Longtime readers of these newsgroups are already familiar with
Maggie and her health issues, but for those who aren't:

Our 13-year-old Labrador Retriever, Maggie, has had liver cancer
for several years (that we know of). She'd been kept alive and
fairly happy with a combination of conventional and herbal medi-
cine, but last Saturday she quit eating. Tests revealed that her
kidneys were failing, so we made the decision to euthanize. The
vet came to the house today.

She'd been up and down all morning, but very unsteady -- her back
legs had begun splaying out to the side and she wasn't able to
stand properly. About 11:00 I noticed that she was about to fall
over, so I made her lie down on her left side (she's been bothered
by pain on her right side for some time) in the living room. She
never got up.

The vet came about 1:00, and we gave her her release. I'm pretty
sure she wasn't in much pain, but she was obviously uncomfortable
and disoriented from the chemical stew coursing through her blood-
stream, so despite the suggestion from the vet that we could just
let her go naturally if we wanted -- within hours, she said -- we
opted to proceed. There was no struggle or anything like that, but
she did require a full dose of the euthanasia drug -- obstinate to
the end.

Goodbye, Sweet Girl.

Pics of Maggie and some of her friends can be found at my website
(URL below).

[followups set to rec.pets.dogs.behavior]

--
Mark Shaw contact info at homepage -- http://www.panix.com/~mshaw
================================================== ======================
"The longer you go, the more the music gets into the walls."
-Muddy Waters

Goodbye, Sweet Girl.

I'm not a longtime reader here, but I am thinking of you and your
Maggie. I just lost my own sweet girl, and it hurts like heck. It is
good that there are people who can understand how much these creatures
can mean - I know I can't imagine my life over the past years without
my Sophie, and I'm sure you feel the same.

All my best to you and yours, and I am certain Maggie knew how much
she was loved, which I personally believe is about the best any of us
can truly ask for.

katie
K8K9 Dog Training
http://www.katiek9.com

(Mark Shaw) wrote in message ...

Goodbye, Sweet Girl.

Mark, I only met Maggie once but felt like I knew her for her whole
adult life. She was everything people hope for when they get a Lab
for their families - that perfect Lab temperament. I'm toasting
Maggie tonight and hope you and Susan are doing the same.

Lynn