Radly

My precious babies (yes, Radly is on top, he had a good 30 pounds on Kramer)

I have been avoiding this post because I really do not want to accept that it is all happening. My little man, Radly, is extremely sick. This all started about a month ago. Radly laid his head on my lap one night and I started petting him and noticed he looked really swollen. Bill and I thought that he may have gotten into something, so we just made sure he was comfortable that night and decided we would take him to the vet the next day.

They ran a ton of tests and nothing was found, they put him on medication and waited to see if it would work. One week later, no improvement, actually it got worse. So, it was time for surgery, he had to have a biopsy on his lymph nodes (they were extremely swollen). They biopsy results showed nothing. Meanwhile, Radly stopped eating. So in about a month he has lost 24 pounds and has been running a fever this whole time. We took him back to the vet yesterday because he just looked horrible. They basically told us there was nothing more they could do for him.

A referral could be made to the Auburn University Vet Clinic, but the amount of money spent would be OUTRAGEOUS. It is $1,500 minimum for a diagnostic test, then the amounts of test, surgeries, treatments after that could be infinite. We would be digging ourselves into about a $6,000 hole by the end of May (this was a guestimate from our doctor). So as of now, Radly is on a new round of meds, involving two different steroids, a temperature regulator, and some pain killers. We will see how these meds work and re-evaluate in 4-5 days.

Those of you who know me well, know this is absolutely killing me. My dogs are my children. Of course Ryan is my number one Stunna, but my dogs are my babies. I do not understand the 'outside dog" mentality. I would let both of them sleep with me every night just so they had something to snuggle with. Recently, I have snuck Radly in bed with Bill and I and just pet him until we are asleep. This is just such an emotional time. I do not know how my parents put our first dog to sleep. How hard to explain to your children that their dog had to die.

Bill is being so great through this all, but it is hurting him too. We got Radly for each other for a Valentine's Day present in 2005. He was our first present to each other that we would have to have responsibility for. He was the first addition to our little family. We spoiled that dog worst than any big lug of a dog could be spoiled. He slept right by my side every night, sometimes snuggling in my hair- which was never a problem for me. He was my baby!

Please pray for him. It's very tough to watch him lose the weight and continue to get more and more sluggish. Kramer is doing fine, but you can tell he knows Radly is sick. He licks him a lot and lays his head on his back when they relax for the night. I just hope we are not recreating "Where the Red Fern Grows." If Kramer slips into a depression, I will lose my mind. Of course Ryan is doing her part by crawling all over him and giving his back kisses (one of her new favorite things). She actually hugged Radly for about 2 minutes last night and I just sat there and cried. It was the sweetest thing.