The Chronicles of Koby - The Final Chapter

For all of you following along - sorry I didn't make more frequent updates. As you can imagine, this is a pretty tough topic to discuss. For those of you new to the story, a quick recap. Back in April, our oldest dog, Koby was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma. He had a spot on his spleen that began bleeding. We had the spleen removed and received a grim diagnosis that is was in fact cancer and our poor boy only had 1-3 months to live. On June 27th, the cancer returned and made itself known. He began bleeding internally and would suffer from extreme weakness. The vet gave him a week to two to live but told us he wasn't in pain so we opted to keep him at home, comfortable, and only intervene if showed signs of pain.

Throughout the course of this nasty disease, our boy, a mere 7 years old, would have his good days and bad. Bad days consisted of him not being able to lift his head, barely opening his eyes, not able to move much. But on his good days, he was a force to be reckoned with. He would run and play as if his energy had been pent up for years. He would chase toys, play tug (which we always let him win!), pig out and shower you with what we fondly called OCD kisses (he would OBSESSIVELY lick you until your skin was almost raw). At night, he would snuggle up in bed with me (the only dog allowed in not only my bed, but my bedroom as well).

The past month was trying on us all but we LIVED for those good days. Whenever we would start to lose hope, he would bounce back out of his spell and wreak havoc on the house, running and playing and somehow being cuter than ever. He made all kinds of new friends, tried to bite a few in the face, and gathered am incredible amount of support from people who knew him and from those he never met. It was a great couple weeks for my boy, and he ate it up....

Over the past week or so, he had been "down" more than up and again we were trying our best not to let worry consume us. He seemed comfortable however and so we just decided to ride it out with him. On Tuesday, he bounced back a bit. We spent alot of time playing with his favorite toy and I even let him help me open a package UPS delivered (which is his FAVORITE thing to do - rip a package to shreds and feel like he's helping by doing it!). He seemed cheerful, and, like so many days in the past, my worries were quelled a bit. I was in the middle of housesitting for a family out in Rancho San Diego but I made it a point to come back during the days to spend time with my boy and the rest of the gang, get some training in etc etc. Because of his great day, I worried less as I left for the night. I hugged him, as always, kissed him on the head, told him I loved him and that I would see him in the morning. Then I headed out for the night....

6am Wednesday morning, my phone rang....it was my husband Rob. At first, I was irritated. If you know me, you know I love my sleep and the last thing I want is to be abruptly ripped out of it....When I answered the phone, all he said was "Koby's gone...." It didn't register at first. I was groggy and couldn't comprehend what he was telling me. "Did he run away?" I thought to myself as I tried to shake the sleep from my eyes (and mind). He proceeded to tell me that when he woke in the morning, he walked into the bathroom to find my boy's lifeless body on the floor. I burst into tears, ran around the house in a panic, got dressed and hopped in the car to head home.

As I drove, I realized the news still hadn't quite sunk in. But as I made my way closer and closer to my house, my stomach began to sink and I began to feel uneasy. I didn't know what to expect but I wanted to say a final farewell to my little guy....

When I walked into the house, Koby was covered in a sheet in the kitchen. I ran over to him, slowly peeled back the sheet and stared at his lifeless body, still a bit warm from the blanket he was shrouded in. I kissed his head and pet him while Rob and I both sobbed. I wasn't ready to let go. We loaded him into the car and headed to the vet where we left him to be creamated. As we filled out the paperwork, I kept expecting him to come running out of the back room, to shower me with kisses - but he never did. We said our final goodbyes at the vet and headed home, full of tears, barely saying a word on the car ride home....

For those of you who have lost a pet, I am so sorry. The pain is unreal. But its beautiful in the sense that it merely reflects the intense love we have for our four legged companions....to love something that much is truly a blessing.

Koby to me was the one who started it all. Through the trials and the tribulations of his life, I learned to train dogs and because of him, I left biotech to pursue my career in the dog world....he is the start of it all and I owe him so much.....I love that little guy and I miss him terribly....he is and always will be my inspiration....

Thank you boboy.....we will see you on the other side....

I also want to take a moment to share my condolences for all the pets we have lost this year....its been a rough year and we have lost a lot of pets that, through our work, we consider part of our family....a heartfelt goodbye to Cleo, Ellie, Rosie, and Pepper and all the others whose lives were cut short....Take good care of my boy up there.....you are all in our hearts.....