King was raised on a puppy farm in Minnesota. We had been searching for a puppy at many places and we finally found the one… King was 8 months old when we brought him home. He was the only puppy that stood out in the crowd of the others, coming up to us as if the word “Please, take me” was attached to his bright white coat. Learning his lineage family name was “Winter” (being that his bred line was white), we decided to name him King, therefore legally becoming
“Sir King of Winter.”
At 8 months old, King had to have his first hip replacement, as is pretty common with German Shepherds but not usually that young. The vet had said that if we decided not to go through with it, King wouldn’t make it past a year old. There was no second guessing, we had the surgery and King came through with flying colors.
Soon after his 1 year birthday passed, King had to have the other hip replaced. It didn’t stop him…again, he was born anew and neither surgeries stopped him.
He grew big and strong as the years passed and became increasingly intelligent, learning how to let himself outside by pushing the handle to the screen door and run out into the fenced yard, learning to “knock” on the door to be let in by pawing at the handle when he was ready, learning everyones names in the family and even neighbors so you could tell him, “Go see (inser name)”…and he would go to that particular person, knowing when we let him out to go “catch” Tucker-our neighbors dog and one of his friends-that the word meant to go get him and bring him back because he wasn’t supposed to be wandering the neighborhood…and he did it everytime. The neighbor was SO grateful for that!…there were many, many things King taught himself and we were-and are-so proud of him. He was truly a
human being in a furry costume.
He was a very healthy dog, we brought him to the vet religiously, making sure everything was done to keep him a healthy and happy family member. He had everything and more that any animal could ask for or even wish…a twin size canopy bed all his own, toys and treats galore! We even had a micro-chip placed in him in case he was lost or stolen (not that he ever could be, lol…he was too smart not to know his way home from anywhere and very gaurded when it came to complete strangers approaching him, much less one of his family members), but it was just one of those things you do when you love your pet unconditionally…you don’t want to take ANY chances.
Just like a human, he had his fears too. And, for a dog as big as he was, it was a funny sight to see when storms would approach and he would run and hide. He would always try to crawl under a bed but he was so big that he never could make it all the way so he would lay on the floor and just tuck his head under the bed so he didn’t see the lightening. Of course, we were understanding of his fears too and reassured him. He didn’t like it when it was raining either and refused to go outside when it was…opting instead to “hold it in” until it was clear…
His worst enemy was the mailman, of course…oh the barking and growling he would do! We’re sure the mailman wasn’t too fond of him, either! Well, Kings 8th Birthday rolled around and he was still healthy as a horse. He had been given Rimadyl for the arthritis in his hips now but that was all. Of course, he was still taking his Heart-Gaurd and his dental toothpaste as all good dogs do.
Come the 8th month of his 8th year, fall season rolled around and he got some symptoms of what we believed to be allergies. King had had allergies before but they always came in the Springtime. This was odd and we brought him to the vet. She thought maybe he was depressed because he had become a little lethargic and he was crying and just in case, she gave us some Benadryl (for allergies) and she noticed that his eyes were a little “bulged” than what they normally were and she did a Glaucoma test. It came back just fine. She told us that if he didn’t improve in 2 days to call back and in the meantime to give him lots of love (that sure wasn’t impossible!). This made sense because recently, a family member had to leave temporarily-and one who King had grown extra attached to-so that explained why she brought up depression. Well, the very next day, King wasn’t faring very well at all.
In fact, he got even worse. His face swelled up, he stopped eating and drinking water and his voice was very hoarse, it was hard for him to greet us with a “song”, (his favorite to sing to was You are my Sunshine) much less to whimper or whine or bark but, he was still excited and greeted us as he normally would have for the last 8 years-his behavior hadn’t changed one bit but for being a little tired than usual-but he even stopped taking his favorite treats…we were so worried but thought it was a simple infection perhaps, that could be treated with an anti-biotic or something so he would be all better…we knew he was in fine health because he had all his check ups and everything
was a green light for him.
We went the vet again the next day after being prescribed lots of love and some benadryl the day before…we walked in the office, signed in and had a seat. The vet had came to the front desk to gather some papers from a previous appointment and looked over to us. She smiled a “Hi, again!” smile and her face changed in an instant. Immediately, she requested all available staff to a room and asked us to follow her very quickly. We thought this was quite odd and quickly did as she said…
No more had we gotten in the room, when the staff were preparing King to go way in back where they do all the “important” tests. Things moved very fast in these few moments.
After a bit, the vet came to us and threw some x-rays up on the wall. They could not x-ray Kings heart because it was filled with fluid. They could not even hear a heartbeat because of it. They needed to drain it out, immediately. They didn’t need to ask, they could see by the looks on our faces and knew for many years that we had brought King there to them, that they had the OK to do whatever they deemed
necessary to help him…
We were called into the back room to support King while they inserted draining tubes into both sides of his rib cage and drained out the fluid as much as they could. He was such a good dog, he stood quietly while they poked and prodded him to get him the help he desperately needed. We were standing there, holding King and talking to him gently while massive amounts of fluid drained from his body into the tub below him…
After, the vet told us that King possibly had a tumor or even heart disease (WHAT?!) and we needed to get him to the U of M Vet Hospital in our neighboring city immediately, for them to do more tests to determine what was going on with him. They had drained as much fluid out as they could to make his travel there easier for him.
We took him there, signed him in and no more than a minute later, they were taking him in back now, too.
The doctor called us into a room and took his health history and left. Minutes later, she returned. King had an advanced form of cancer that was known to show absolutely no signs or symptoms until it was in its final stages of wrecking havoc on his body and it had progressed and was already spreading, there were nodules already, too, already forming in other places. We had to make a decision for him and
make it quickly…
We really didn’t need to hesitate even though we loved him dearly…we had to let him go because we loved him and didn’t want
to see him suffer anymore.
King was just beginning to show signs of the cancer, which we thought along with the vet was depression or allergies. Now, the following day, we had to send him back to the heaven from which he came. It was-and still is-devastating, to say the very, very, very least.
His appointment this particular day was at 4:20 pm and King was pronounced departed at 9:20 pm, with all his family laying beside him, guiding his way to the light. In 2 weeks we will have his ashes.
We are now in the process of trying to find closure and its been such a complete and utter shock to us all, friends and family alike.
This is for you King…
We'll loveyou forever.
We'll love you for always...as long as we're living,
Our baby you'll
| Sor King of Winter AKA King |
| Lori |