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Guess I should start off with some background info. I don't know if I mentioned this before in a previous entry, but we were fostering a greyhound. Big black and white boy, we named him Jasper. Got him Monday before last.
Anyway, last Friday he started coughing, wasn't eating as much. He was very skinny to begin with, so this was troubling. Saturday I don't think he touched more than a single bowl all day, and Sunday he didn't eat at all. All the while he's coughing, nose is runny and he's having trouble breathing. I don't think he could lay down at all cause of his breathing problem, so he stayed standing and just kinda kept dozing off. It was sad to see.
Well because he's a foster dog and we hadn't actually adopted him we can't take him to a vet. We have to take him back to the shelter so their vet can examine him. I took him back on Monday, which marked the one week anniversary, if you will, of how long he'd been with us. I didn't stay long, just enough for the vet tech to find a kennel for him and grab a leash so we could get ours back. In retrospect, even though I was petting him and staying close 'til she took him, I wish I had.............I dunno. Said goodbye? You just kinda wish you'd done more sometimes, ya know?
Well Mom called yesterday, and it sounded like he was doing better. They said he was eating a bit, anyway. But I called today to check on him, and it turns out he had heartworm. I don't even know if shelters treat for heartworm. The survival rate is so low, and they don't have enough space or money to treat a dog who might die anyway when a healthier dog needs that space. I don't think Jasper would have survived, he wasn't in great shape. So they put him down.
He was a very good dog, and I'm going to miss him. He was such a sweet boy, great disposition and got along with everyone. Guess I'm glad we only had him a week, cause it hurts to lose a loved pet; I was only just getting fond of him. Hope we gave him a good last week. Love ya, Jaz, hope you went to a better place! You deserve it!