To what length: part three

When your vet tells you to take your dog home after 10 days in ICU, with a catheter left in his leg to allow easier access to his vein for the final injection, with instructions to "love him up" for a couple of days...it is both a happy and solemn drive home.

Nick had become an expert at pulling the catheters out in the blink of an eye, even with "the party hat" on. The first instructions each shift rotation was given was about the speed and sneakiness at which he could pull out any catheter in sight. Each leg, his stomach, chest, tail and back end had been shaved and poked until finding a vein was a task that could take half and hour. On the morning I had decided to take him home he walked out to meet me with only the last back catheter still in. He had pulled the others out that morning and then stood for an hour waiting for the discharge papers and medical supplies to be packaged. He wanted to go home.

Having been a chemo and radiation patient 2 years ago, Nick knew which hallways led to the doors that opened to freedom. During our short walks during visits he would head down those hallways and stubbornly refuse to turn around and go back to our assigned cubicle for the day. With tubes attached to three pumps and a pole that was taller than the doorway he could never quite make a complete getaway.

We arrived home with SubQ fluids, needles, syringes and meds for 2 days. I have never had to give an injection to anyone or anything and never dreamt I would have to, but you do what you have to do. To some people, this is an extreme measure to take for a dog, I realize that. I have no illusions of curing Nick just the desire to give him every chance of enjoying whatever time he has left.

He has not eaten anything for 3 weeks but the baby food I coax him to swallow by putting it under his lip. In ICU he received TPN nutrition after being there 4 days, only after I insisted he be given something to keep him going. Today I heard about a gel called Nutri-Cal that is high calorie for maintaining dogs without an appetite.

On Saturday Nick went down the hill of the front yard 3 times and went to the car door that he gets in for rides. By the third time I knew I couldn't deny his wish another time. I went into the house and packed his things and took him for a 3 hour car ride to the lake.

The ice hadn't gone out yet and there was still snow near the edge for him to roll in. There was melted ice cold water for him to drink and his favorite bed was waiting for a warm nap in the boathouse. We spent the evening listening to the rain on the roof and dreaming of chipmunks and deer being chased out of the yard.

I am leaving out the more graphic details of what is involved with caring for him at this stage. There have been lots of tears and not much sleep.We are concentrating on the good times and taking lots of pictures. Tomorrow he will have been home 2 weeks...twelve days more than we were given.