Something a non dog owner can never understand is the emotional impact of losing your best friend. Some studies show that the emotional impact is more than losing a family member. As a person that has been through this i can attest that in my case that was and is this absolutely correct.
Here’s the process we went through, it was full of emotions as of course you can imagine, i am not a writer so i will try my best!
I was looking for a Vet and went through a few until Sara and Gloria how immediately found her spleen was enlarged and wanted to remove it asap.
We scheduled it and after the procedure Sara called me aside to say that it was cancerous and had reached her stomach. She seemed very sad and distraught but Lolita was so strong and looked so perfect that i thought everything would be fine. Chemo was recommended and my concern was in thinking of humans i know that have gone through this before and the toll it takes on the body and the mind. Normally someone will start to feel better and then it is time for another treatment and they spend the next 2 weeks with nausea, fatigue and in simply a terrible state.
Sara told me dogs handle it much better than humans and that is true. Never once did she seems to have side effects although after a year her coat was not as shinny and most of her beautiful brindle color had turned to a grayish brown
On the day we put Lolita to rest (a term here in Colombia that i find endearing) at a young age of 7 due to caner that had spread to her brain from her spleen over the course of year. it was wonderful to spend that year with her in the mountains. After living in South Florida it was such a treat to be able to leave the door open for her to came and go as she pleased.
On her last day some of her friends came to visit her and we sat around while she did her normal greetings with all her normal excitement of a child on Christmas morning. The girls wore white and when she got tired and laid down the vets put her to rest. Even typing this (and editing it) is bringing tears to my eyes and this was 24 months ago. When she had passed she was wrapped in her favorite blanket i had brought from the States and was carried up the hill behind my house to a grave with the girls in white following with candles and flowers.
I have her picture as my screensavers and a large photo of us at the beach at the top of the stairs.
Currently i have two adopted dogs from a local shelter (that has 2,000 dogs btw) and will continue to have dogs in my life as long as possible. Every day i think of Lolita and think of ways to honor the memories we shared and her happy face and outlook on things.
Other than more images i am thinking of have a picture done from a photo. I have looked around and i wanted to share what i have found. If you purchase one this site makes a small commission that will be donated to the local shelter here with the 2,000 dogs and 500 cats. I will write more on Lolita, i think it might be good therapy…
I am adding photos of her here that kind of sum up some of our adventures and transition from skeptical little shelter rescue on her 4th home at 2 years old to happy Lotila on our adventures.
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