Our Sweet dog Tyson was born on October 23, 2003 in Midland, Michigan and we brought him home on December 13th 2003 my husbands 30th Birthday (later ill share why this is so symbolic)....over the next 8years we had so many great memories with him I couldn't possibly list them all here: most involved a tennis ball because that made him happiest! We woke up on what seemed to be a
Manic Monday Normal Monday morning and I noticed (after the morning chaos had stopped and M was at school) that he couldn't bare any weight on his back left leg and he was 'dragging' it around. I shrugged it off as an injury but decided I better take him into the vet....this is where the 'shock' part comes. The Vet did an exam on him (of course I'm looking at him with doubt as to why on earth is he is feeling his neck/armpits/stomach??....Hello we are here for a 'hurt' leg) He then looks up from his exam and says to me "this doesn't look good?" I'm thinking of course it doesn't because he hurt his leg not his neck.....and what came out of his mouth next was something I was not ready to hear: Biopsy, Lymphoma, Cancer,Options,Quality of life (you get the sad drift). Of course all I can hear is the word Death (and the music from Alec's game he is quietly playing on the ipod..thank God) . So off he went to have his Biopsy done one of the mass in his neck and the other of the mass in the back of his bad leg. This was on a Monday and by Wednesday Morning we had the final results and the dreaded diagnosis of Lymphoma (T cell type) which has a 20 week survival rate (not knowing how far into it he already was)....it was aggressive......he was in Pain.....he was tired, sometimes didn't eat.....he still couldn't walk or climb the stairs....which meant his quality of life was NOT GOOD! We opted to not do Chemotherapy for him (for several reasons, not just financial) and On November 17th Andy and I took him to the Vet and gave him the Peace that he deserved....he went very quietly and peacefully surrounded by two people who LOVED him dearly. This was by far one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and hardest thing to do (as a married couple), watching my husband carry him up and down the stairs so he could sleep beside our bed where he did every night in the 8yrs we owned him was heartbreaking ,almost as heartbreaking as watching your husband cry everytime he looked at him, almost as heartbreaking as watching him not be able to climb the stairs and be near his family that he so loved and always had to be within 2 ft. of....the days leading up to his death were filled with tears, doubt and ultimately grief...We felt Robbed.....the kids took it much better than Andy and I did, Which was nice....We pretty much just left if at "Tyson is now in Heaven" (What a Mystery in itself for kids to wrap their heads around). We still talk about him and miss him dearly, we are not ready for a Puppy anytime soon (there will never be another sweet Tyson).
So several weeks pass before we receive the final bill from the Vet and I let several more weeks pass before I finally get up enough courage to go in and pay the bill....It of course was as traumatic as I had anticipated (should of mailed it) and I was shocked when she said "I think his ashes just came in (we had him privately cremated)" she goes into the back room and brings out a bag with his earn/ashes inside and plops it on the counter: Andy's 38th Birthday! So I leave there, not really realizing the symbolic nature of what just had occurred and called Andy to tell him I paid the bill and got his ashes.....He then puts it all together and says "Wow...we brought him home on my 30th Birthday and we are handed his ashes on my 38th Birthday...Happy Birthday to me" ((insert sarcasm))...So there you have it. Just like that we lost our little Buddy, but are very grateful for the years that we had with him. He loved life, he loved the kids, he loved laying under the table at dinner, he loved going Up North to the cabin and jumping off the dock, he loved his tennis ball, he loved walks, he loved to bark at people walking by our house, he loved everyone.......he was loved!
We will forever Miss You Big T
