You see, my dog died this week. Maya was a Golden Retriever and had been part of our family for 12 years. My adult daughters spent more than half of their lives with her. Like most Golden she was completely devoted to us. On a bad day she would greet you as soon as you stepped in the house. Albeit recently her hips made her a bit slower to get to the front door she was always the light of the family when somebody needed a boost.
For the few years my wife and I were preparing our daughters to the inevitable moment when we would lose her. Goldens are known to have an average life span of about 12 years. My daughters wanted to prepare a final feast where we would let her eat everything we had always denied her like a juicy steak or a hamburger. Like everything in life it rarely goes as planned. We surely never envisioned losing her this way.
I had a busy monday afternoon at the office and had left my cell on my desk while I was attending a group meeting. I got back and noticed my youngest one had left me a message. Something she never did. She’ll text me but for some reason finds it too much trouble making an actual call. As the message started I heard her in a panic frenzy. Not only she was crying and trying to make sense but the phrasing was totally inintelligible. All I gathered in the first 10 seconds was the word ‘’Maya’’. I did not even let the message finished. Just hearing the panic in her voice made me heartbroken. In the short span of hanging up and calling her back I thought the dog most likely had a heart attack or an epilepsia episode. Something not pleasant and easy to see but expected for a dog of this age. Boy was I wrong…
As soon as she picked up I heard again the same panic in her voice and still not making any sense. After calming her, she finally tells me that Maya is in the backward being attacked by a swarm of wasps. The dog is down on the grass trying to get up but can’t. She tried to reach her but got stung as she was approaching. I told her to try to hose her down until I get home. This was an excruciating 30 minutes back home and I can only imagine how she must have felt during that time. Thinking about it behind the wheel I called her again and asked if she could get dressed with all her winter gear and approach the dog. She said she would try before hanging up again.
When I got home, I found both my daughters covering up the dog with their arms on the balcony. They had managed to bring her by the patio door and had covered her in a blanket. At this point the dog is breathing, we might have a chance. I grabbed Maya, put her in the trunk of our SUV and drove off to a local veterinarian hospital just a couple of streets from where we live. This a literally a 5 minutes drive when you get all the green lights. On our way wasps started flying around in the car. They probably got stuck under the blanket when they covered her.
I pull in the parking and hear her throw up in the back. No time to think about what it is going to do to my new car’s smell. I pick her up and as I entrer the lobby they direct me to the emergency room. I put her on the table and they start examining her as I explain what happened. After a few minutes we are asked to leave and go wait in the waiting room. My eldest wisely suggest to clean the car while we wait. When she gets back she tells us she found over 10 wasps in her vomit. What a desperate fight she must have fought. An hour later, the veterinarian tells us she suffered through a lot of stinging. They were able to pull out around 50 stings just on her head alone. Since wasps don’t lose their stings when they attack these could only have been from wasps that Maya was fighting off as she was stung. I can’t imagine how many more times she got hit but at this point it didn’t matter. I’m offered to let her under observation for the night and that they will call later to give me an update. We were able to see her before leaving. Her head had swollen around the eyes but with some effort she still was able to look at us. With her tongue out and trying to get up she looked like she was smiling optimistically and telling us she was going to be alright. We kissed her and told her we would come back in the morning.
It did not occur to me at the time but a 75lbs dog should not get out alive of this after sustaining so much stinging. My mind just wanted her to come back home.
The evening was silent at our house. I got to bed around 11 and had not heard from them. This could only mean she was getting better or so I thought. Just before 1 in the morning I get a call; She started to get up again but her urine has blood in it. This could be good if it clears in the following hours or not. I don’t need to tell you that I did not get much sleep that night but I still had to go to work the next morning.
I get out of bed a bit before 7 happy at not getting a call for the remaining of the night. As I’m taking a shower, my wife pops in and tell me we have to hurry, Maya’s having a stroke.
We get there 15 minutes later, she is now on life support with a breathing pump. She will never have a chance to hear our goodbyes.
The following days were just the saddest we never had as a family. Even I could not cheer my own family. My daughters were both starting to get a cold. These were not only sad but bad times also.
Maya, the day before
Inside My Head 