Will died unexpectedly yesterday. He had an unusual presentation of Mast Cell cancer. There were no visible tumors on him. They were all on his liver and spleen, and had moved into his lymphnodes before he had enough symptoms to help the specialists at VSH find them. I thought it was going to be Lymphoma or Hemangiosarcoma.

Will joined our pack in May of 2017. I purposely looked for a dog over 5 years of age after Tex passed because a younger dog would have been too much for Cookie. Pictures do not sway me but I fell in love with Will as soon as I saw this photo, before I knew anything about his personality. I just knew this dog HAD to live with me. The day I found him, he had just been adopted. He was returned a few days later because he was too rough with their dachshunds.

Rich and I drove down to Greenville, SC after work on a Saturday night. We stayed at a hotel and Cookie was so excited. She was thinking it was going to be BBH or GIG. She was disappointed that it wasn't a greyhound event but just made the best of it. Nancy met us at a park so we could see how the two got along. Cookie asked to play immediately and Will said, can we sniff instead? I wish I had pictures of that first meeting because they were adorable. After a short walk of the two of them sharing all the wonderful smells, walking nose to nose together in harmony, I was ready to bring him home. Rich needed a little more convincing.

At Nancy's house, Rich sat on the couch and Will immediately went over to him, placed his head over Rich's arm, and looked deep into his eyes. Rich was now ready to bring him home.

I just knew he was going to work out for us and he blended into our home in record time. It took a long time for Will to believe we weren't going to get rid of him and he guarded his heart for a while. It wasn't until he had a sleep over at our friend Sean's house last year that he started to realize he was mine. Will really thought Sean was going to be his new person and was trying to adjust and make the best of it. When I went to pick him up, he actually ran out the front door into my arms to greet me. The next time he spent the night at Sean's, he peed all over Sean's couch, much to my horror. That was the worst thing he ever did in the three years we shared.

Will didn't want to leave Nancy and had a ton of anxiety about getting in the car with us. Cookie and Will just curled up together and she let him practically lay on top of her to try to calm his anxiety. This fear of cars trips never left him and we took him on many trips and always made sure to tell him, "We're going home." Strangely enough, my dad's 8lb dog Quibbs calmed him down on car trips.

Will had a rough start into retirement with 3 different adoptive homes returning him. Some of the things that got him returned were actually personality traits I found very desireable. Once again, I had a fierce and loyal protector, something greyhounds are not supposed to be. He took his job very seriously and had a bark that would make anyone think twice about entering our home.

With formal introductions or just meeting people in public places, Will was the biggest love. Covid physical distancing was extremely hard on him emotionally. I even used a nine foot leash so people could feel comfortable saying hello to him but most did not. Although not the largest greyhound I had ever met, 30 inches at the shoulder was larger than most and his racing weight was 83 lbs. Until he leaned against people in his very overly affectionate way, most people had a hard time believing he was friendly. He would happily stand on his hind legs to say hello to people in their cars.

We all say this about our dogs but Will was the best dog for us. He was a mighty watermelon hunter/killer, defender of our property and pond (no ducks allowed, ever), and a champion snuggler. Quite simply, he was a good boy.

Mast Cell Tumors degranulate - they release histamine, heparin and vasoactive amines in the granules. The histamine causes the entire body to become inflammed. In severe cases, degranulation can cause coagulation abnormalities, hypotension and anaphylaxis. We don't know why the tumors started to degranulate, if it was just one or more, but it just overloaded his system.

His heart started having trouble Monday night. The vets thought they had him stabilized but he started to vomit again on Tuesday morning while on IV fluids and all IV medications. His decline was very quick after that. He had obvious neurological issues and soon lost the ability to stand.  The oncologist called us in to say goodbye. He was starting to have issues tracking with his eyes before we got there but he vocalized to let us know he knew we were there.

They brought him in on a stretcher. He vocalized briefly when he realized I was in the room but he vocalized a LOT when Rich came into the room.  A fellow greyhound friends was there with me so I wouldn't be alone and she helped calm me down about the vocalizations. he was just letting me know he knew me, he wasn't crying out in pain.

While waiting for Rich to get there, I held and stroked him like I normally do and he relaxed and had a good nap. Scared me at first but this was our normal ritual. He closed his eyes and went into a deep sleep pretty quickly. After Rich got there, he took another nap. When he woke up the second time, he was able to lift his head and track with his eyes again and happily looked into our eyes one last time.  He then went to sleep on his own and never noticed the vet coming into the room.  

We couldn't handle going back to an empty house so we went to our friend's house and her hounds loved on us.  We remembered, we cried, we remembered and laughed some more.

The house is empty.  It has been 21 years since we haven't had a greyhound.  I have no idea what to do with myself.  All my daily rituals are gone.  There are no walks.  No cookie breaks.  No discussions about how Will IS a lapdog and needed to sit on my lap.  No demands for a cookie or some frozen yogurt.   Every night at 10:30, he would stand at the freezer to remind me that he needed his snack.   No one stealing my spot in the bed when I would get up.  He liked me but Rich was his person and every morning required snuggle time.  I am the early riser and Rich and Will would sleep in.  I never had a dog that wanted to go for his first walk of the day at 11 AM before (but that last walk was often at 2 AM.  And no, Rich wasn't who he wanted to take him for a walk.)  If I ever took a nap, he would happily join me in the guest room or the master bedroom.  Nixon is my heart dog but Will is THE best dog.