Mulder

May 20, 2023 /

Mulder Asregadoo April 6, 2015 – May 19, 2023

You all know that Mulder’s lymphoma came back in April, soon after his 8th birthday.  He deteriorated pretty quickly, and on May 2nd, I took him to the vet to try to determine his situation. His spleen and many other lymphatic organs were very swollen. She said that if we gave him an injection of enzymes, it would help, perhaps for a month or more. So we went ahead with that. It did help. It was miraculous. He felt amazingly better within 15 hours, all of the inflammation went away, he was playful and happy again. It was fabulous.

Unfortunately, only 10 days later, I felt the swelling in his throat again.  Within a couple of days, his spleen was engorged, his breathing was labored, and he was clearly suffering.  This we did not want.  We could have done the enzyme injection again, but it would not have lasted very long, and was expensive.  And really, it was too hard watching him get better and then sick again, so quickly.  We thought we might have perhaps another week with him.  But we didn’t.  He had a hard couple of days, it was clear that he was not feeling well, that his future days were only going to get worse, not better.  So we decided that Saturday would be the day.  It was a difficult decision, but we were glad to make it and do our best for our darling boy.  But Thursday night his breathing was worse, he panted all night and seemed miserable.  He couldn’t eat his breakfast, even when it was just chicken, which he has been LOVING.  So we decided to try to help him Friday instead.

Ted had a busy morning at work, but Maya was able to take the day off.  We took him to the park and had a slow, careful walk, with lots of sniffs.  We sat in the shade in the rose garden, and let him eat grass (we don’t usually, we worry about pesticides).  It was lovely.  We came home and gave him cuddles.  I shared my lunch of cheese and crackers and berries and salami with him, which he happily ate and enjoyed. Ted came home and gave him lots of cuddles. Later, we took him to the vet’s office.  They had donuts that day, so they brought him a blueberry donut and some whipped cream, which he loved. He had never had a donut before.  Then they gave him the injections, and he peacefully passed.  It was peaceful and sweet, and we are so very heartbroken.

Coming home to a house without him was terribly difficult.  We will adjust, and try to remember that he is no longer in pain, rather than dwelling on our loss. At least, we will try.

Mulder at the park yesterday. He’s having a lovely time, but you can tell he isn’t feeling his best. Sigh.

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