Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Remembering Diego
Current mood: sad
Category: Pets and Animals
I had a very bad weekend. My little miniature pinscher, Diego, died Saturday morning. I'm not quite sure what the cause was, but I think it was pancriatitis, which resulted from him originally climbing up on a table and then to a counter to eat some brownies I had baked the weekend before. He seemed fine Thursday, jumping up on my lap while I watched TV, letting me pet him and hug him, before I told him to get down (I wish I had let him stay there for so much longer). Friday he wasn't acting like that, but there were many days he just decided to be lazy. It wasn't until about midnight when I decided to watch Batman Begins that I realized something was wrong. I put the movie on and started to lay on the couch when I realized Diego was under the pillow I was about to lay on. I pushed him out of the way, saying with a laugh, 'Get out of the way, you lazy dog.' Then I realized he wasn't moving and wasn't responding to me. I picked him up, took him to the cabinet where his dog biscuits were. He didn't respond. Anybody who knows Diego knows how much he LOVED his dog biscuits, usually jumping up and down for them. I knew something was seriously wrong. So I put him down by the water dish. He just stood there, looking like a stuffed dog. Then he slowly sank down to the floor. I thought he was just a little sick and for awhile thought I'd just wait until the morning and go to Dr. Killian, my regular vet. Then I realized this was bad and called the emergency clinic.I took him there and the lady immediately took him from me and told me he was dying. They started to work on him and had me sit in a little room where I could hear them. It sounded like things were better, and they came in to talk to me, telling me who much the lower end estimate would be and that he would be there throughout the weekend. The vet said she would call me in the morning at about 7:30 before she got off and give me an update. They let me say goodbye to my doggie. I pet him. I wanted to hug him let him know how much I loved him, but he was hooked up to IVs, so I couldn't. Shortly after I got home, I feel asleep due to exhaustion, and at 2:30 she called, said he was doing alright and wanted to give him some plasma. At 7:30 she called again and let me know he didn't make it. They asked if I wanted to see him again. I didn't want to see his dead body. Since then I've gone back and forth between wanting to see him and not, but I think my original decision was best. It wouldn't have been the same to have seen him dead. They also asked if I wanted to have him creamated separately with the ashes coming back to me, or with other dogs and buried at a ranch. I decided on the ranch, figuring that after the resurrection it would be fun for him to run around the ranch until I got there. So, I'd like to take a few more paragraphs to remember Diego.I got Diego shortly after he was born. My parents owned his parents, Kaci and Zach Bob (or whatever we called him at the time). After wanting a min pin of my own, my mom said I could have one of their litter. There were about 5 puppies born, and Diego had a dull coat. But he also had a cute little brown spot on his ear. My mom really liked him and he had a great personality, and we temporarily called him Spot. I fell in love with him and decided I'd keep him. But before I could get him, his leg got caught in the door closing of the crate and his leg was broken. He had a blue cast on it, but soon learned how to run around just as quickly with it. It was so cute to see. We always laughed when we saw him. Finally, I was able to take him home. I had just moved to Vallejo and for the first time, I was living on my own, with no family or roommates. I didn't know anybody in Vallejo so I was often times lonely. Diego helped keep me company, and he certainly was entertaining, watching him play around with his toys and barking at everybody who came to the door. He was a good companion, although I never had enough time to completely potty train him. And he really liked to jump on new people. He wasn't the perfect dog, but then again, I wasn't the perfect owner/guardian. He liked to eat human food. Whenever a piece of cereal fell from my bowl, he was there in a second. If I opened the refrigerator, he was there hoping to get some food (especially food). To get sympathy, he would sit with his right front leg up, which he did when his leg was broken because it was tender. (Later on, he would accidentally mix the legs up, and he got so good at this that my other dog, Jewely, would follow suit). Now, I didn't usually give him food, but sometimes I did. He would love to go for walks (I didn't take him nearly enough, especially recently) and would get so excited when he saw his leash and would run around my condo. On our walks to either Dan Foley park or the Vallejo Marina, people would stop and ask what kind of dog he was - I wanted to get a shirt that said, 'He's a min pin, not a chihuahua' so that I could go for walks unimpeded. [Side note, my first walk with Diego was to the marina. He was fine for most of the walk (I walked for about 2 miles total), but when he got tired, he kept trying to jump up on me so that I would carry him, which I eventually did].He did like to grab my food. I one time had some pizza and when my mom called, so I set the plate with a couple of slices on the table, then went to talk to my mom on the couch. Next thing I knew, I heard some clanking and saw that Diego was in the middle of devouring the pizza. Crazy dog. And when he ate that, he got a huge belly, looking like he doubled in size. I got Jewely, another black min pin, from my parents. We realized that they should be together, since they both had separation anxiety, and hopefully that would be solved. My mom said that either I could take them both or they could. I said 'Heck no, you're not taking Diego' (I wish now they had, as he might be alive now, but then again, who knows what might have happened at my parents). So he got a companion (but he was fixed, so no little puppies). Diego started eating more as he started to show who was boss. Jewely learned to be a dog from Diego. She would bark at the door after Diego went wild (I knew Diego was gone Halloween night when somebody rang the doorbell and it was quiet - Jewely didn't even bark).So it was a sad weekend. I can't even express what Diego meant to me. He was such a loving dog and I'll never forget him. I still can't believe he's gone. I keep imagining that he's not gone, but just sleeping under the pillows on my couch. But of course he's gone. I'll miss him so much. And I don't think I can ever stomach eating brownies again.Edit by Kirsten Gilson:I didn't mention when I first wrote this that after feeding Diego Science Diet, his dull coat turned very shiny. Also, Diego was named after Don Diego de la Vega (I actually named him Don Diego de la Vega de la Gilson) after the secret identity of Zorro.
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