thinking of our special little girl ever since. We are devastated…
Chillin’ in her new big, back yard last summer
Resting at the RLN dog park in Dunlap – crica 2012
Meet Lily
In the fall of 2009, Kim came to me with what seemed like an unassuming and simple request. Could we sit for a dog that belonged to her niece? It turns out that due to a divorce and move, she would not be able to keep her year and a half old Giant Schnauzer, Lily!
While I was NOT so sure about this at the beginning, after a number of moves, changes, and stays, she ended up here permanently with us in May of 2010, as a companion and, hopefully, teacher for Toryn.
She is a very good girl, and very pretty. She has some of the oddest habits of any dog I’ve ever known, and as such, has an absolutely endearing personality.
Our pretty girl striking a pose on a calm, sunny, winter day at Robert L. Nelson Dog Park
Takin’ a little break to mug for the camera
Scratchin’
“Ok, it’s time to go, I’m done for the day”
Here she is running with Aerie, trying to teach her the ropes at the dog park
For a short time, we had had three Giant Schnauzer’s in our “Herd,” our amazing male Toryn, a pretty little female named Lily, and a precocious baby girl named Naya… Click here to see a Gallery of images of those three “babies.”
