
It was he and his sister (Trixie) who taught my wife (strictly a cat person when I met her) to love dogs and appreciate the extra warmth of a dog laying next to you on a chilly winter night. He had a special ability to survive things that made her think he would live forever. One of his first brushes with death came when he and his sister contracted the deadly dog disease Parvo while young. He had bounced off cars and jumped out of the car window while moving in moderate traffic. There were other close scrapes, including being attacked by pit bulls. Each one he pulled through and returned to his usual self within a day or so.
Yesterday, he didn't.
Feefus, as he was lovingly called, got into the groceries and skarfed down half of a large five pound pack of hotdogs Wednesday night. This caused a "twisted stomach" (Gastric dilatation volvulus). I noticed his belly being bloated and took him to a local animal hospital. Upon arrival, I was told they had a 2-4 hour wait. They supplied the phone numbers to 2 other animal hospitals. One also had a 2-4 hour wait, and one told me they would triage the pet and then see him. I knew where I was going as soon as I heard the word triage. My eldest son and I started on our way, a 16 minute trip. Unfortunately for Orpheus, it was 4 minutes too long. He became unresponsive as we got off the highway. While the techs and vet did their best, his time had finally come.

This is not the first pet we lost this year, Kitten Kaboodle was put down in January due to cancer. I waited around three weeks to take him to an appointment at our then usual vet's office. He had a large lump on his neck. I guess the ordeal of the trip to the vet's office was too much for him. Upon being diagnosed, the best thing for him, I was told, was to put him down. The vet's office, you see, was a clinic, and did not have the facilities to perform an operation and remove the tumor or to hold him overnight and they felt that he wouldn't survive the trip to the nearest full service animal hospital.
So, a word to the wise. If you cherish your pet, find out your vet's emergency procedures beforehand. Know what their capabilities are. Find the nearest 24 hour animal hospital and have the phone numbers on speed dial. If an emergency raises with your pet, take the time to call ahead and let them know your coming in. Most of all, have a plan.