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Requesting Prayers for my Wife (updated 2023 - see p. 78)


Elwood von Kiowa said:
(Like / sad)

We have decided to not do the treatments. Tuesday night / Wednesday a.m., Maverick was restless, and none of us could sleep. We had noticed "something off" behind his right eye -- couldn't tell if it was a bump (like from hitting his head) or a depression/dent next to the bump. Was he bleeding internally? It just didn't seem like something we should let go. So we called the UGA Vet center ER and took him up there. They said it was a depression due to muscle atrophy (the muscle ordinarily makes the head smooth, where there's actually an indent in the skull). But we talked with the vet about our options, as the Prednisone and gabapentin haven't given him the relief that we hoped. I think the radiation treatments would not provide much relief either at this stage, and only prolong his confusion. They say he's not feeling pain (??) but I know it's a condition he doesn't want to be in.

Steph's siblings are all here at our house now; first time they've all been together since our wedding. So it's a happy time for us to all be together. Maverick was excited the first day, playing with his "cousin". But I think he's just worn out now. He rests a lot, and is having more trouble with balance. We feel like the time is getting near.
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Right now we are trying to wind down. I let Maverick out for his last bathroom break, before his last night in our home. The last few days, he barely gets onto the grass to pee, then comes right back in the house (usually struggling and dragging his feet). But this time, he went back behind the gazebo, then wandered around the whole yard, as if doing one last thorough search for critters. Then he came back around the back side of the pool. He seems to have a blind spot to the right front of his head, and I get concerned how close he gets to the pool sometimes. Sure enough, he took a bad step and fell in. So I jumped in to save him. He's always shied away from water, and in spite of his webbed feet and genetics, the only times he's swam previously have been the two times he fell in the pool. But now, of course, he has enough trouble walking, and I didn't want to waste any time getting him out of the water. I think he took in a gulp or two. I gave him a "semi-Heimlich" but nothing came out. He did cough about 3 separate times. We're keeping an eye on him to make sure he's OK for the night. He seems to be resting comfortably now (more comfortably than he has for many nights). I'm sure he's exhausted from the excitement.

Crazy boy. Had to give us a little more excitement.

He's had a few nosebleeds over the past week. It had always been his right nostril, which we figured was because he always (since we discovered the tumor) pushes his snout into the right corner of his food dish or water dish. So we started putting his food on a paper plate, and his ice / water in a flimsy plastic bowl. That helped until this evening, when he started bleeding from his left nostril. So that was another fun ordeal.

Tonight I had a little talk with him as he lay in his bed. Told him how much we love him, and we hope we made his life fun. Sorry he has to be going through this. But we will someday be in a place where there is no pain, and it's so much better than the best thing we can imagine.

Growing up, I was taught that animals don't go to heaven. That apparently they just die. But I know that God created all creatures for our enjoyment. Heaven is infinitely better than our minds can comprehend. In all aspects, it will be better than we have it down here. So yes, dogs do go to Heaven.
 
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Elwood von Kiowa said:
Right now we are trying to wind down. I let Maverick out for his last bathroom break, before his last night in our home. The last few days, he barely gets onto the grass to pee, then comes right back in the house (usually struggling and dragging his feet). But this time, he went back behind the gazebo, then wandered around the whole yard, as if doing one last thorough search for critters. Then he came back around the back side of the pool. He seems to have a blind spot to the right front of his head, and I get concerned how close he gets to the pool sometimes. Sure enough, he took a bad step and fell in. So I jumped in to save him. He's always shied away from water, and in spite of his webbed feet and genetics, the only times he's swam previously have been the two times he fell in the pool. But now, of course, he has enough trouble walking, and I didn't want to waste any time getting him out of the water. I think he took in a gulp or two. I gave him a "semi-Heimlich" but nothing came out. He did cough about 3 separate times. We're keeping an eye on him to make sure he's OK for the night. He seems to be resting comfortably now (more comfortably than he has for many nights). I'm sure he's exhausted from the excitement.

Crazy boy. Had to give us a little more excitement.

He's had a few nosebleeds over the past week. It had always been his right nostril, which we figured was because he always (since we discovered the tumor) pushes his snout into the right corner of his food dish or water dish. So we started putting his food on a paper plate, and his ice / water in a flimsy plastic bowl. That helped until this evening, when he started bleeding from his left nostril. So that was another fun ordeal.

Tonight I had a little talk with him as he lay in his bed. Told him how much we love him, and we hope we made his life fun. Sorry he has to be going through this. But we will someday be in a place where there is no pain, and it's so much better than the best thing we can imagine.

Growing up, I was taught that animals don't go to heaven. That apparently they just die. But I know that God created all creatures for our enjoyment. Heaven is infinitely better than our minds can comprehend. In all aspects, it will be better than we have it down here. So yes, dogs do go to Heaven.
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May you and Steph rest in God's arms tonight and be filled with the sweet memories of Maverick knowing that he was loved and cared for.
 
My heart breaks for you and Steph. Our pets become so important to us and they don’t understand what’s happening to them. Our vet told us Jake had been in pain for years but for him, he just thought that was life. I cried like a baby when I heard that because I had no idea Jake had even been in pain as he never showed it. I know for a fact that our dogs go to heaven. No way God wouldn’t let in his most loyal creations. You’re in my prayers.
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Maverick took his last breath at 0032 EDT (12:32 am). The picture was taken at 12:06 am, in the quiet room at UGA Vet Teaching Hospital. He’s wearing the prayer quilt that was made for Steph when she was in the hospital. Mavi actually looks pretty good in that picture, though what you can’t see is that Steph had been trying to get him to look up by repeatedly calling his name. He had been getting less and less responsive to stimuli. You could tell, much of the time, that in his mind he knew what we were saying, but he couldn’t make the connection from his brain to his muscles. Lately, in order to get him to go outside, we had to coax him with “high value” jerky treats; the last couple days, even that wasn’t much motivation for him. Often lately, he couldn’t make it down the hall without stopping to lean his right side against the wall. You could tell, even to the end, that he wanted to please us. But the “cares of this world” really didn’t motivate him so much anymore.

Last night we took him up to Steph’s sister’s before we went to UGA. Maverick was able to spend a little more time with his “cousin” Sunny. He got so excited to go out into the back yard to explore; unfortunately he stumbled going down the five steps to the back yard. So sad to see him lose control of his legs. But he slowly made it out to the base of the retaining wall, sniffing and checking every drain for chipmunks.

I cut some hair off of his ears (his fur is so soft), and from his tail, as a keepsake. We took some paw prints, and the vet center was going to take a clay paw print as well. We gave our consent for a necropsy; hopefully they will be able to gain some knowledge that will help someone in the future.
 
Elwood von Kiowa said:
View attachment 68272

Maverick took his last breath at 0032 EDT (12:32 am). The picture was taken at 12:06 am, in the quiet room at UGA Vet Teaching Hospital. He’s wearing the prayer quilt that was made for Steph when she was in the hospital. Mavi actually looks pretty good in that picture, though what you can’t see is that Steph had been trying to get him to look up by repeatedly calling his name. He had been getting less and less responsive to stimuli. You could tell, much of the time, that in his mind he knew what we were saying, but he couldn’t make the connection from his brain to his muscles. Lately, in order to get him to go outside, we had to coax him with “high value” jerky treats; the last couple days, even that wasn’t much motivation for him. Often lately, he couldn’t make it down the hall without stopping to lean his right side against the wall. You could tell, even to the end, that he wanted to please us. But the “cares of this world” really didn’t motivate him so much anymore.

Last night we took him up to Steph’s sister’s before we went to UGA. Maverick was able to spend a little more time with his “cousin” Sunny. He got so excited to go out into the back yard to explore; unfortunately he stumbled going down the five steps to the back yard. So sad to see him lose control of his legs. But he slowly made it out to the base of the retaining wall, sniffing and checking every drain for chipmunks.

I cut some hair off of his ears (his fur is so soft), and from his tail, as a keepsake. We took some paw prints, and the vet center was going to take a clay paw print as well. We gave our consent for a necropsy; hopefully they will be able to gain some knowledge that will help someone in the future.
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Elwood…

I am so sorry for your loss. Steph, Maverick, and you have been in my nightly prayers.

I hope your entire family is able to cherish all of the great moments spent with Maverick.
 
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Elwood von Kiowa said:
View attachment 68272

Maverick took his last breath at 0032 EDT (12:32 am). The picture was taken at 12:06 am, in the quiet room at UGA Vet Teaching Hospital. He’s wearing the prayer quilt that was made for Steph when she was in the hospital. Mavi actually looks pretty good in that picture, though what you can’t see is that Steph had been trying to get him to look up by repeatedly calling his name. He had been getting less and less responsive to stimuli. You could tell, much of the time, that in his mind he knew what we were saying, but he couldn’t make the connection from his brain to his muscles. Lately, in order to get him to go outside, we had to coax him with “high value” jerky treats; the last couple days, even that wasn’t much motivation for him. Often lately, he couldn’t make it down the hall without stopping to lean his right side against the wall. You could tell, even to the end, that he wanted to please us. But the “cares of this world” really didn’t motivate him so much anymore.

Last night we took him up to Steph’s sister’s before we went to UGA. Maverick was able to spend a little more time with his “cousin” Sunny. He got so excited to go out into the back yard to explore; unfortunately he stumbled going down the five steps to the back yard. So sad to see him lose control of his legs. But he slowly made it out to the base of the retaining wall, sniffing and checking every drain for chipmunks.

I cut some hair off of his ears (his fur is so soft), and from his tail, as a keepsake. We took some paw prints, and the vet center was going to take a clay paw print as well. We gave our consent for a necropsy; hopefully they will be able to gain some knowledge that will help someone in the future.
Click to expand...

So sad but it's for the best. I've had to put down several "family members" over the years. It never gets any easier but I knew they were suffering and it's the humane thing to do.
 
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Elwood von Kiowa said:
View attachment 68272

Maverick took his last breath at 0032 EDT (12:32 am). The picture was taken at 12:06 am, in the quiet room at UGA Vet Teaching Hospital. He’s wearing the prayer quilt that was made for Steph when she was in the hospital. Mavi actually looks pretty good in that picture, though what you can’t see is that Steph had been trying to get him to look up by repeatedly calling his name. He had been getting less and less responsive to stimuli. You could tell, much of the time, that in his mind he knew what we were saying, but he couldn’t make the connection from his brain to his muscles. Lately, in order to get him to go outside, we had to coax him with “high value” jerky treats; the last couple days, even that wasn’t much motivation for him. Often lately, he couldn’t make it down the hall without stopping to lean his right side against the wall. You could tell, even to the end, that he wanted to please us. But the “cares of this world” really didn’t motivate him so much anymore.

Last night we took him up to Steph’s sister’s before we went to UGA. Maverick was able to spend a little more time with his “cousin” Sunny. He got so excited to go out into the back yard to explore; unfortunately he stumbled going down the five steps to the back yard. So sad to see him lose control of his legs. But he slowly made it out to the base of the retaining wall, sniffing and checking every drain for chipmunks.

I cut some hair off of his ears (his fur is so soft), and from his tail, as a keepsake. We took some paw prints, and the vet center was going to take a clay paw print as well. We gave our consent for a necropsy; hopefully they will be able to gain some knowledge that will help someone in the future.
Click to expand...

I've been wanting to get a dog for my kids for some time, and I think that you just sold me on doing it as soon as possible. Living includes dying, and the love and pain of having and then losing a dog teaches that better than anything else short of losing a loved one. I'm going to use your story to talk my wife into it.... Plus, I'll sick my kiddos on her. That should do it.
 
Elwood von Kiowa said:
View attachment 68272

Maverick took his last breath at 0032 EDT (12:32 am). The picture was taken at 12:06 am, in the quiet room at UGA Vet Teaching Hospital. He’s wearing the prayer quilt that was made for Steph when she was in the hospital. Mavi actually looks pretty good in that picture, though what you can’t see is that Steph had been trying to get him to look up by repeatedly calling his name. He had been getting less and less responsive to stimuli. You could tell, much of the time, that in his mind he knew what we were saying, but he couldn’t make the connection from his brain to his muscles. Lately, in order to get him to go outside, we had to coax him with “high value” jerky treats; the last couple days, even that wasn’t much motivation for him. Often lately, he couldn’t make it down the hall without stopping to lean his right side against the wall. You could tell, even to the end, that he wanted to please us. But the “cares of this world” really didn’t motivate him so much anymore.

Last night we took him up to Steph’s sister’s before we went to UGA. Maverick was able to spend a little more time with his “cousin” Sunny. He got so excited to go out into the back yard to explore; unfortunately he stumbled going down the five steps to the back yard. So sad to see him lose control of his legs. But he slowly made it out to the base of the retaining wall, sniffing and checking every drain for chipmunks.

I cut some hair off of his ears (his fur is so soft), and from his tail, as a keepsake. We took some paw prints, and the vet center was going to take a clay paw print as well. We gave our consent for a necropsy; hopefully they will be able to gain some knowledge that will help someone in the future.
Click to expand...
You were blessed to have Maverick in your lives, and he was blessed by you. I recall the strength he provided to Steph and you through her time in the hospital. He gave you all he had during that time and is now at rest. Continue to sit at the feet of our Father and share those memories of your beloved Maverick often.
 

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