My little girl, Ruth, has crossed over the Rainbow Bridge.. She passed away very early this morning. My fiancee and I were with her in her last moments..

I had come home to find that she had a back leg kicked out, an arm beneath her, and she was laying flat out and not moving. I picked her up, and she responded, but I noticed blue on her belly and pelvic region. These new symptoms, coupled with the handful of other issues she had going on, prompted my decision for my fiancee and I to drive her to the animal ER clinic, which is over 2hrs away.

When we left, I already knew what was likely going to happen, but as a mom (and as any parent would, quite frankly) I still held out hope against my better logic..but I knew.

When we arrived, the on call vet listened to all that I had to say regarding what had happened and the issues which had been going on before this, and the only real option was euthanasia. She had offered to remove the large mass from Ruth, but I knew the odds of her surviving a surgery were extremely poor, and it was unnecessary suffering for both Ruth and for my fiancee and I. I chose to let her go... She was suffering, and even with her medication, her condition slowly kept declining (I had noticed a change in mood this week) until the sharp turn of events upon my return home from work.

The on call vet said that she would need to take Ruth into another room, as they used gas to knock out small animals for euthanasia. This greatly bothered me (and my fiancee). I explained that our primary vet used an injection to sedate the animal, and then an injection into the liver for euthanasia. The vet said that they had to use gas, and that was that. My fiancee and I spent what we thought were our last moments with Ruth. About 10mins later, the vet tech came in and said that the on call vet would do the procedure the way my primary vet does. That bit of news was bittersweet...I was grateful that we would be able to be with Ruth in the end.

They brought us back to a cozy, homey room with soft furniture and an electric fireplace for us to spend our last moments with Ruth. It went as it usually does...

We didn't get back home until about 5:15am, and I still had to work, though I ended up coming home early due to both my continued illness (recovering from food poisoning courtesy of McDonald's) and to this sudden loss.

Play happy and healthy at the Rainbow Bridge, Ruth. You're so beautiful, and I love you so much.... xooxo I love you, little girl <3