~ Bella Bean G. May 8, 2008-June 7, 2012 ~

it is with a heavy heart that i write this post. my sweet, sweet girl has gone off to doggy heaven to run free and chase as many deer and squirrels as she wants. :*(

i took her to the vet saturday morning with what i thought was a bladder infection. she wet her pen both thursday and friday nights. but, after they ran some tests, they told me she needed a blood transfusion and they were referring us to the veternairy specialty hospital. my mom met me at the hospital and we were told she had "immune-mediated hemolytic anemia" and it was serious. basically, her immune system was attacking her red and white blood cells and that when drawn, the red blood cells were clumping together. her RBC levels were way down and a transfusion was the only solution. with serious consideration, we let them take her. i had to work sunday and my dad called me around 1pm to say the hospital called and things were not looking good. we went and visited her that afternoon, and in between that call and us getting there, her body had compensated and her levels were back up to 16%. still not great, but better (a healthy range is between 35-55%). she was perky and seemed more like herself..not so lethargic. she had an ultrasound monday, which revealed no cancer...but still no reason as to why this was happening. :( tuesday morning, i got a call at 2:30 am and her levels dropped back down to 13% and they wanted to do another transfusion. my parents and i talked briefly and told them to go ahead with the transfusion. her levels went back up to about 15%. they put her on some new medication, to help with the clotting. i visited her wednesday morning, in the ICU. my dad met me there. she was still wagging her tail (thumped it like crazy when she saw her grandpa!). the doctor said the medicine was starting to help with the clotting...a glimmer of hope. but that a 3rd transfusion would be the only chance of giving the medicine enough time to really work. i wanted to give it one more shot, so we approved the 3rd and final transfusion. we went to see her last night, but the hospital was slammed with about 5 criticals so we couldn't see her.
early this morning, around 4:30, i got the call. her breathing rate was dangerously high and this was it. the transfusion did what it was supposed to - brought her levels up to 17% - but was throwing clots into her lungs, making it hard for her to breathe. i rushed to the hospital, closely followed by my parents, then my sister and brother-in-law. she held on so everyone could get there...a considerate pal to the end. we took some time to say our goodbyes and then the doctor came in. she went quickly.

it's hard because it came on so quickly. just about a week ago she was fine. and now, she's gone. but, she wasn't in any pain and didn't show any signs of distress until the final hours of her life. we did everything we could to save her, but her little body just couldn't take it. she just turned 4 last month. i will miss her very much and loved her so very much. she was the best dog, friend, companion and furry daughter a girl could ask for. she never met a stranger and was loved by many.

take care sweet Bella. mama loves you and is so very thankful for the 4 years we had together. <3