Kipper

It's been over 10 14 days since it happened and I still am not able to write about it without losing any semblance of control, but I think I really need to get it out there.  So please excuse any water spots on this post as I wasn't able to type and catch the tears at the same time.  It's taken many tries over a number of days to finish this entry, so I hope it isn't too discombobulated.

It all started with what we thought was a twisted ankle on the last weekend of June.  We were all in the back yard and he was running around like normal, but stopped suddenly and limped over to my wife and I.  Since he was coming up on his 9th birthday, I thought that he had just twisted and ankle or stepped on something.  Thinking nothing of it, we continued on our normal routine.  Unfortunately, things progressed steadily downhill over the next week and a half to the point where I thought I needed to take him into the vet.  He didn't mind having his front right leg touched, poked, and prodded.  He did whimper a little when you pulled the leg forward, but nothing too alarming.

So the vet visit was uneventful, yet not cheap.  After just an external exam, the Dr. Bob indicated that he thought it was probably something in the shoulder that was hurt.  He gave Kipper a shot of anti-inflammatory and gave me a prescription to give him each morning on his food.  He said he would have his office call me in a week and see how things were progressing and sent me on my way $150 lighter in the wallet.  At this point I still wasn't concerned because Dr. Bob had a lot of experience with sight hound and I was confident that he would tell me if it was anything serious.  He gave me the normal guilt trip about not taking better care of Kipper (translation: coming to the vet more often to spend my money), but didn't say anything that set off alarm bells. 

I was good about giving him the medicine, but he wasn't great about eating his food.  Ding Ding Ding!  While he would eat what came off the table, he wouldn't eat much of the dog food.  Then I noticed that his shoulder seemed to be very misshapen, some parts were swollen and others were sunken.  Ding Ding Ding! The whining started to be a constant thing and he stopped using the leg almost all the time.  As the days passed, the leg started to swell, but still wasn't shy about letting me touch and squeeze it.  Other than going outside to relieve himself, he didn't move around much at all.  Ding Ding Ding! 

The office called a week later and things weren't any better, so they wanted to bring him for x-rays and blood tests.  The estimate I was given was $600-750 to put him under and do the tests.  I finally decided to do a little reading on the Internet and see if the issue Kipper was having was a common one.  Part of me was hoping that it was something that was racing related, but most of me knew it wasn't something good.  Page after page documented almost exactly what happened to Kipper starting with the minor limp.  The prognosis was always the same, osteosarcoma or bone cancer.  Our worst fears were coming true.

Not really trusting Dr. Bob any more, I went another vet to see what he had to say.  Knowing what I knew going in, I was a complete basket case.  I could barely get a hold of my self to register him or answer any his questions.  He confirmed my diagnosis of cancer, but he tried to give me some hope by saying it might be a less aggressive kind.  In any event, we needed to make a decision about treatment within the next week.  I knew that we had to make a decision even sooner because I was not able to get any sleep with the constant whimpering coming from Kipper.  I had taken to sleeping on the couch on the ground floor so that h e wouldn't try to go up the stairs to my bedroom.  It also let Colette get a little more sleep that she was with him in the room.

The normal protocol for treatment include amputation of the limb effected and chemotherapy.  Estimates on the web ranged from $3K - 10K, with no guarantees of survival.  With 4 kids and stairs all over the house, I just couldn't see use being able to care for Kipper if we chose to amputate.  Besides, we both believed in quality over quantity, and Kipper's quality of life was not real good.

So the next day, I went to the local Amish market to get Kipper a last meal.  I figured I would get him a nice, big steak and grill it up for him.  As I was trying to make a decision, I walked around the poultry counter and noticed the perfect last meal for a greyhound....rabbit.  I had never cooked rabbit before, but I was sure that he wouldn't be complain.  Later on that night, I oiled Bugs up, added seasonings, and threw him on the grill.  Cooked on low for about 20-25 minutes and he was ready to be served.  Colette and I took turns pulling the meat off the bones and Kipper ate every last piece that we offered.  Considering the rabbit weighed over 4 pounds, that was quite an accomplishment.  After all those years on the track chasing a mechanical bunny, it was good to be able to give him the real thing.

The final trip to the vets was incredibly painful.  At least I was smart enough to bring a stack of tissues with me this time.  In the end, I couldn't bring myself to be in the room.  We said our good-byes and we went out one door while he went through another.

At this point, I have to point our exactly how wonderful the people at Patuxent Valley Animal Hospital were to us.  First, while we discussed options, there was never any pressure to change our decision or guilt laid on us for not trying more.  In fact, they did not ask us to pay or do any paper work on the way out, sent us a condolences card signed by everyone in the office, and billed us what I consider to be a very reasonable amount.  From now on, we will be taking all of our animals there and recommending them to all of our family and friends.  The demeanor of Dr. Louis West and his staff was exactly what I want from a vet and their pricing will make routine visits something I don't dread.