Goodbye, Mocha. We returned home from my daughter's birthday celebration to find my grandmother's dog breathing strangely, and when I went to give her medicine, she refused it, which she never does because it is wrapped in a treat. My mom rushed over and was able to give the dog the pill, and then told us to wait and see if it helped, and if it didn't, that it was probably time to say goodbye to her. Half an hour later, and she only seemed to be getting worse. She was tired, but if she didn't stand, she couldn't breathe. We called the emergency vet clinic, and they asked if we could wait since there were two dogs with emergencies (porcupine quills, as it turned out) already there. My mom said that this couldn't wait and they told us to head in. My mom, my daughter, and I headed to the clinic, which was maybe 15 minutes away. My daughter was holding the dog, wrapped up in a blanket. My grandmother said goodbye to the dog, but we didn't want to upset her with seeing the dog being put to sleep. We are fortunate that she didn't come along. Halfway down our street, the dog started howling an awful howl. It wasn't like any other noise I'd ever heard her make. The dog looked up toward the sky, then banged her head several times on the car seat arm. My daughter was very scared. My mom knew what was happening and told us just to keep talking to the dog in a calm voice, tell her that we were there for her, but if she needed to go, then she could. I snuggled the blanket closer to her so she wouldn't hit the car seat arm. We pet her tiny head and just kept talking to her. A minute or two from the clinic, I saw her eyes change. And just as we were pulling into the vet's parking lot, she breathed her last breath. The veterinarian was very professional and wonderful to us. He spoke very calmly and offered to attempt to revive the dog for us. My mom (she works for a different vet) told him that the dog was old and sick and had been in pain. So he took the dog into a small room and let us say our final goodbyes. Then he gently took the dog to another room, saying nice things to her even though she was gone, and came back with a paw print in clay for us to remember her by. Then we paid and left and it was over. The first picture is the same day Mocha passed away, and the second picture is her in my daughter's arms, minutes before she left us. My grandmother seems sad sometimes, and other times doesn't know how many dogs she has. It's been a strange and sad weekend. Goodbye, sweet Mocha. We loved you a lot! Mocha 2007-2016
