We added Charlie to our family when I was nine years old and my sister was two, so all of us grew up together. The past 4 years I've been out of the house, and in that time, he turned into an old man. I regret not seeing him often as I possibly could have.
He had a cough that started last month which we attributed to him being 14 years old. Last night, he deteriorated quickly and fainted twice. We made the decision to put him to sleep this morning as his breathing was incredibly labored and he could barely eat or stand. When we got to the vet, we were given the option to put him on heart medication, but feared he would have an adverse reaction or possibly suffer a heart attack. My baby was so tired.
I held him in his Scooby Doo blanket while he passed away in my arms. Those two minutes were the longest amount of time I've ever had to endure. I cried the entire two hour drive home. I couldn't stay at the house with his toys and food bowl there while he wasn't. While I'm happy he's no longer in pain, the pain I saw him in today will haunt me. I had him at my place for the summer three years ago and I'm cherishing those days even more now. I'm just making this post because he was the most loving dog I've ever met and I needed to share his sweet face. I miss him so much already. I saw a rainbow on my drive home, and it hadn't even rained today, so I think that was him telling me he made it safely.
