Tuesday, May 22, 2012

ANOTHER SAD DAY..........!!

Eeyore AKA Chief, didn't get to come home yesterday.  Well actually he came home, John is burying him today.  He had a very high white blood count, was dehydrated, & was in renal failure.  The dehydration probably had something to do with that, but we don't know for sure. 

The vet said he would need IV's for at least 2 or 3 days, & antibiotics for however long it would take to bring the white count down.  And we might still not know what was causing him not to eat.  His mouth smelled bad, but she only found one tooth loose, nothing else.  He had liquid backing up in his mouth, so he might have had a blockage of some kind. 

He was 32 years old, almost totally blind.  He went thru periods of not eating on a regular basis, & would sometimes fall without a reason.  

I was in Tucson getting Mother a MRI, & John called with the news.  He & the vet had already decided what would be best for Chief, but wanted my input too.  Quality of life has always been our priority for these guys, & no matter how much we'd like to "fix" them, sometimes the best decision is to let them go.  

In his day I bet he was quite something. I would image a tri-colored mule was pretty unusual 32 years ago.  His good eye was a golden color, very striking.  From his behavior he had worked with Mexicans at some time in his life.  Couldn't walk up to him & catch him, had to rope him.  Once he was roped or the rope was just thrown across his neck, you could do anything with him.  

Courtney is suppose to come today to trim those that need it, especially Gus & Jenny.  The hole in the bottom of Jenny's sole has grown out to the edge.  But I don't think Courtney will be able to get rid of the hole completely this time, maybe next time.   I'm hoping once that hole is gone, wrapping her foot won't be quite so big a project. 



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