Goodbye sweet, beloved Schonki

April 15, 2003 - To our great shock yesterday we very suddenly were forced to say goodbye to our brave, beautiful and beloved Skachonka, just 4 years of age....

The night before we made our usual biking tour and she's was running in the front! We actually said to each other she was quickly getting in much better shape. An hour later or so, when I went to put the dogs in their kennels for the night, she jumped from a small wall and suddenly cried in pain, which she had never done before. We decided to wait till the next morning, after all it was already midnight. Perhaps she had sprained her ankle? But yesterday morning she just would not stand up anymore. She was in great pain each time we tried to lightly touch her belly for examination. Very carefully we put her in the car and rushed of to the vet, where again she laid down in the middle of the hallway. Of course, by then we knew something was completely wrong.

The X-rays they took from her showed no details, because there was a lot of fluid in her body. So, Philip Luyckx immediately performed an operation to find out was caused her pain. Diagnosis: a tumor the size of 2 tennis balls that secretly grew on her kidney had burst. All the fluid we saw in the X-rays was actually blood.

The vet explained the situation: the other kidney seemed fine for now, but a sample from her longue tissue was already contaminated. Besides that she was bleeding so heavily a possible operation to remove the sick kidney could only take place after giving her blood thickeners for at least a week. Otherwise she'd surely die during surgery. And what would a possible succesful operation bring her: a few more months up to a year perhaps. Basically she did not have a chance...

So we had to decide to put her to sleep (stupid phrase: put her to death it is of course). Edmond and I brokenhearted, kids inconsolable and the other Mals completely out of their ordinary ways. It is incomprehensible to loose a dog that seemed in perfect health in just a few hours. And se was so happy since we adopted her last year... At least it is good to know that (the last day excluded) she did not suffer at all.

We'll miss her like hell!!!