I know i haven't posted in a long time but I just wanted to let you all know I lost my Doberman, Leo, on Monday. Leo was 8 years old and was diagnosed with bone cancer on July 25th 2008 and had a left front leg amputation on September 18th 2008.

We had moved 4th of July weekend to a bigger house and the dogs were loving the big yard and all the extra space we had. We had a great summer. Then at the end of August, Leo was diagnosed with heart disease. He was coughing and I thought for sure the cancer had spread to his lungs but his lungs were crystal clear. His heart was enlarged, surrounded by fluid and was beating arithmetically. 3 types of heart pills were prescribed for him and he did much better. He even had his own prescription savings card from Walgreens.

Last Tuesday (only 8 days ago!) was when I noticed there was a problem. I was studying for my final exams and he was huffing and puffing as he usually does because he wanted to go for a walk. I decided to take a break and he was excited and hopping around, playing with my other dog, Princess while I got ready. He made it to the sidewalk and promply laid down and refused to move. Alarm bells were going off in my head since usually he drags me down the street. I sat on the sidewalk with him for 10 minutes before I convinced him to come in the house. As the next couple of days went by he started to lose a ton of hair and his bones began to protrude on his spine, yet he became horribly bloated.

We went to the vet on Saturday and she was shocked by his body condition since he had just been there 2 weeks ago and did not look like that. An xray showed that he was losing his battle with the heart disase and his heart was failing. It was backing up everything and he had fluid in his abdomen and air in his stomach. She told me he didn't have much longer and his heart could stop at any time. I was devastated. That night he refused to sleep in the bedroom with us so I spent the night on the sofa with him. Same thing with Sunday night except he would go outside and lay next to the pond in the backyard and refuse to come in even though he was cold. He also hates water. Monday morning his breathing was shallow, his lips and ears were cold from poor blood flow. When I was in the bathroom he went behind the hibiscus and refused to come out. The ground was wet. He hates to be wet. I knew it was time. He had refused to eat for 24 hours. It all happened so fast.

His last trip to the vet was awful. He could barely make it to the room. The girl helping my vet was sobbing. They had set up bed on the floor. He got on it and didn't move again. I covered him with the blanket they had on the bed. I am haunted by the image of him after he passed laying on that bed under that red blanket with his head turned towards me. I can't sleep because this is all I see. I can't eat, I can't work. I don't know how I managed to pass my finals to become a college graduate. I can't stop crying and even though I front that I am OK, I am not. I miss him terribly. He was my best friend. Everyday I had with him was a gift. I always though the cancer would get him and i never would have guessed it would end this way. I am just glad it was fast and he didn't suffer long. If you made it this far, thank you.

Sheri and Angel Leo