Goodbye Cutie

Cutie passed away last night. She was fine yesterday AM ... alert, happy and digging into her food like crazy. At noon when I came home she was up and using her piddle pad, happy to see me. By evening, she was lethargic and refused to eat. She just stayed curled up with her toy under her blanket, and that is how I found her this morning.

I blame myself of course. I needed to take her to the vet for an exam when I took the others for their shots. I wanted to find out if the vet could discern a reason for her being so small. We discovered that at 7 weeks and 4 days she weighed less than a pound! In spite of her size, she was active and eating and her heart sounded fine.

I just think the trip to the clinic took a lot out of her, in spite of my precautions of wrapping the crate in heavy blankets and heating the car well before we left. Perhaps she caught a chill or, with her depressed immune system, picked up some fast acting bug at the clinic. Or maybe it was simply her time to go.

I'm terribly sad. Even after all these years and litters, the loss of a puppy affects me. I dropper and bottle fed her since she was 3 days old until she was able to eat by herself. In my heart I knew she was probably not destined for a long life, but never ever did I expect her to go so quickly and without warning.

I know there are some breeders who might simply let a tiny, struggling 3-day old puppy die. I could not bring myself to do that. I had to try and actually thought I'd succeeded. I'll miss the little thing whose intrepid spirit inspired me and whose cute little toddling across the floor always made me smile.

Don't even ask me what I will tell my granddaughter. Cutie was "her" puppy since the day I let her help me give Cutie the bottle!

Life is sad when you lose a Lhasa you love...


Joyce