RIP Tilly. 😢


 

It has taken a week for me to be able to write this.  

The effect of the steroids mentioned in my previous story on Tilly was very brief.   They only gave her relief from the pain for a couple of days.  The vet then gave us barbiturate tablets (Tramadol), but these seemed to have no effect whatsoever on the pain in her leg.  They just made her very lethargic.  Over the weekend of 8th and 9th July, poor Tilly seemed to be getting worse.  Where once only her elbow joint was swollen, by the end of that weekend her whole leg was about twice the size it should have been and looked fit to explode.  She avoided putting any weight on it at all.  

More worryingly, she coughed a little, and afterwards we noticed a few small blood spots.  It seemed like the cancer in her lungs was progressing too.  We had also noticed a lump on the outside of her chest a week or two before this, and it too was growing.  When lying down she now seemed to be at funny angles; probably to avoid putting any pressure on her leg or this chest lump.

Despite this, she was still eating, even if not as enthusiastically as before.  Still, we had to make that dreadful decision.  It seemed unfair to put her through any more pain, so a week ago, almost exactly at the time I am writing this, we had her put to sleep.  It was, and still is, a truly horrible decision.

Our lovely housemate, our fitness coach, our confidante, our clown, is no more.  Rest in peace my old friend.


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