Jack

I know it's been a while since we've put a post up. Things have been very busy for us.  In early october we went on a cruise in the caribbean, which was magical.  We set sail from Tampa and went to Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  The cruise was 5 days.  It was just awesome to sleep in everyday, eat whenever we wanted to and had fun at our leisure.  I discovered that cruises are neat "choose your own adventure" vacations.  I'm sure they'll be more to come.

Sarah is doing well.  She's right around 21 weeks now.  She continues to grow bigger and continues to be healthy.  We had an ultrasound at 19 weeks which showed that we'll be having a baby girl!  It's very ironic that it is a girl because we've affectionately nicknamed her "Harvey", which will be her name until she's born, then she'll have a proper girl name!  Sarah is up visiting her parents for approximately 3 weeks.  She's been gone two, and will be back this next saturday.  I guess it's a good thing, but I'm pretty miserable without her.  She's the best friend and wife anyone could ask for, and my love and fondness grows for her each day she's away!  Not to mention her sweet home cooking and awesome wife skills that she has to offer.

Now to the sad story.  For those of you who knew Jack, he was the sweetest, most loving dog anyone could ask for.  He was a black lab mixed with what we think was a great dane that Sarah and I got as a pup very shortly after our marriage.  Seeing that we got him then, he's been with us the whole time we were together in Memphis and then when we moved here to Columbus, and truly was one of our best friends and certainly like our child (those of you who have got a dog as a puppy and raised them will know what I mean).  About a week or so ago he got some cellulitis/abcess on his leg that required some antibiotics.  That seemed to be healing up well, when about 3 days ago he started getting real lethargic and didn't seem to have much energy.  Yesterday when I got home from work he stopped eating all together and was laying about the house with no real energy. As soon as I could this morning I took him back to the vet to have him checked out.  He seemed so tired and just ill.  The vet got some blood work on him and the numbers were horrible.  He had a 106 degree fever, his white count was out of the roof, and his red cell count, his hematocrit was 15 (normal is supposed to be >35 for a dog).  His liver enzymes were also very high.  While the vet was telling me about his lab results he got called to the back for something. About 5 minutes later he came in to tell me that Jack had had a seizure in the back and had passed away.  It was news that I honestly didn't know how to take.  I knew that he was sick, but for it to happen all so fast was just heartbreaking. He was only 2 and a half, a mere pup still.  

We aren't entirely sure what was wrong with him, but I'm very certain that he must have had a parasitic infection that involved his red blood cells.  There are a few tick/flea borne diseases that affect dogs that can present like this.  For his hematocrit to be that low outside of a possible leukemia it doesn't make much sense to me other than a hemolytic infection.  Many doubts run through my mind if I did the right thing, did I take him in on time, could I have done something more?  But honestly, I feel that I couldn't have done a whole lot, he turned very quickly, and I doubt with such vague symptoms until the last 2-3 days any vet would have figured it out before it was too late.  

So I guess this post is in memory of Jack.  He was such a kind and loving dog that did nothing for Sarah and I except give us joy each and every day.  He was always there to love us and comfort us when we have felt so alone moving from place to place, always a constant and imposing guard for Sarah when I was away so many nights at the hospital.  He was a true joy to our lives and still the tears come, and I'm sure will continue to come for days and days.  He was so much more to us than just a pet, he was part of our small family that we invested time and love into.   I'm sure as time goes by it will be easier to handle, but for now I'll remember him for the good times and for the happiness that he gave us.  Above are some pictures of our big, little, guy.  We'll miss him terribly.