Brick: March 27, 2004 to September 29, 2017
Words can do no justice about what kind of dog he was or how I'm feeling right now. I have no words right now. I want to go to sleep and not wake up for a long time. I LOVED him more than life itself. My life revolved around him. I made sure he had what he needed before anything else. He's been my best bud for almost 13.5 years. I raised him from a 6.5 week old pup. He went EVERYWHERE with me. He traveled all over the States and even to Canada. He moved with me every time I did. I would have taken a bullet for him. I was still healing from Zeke and now my wound is ripped open and way bigger than ever. Sometimes it's difficult to even breathe. He was 13 years, 6 months, and 2 days. Until we meet again my sweet baby boy. Run fast and free at the Bridge with Zeke. Daddy loves you.  |
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My heart breaks for you.  so sorry for your loss. |
| So sorry for your loss ... |
| Mark, I'm so sorry Brick has been taken from you and all of us. He was a very special boy, and we all know how very much you loved him. You've been with him every step of the way just as much as he has been with you, every. step. of. the. way. Rest in peace, Brick. |
Mark, I am so sorry to hear about Brick. He was such a good boy. You gave him a wonderful life. Laurie |
| Mark I feel so bad about your loss of Brick. You gave him all your love and a wonderful life. He and Zack are running free now. |
| Thank you all for your condolences. It means a lot. I know many of you are on FB and may have seen his story. But for those that aren't, here's what happened, as best as we know. Brick had been dribbling a little bit for the past 2 weeks. Not knowing if it was age related or Cushing's related (he had been off his Cushing's med for about a month because he wasn't eating or drinking well), I called his intern and asked if they'd like to see him or if I should bring him to his regular vet. They said they'd like to see him and start with a routine urinalysis to rule out a UTI. We made the appointment for this past Friday at 4:30 PM. I got there just before 4:30; the internal medicine tech took Brick right back for the draw. He went willingly with no issue. About 15 minutes later, the tech comes back out with him. He couldn't stand. If he got up, he'd fall right back down. He seemed to be working furiously to get on to his feet. I picked him up and tried to quiet him but he wouldn't. He kept squirming, throwing his head around, flailing his arms and legs, and peeing. They brought he and I back into a room and the ER doc took him. Another ER vet came out to talk to me about history and to review his file. She said they believed he was having a seizure and that they'll give him the anti-convulsant Keppra. He calmed down after getting that but he was out of it. They let me into the back room to stay with him. He was out of it and not really responsive. They took some vitals at that time and all seemed good. They placed him into one of those wall crates and I was able to stay with him. He started stirring again about 2.5 hours after getting the Keppra. He seemed a bit agitated and was trying to get up. I wish they would have given him a minute to see if he would have snapped out of it but another tech rushed over and hit him again with another dose of Keppra. I wondered to myself, how would we ever know if he was coming out of it if we keep wacking him with meds. But I guess they wanted to prevent the seizures as they can cause brain damage. Another hour or so went by and the ER vet asked me to step into a room while they did another comprehensive work-up on him. I asked her to check his abdomen because it seemed to be bothering him. He'd wince or stir when I touched it or even tickled it, even under the influence of the med. She came back a little while later. It was probably around 9:30 - 10:00 PM. She didn't have good news. His temp was up, his heart rate was up. She did an ultrasound of his gut and noted his intestines were swollen and there was fluid in the gut where there shouldn't be. There were also changes to his blood work that wasn't good. She suspected that he was either having cluster seizures, throwing clots, or maybe had a stroke. It was at that time that I had to make that awful decision.The worst decision of my life. She asked if I wanted him to have some pain meds and I said yes. I called my brother and asked if he, his daughter, and our mother wanted to come to the ER and say goodbye. They came down about 20 minutes later. We moved Brick out of the ER area and back into a private room on a gurney. He was out of it then. The vet went over her assessment with me and my family and explained what she'll do for the euthanasia and how Brick would react. He got the first injection about 11:35 PM and the second injection shortly after. He peacefully gained his wings at 11:41 PM EDT on September 29, 2017. He was 13 years, 6 months, and 2 days. My world is now dark. |
| Two things that keep coming to mind. - What if I hadn't brought him for that test on Friday. Would he still be here. What if it was my fault for putting him through that - Could they have made some kind of mistake when taking the urine. He was very frail with little fat & muscle. Could they have poked him wrong and maybe nicked something that shouldn't have been? |
| I don't think you should second guess your decisions Mark. He lived to a ripe old age, and by the sounds of it has been not doing to well for a while. Second guessing yourself will only hinder your grieving process. I am sure that what you did was right, and hope you can believe that everything was in Brick's best interests. I am very sorry you had to go through that. |
CamVal1 wrote: Two things that keep coming to mind. - What if I hadn't brought him for that test on Friday. Would he still be here. What if it was my fault for putting him through that - Could they have made some kind of mistake when taking the urine. He was very frail with little fat & muscle. Could they have poked him wrong and maybe nicked something that shouldn't have been? You made the right decisions, I might suspect (as you seem to) without any real knowledge on my part that they may have botched the catheterization |
Ron wrote: CamVal1 wrote: Two things that keep coming to mind. - What if I hadn't brought him for that test on Friday. Would he still be here. What if it was my fault for putting him through that - Could they have made some kind of mistake when taking the urine. He was very frail with little fat & muscle. Could they have poked him wrong and maybe nicked something that shouldn't have been? You made the right decisions, I might suspect (as you seem to) without any real knowledge on my part that they may have botched the catheterization I'm not positive, but I think they did not use catheterization to collect the sample. I think they used cystocentesis, where a needle is passed through the abdominal wall into a full bladder and urine is withdrawn directly into the sterile syringe. |
As Ron says Mark we can all go on saying "what if" but in the end the result would have probably have been the same except you and Brick would have been at home and he wouldn't have had the pain relief. Can't find the words to comfort you except to say they would have wanted you to stay strong and thank you for being such a great dad to them both. They will be walking with you in spirit for always.  |
| He's home now. Tough picking up his ashes this afternoon. Heart was palpitating, almost hyperventilating. Miss him terribly. The house, life, is not the same without him.  |
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| My heart breaks for you Mark. I hope you can heal from this, I cannot imagine your feelings bringing his urn home. Big hugs to you. |
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| Mark, I just saw this. I am so sorry for your loss. Godspeed Brick. |
| Yesterday evening was the first time in 13.5 years that I didn't have to clean up the yard on garbage night. |
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| You gave him a wonderful life, the best of care, total love. Your heart is empty, of course, your best friend and companion is gone, but he will always be in your heart. My condolences. |
| How are you doing Mark? Is the foster helping? Hope all is well! |
BeckyN wrote: How are you doing Mark? Is the foster helping? Hope all is well! In a way he's helping. Mainly to refocus my thoughts. But just a couple of days ago while doing something for Bentley, I kept remembering Brick and Zeke in their final hours of life. Still finding it difficult to believe they're gone. I'm happy to help Bentley but I'm just not ready for another dog. It's just too soon. |
| I am so sorry Mark. Didn't see this. Too many losses at a short time. Two wonderful dogs - almost felt that I knew them. |
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