my fiance and i had to say goodbye to his miniature daschund Mannheim this morning. Manny was 13 years old and has been sick for awhile. He had had a gum disease since he was a puppy that caused his teeth to rot and fall out. This summer his tooth abscessed and he became very ill for about a week, but medications helped. This weekend his back gave out on him (a common problem with older doxies that often happens very suddenly) and he couldnt walk. Every breath he took he exhaled with a whine or cry, we couldn't carry him or touch him. It was one of the saddest and hardest things I've ever seen. He couldnt stomach anything and threw up too many times a day to count. When he'd lay down, he'd just collapse, as if he had given up. It absolutely tore at my heart.
Last night, we went to a park with just him and sat on a pier. He barked at leaves floating in the water and enjoyed the nice weather. For that time, all was right.
Our other dog Sam has been looking for his "brother" all day, and sometimes I catch myself doing the same thing too. I feel like my heart is breaking.
