Goodbye Timo

I knew that I was going to have to write this eventually, but I never thought it was going to be so soon. My mother’s dog, Timo, was put to sleep last week.

Nine months ago, when Timo was originally diagnosed with cancer, it seemed like the end of the world. This 8½-year-old Rottweiler mix was all full of spunk and energy. It seemed that she hurt her leg roughhousing with Quannah, her German Shepherd companion. There was no way to know that her broken limb was really caused by osteosarcoma eating away at her limb.

Doctor visits, x-rays, bone samples and everything else pointed to the need to remove the leg. Because she showed no other signs of cancer and we knew it hadn’t spread, we were sure that by doing this, as well as a course of chemotherapy, we’d be able to add a couple of years on to her life.

Everything went on without a hitch. She recovered from the surgery and was walking on three legs slowly, but steadily. Blood tests and x-rays all came back clean. We considered ourselves blessed. Timo had beaten the cancer.

Although she showed no signs of cancer, something was not right. She was having more and more problems getting up and walking around. The vet said that it was normal for a three legged dog to have some difficulties. She had one of her front legs removed, and the front legs are the weight baring legs. She was putting a lot more strain on her rear legs.

When Timo was three, she had ligament reconstruction on her back knee. The wire that was used to hold it together couldn’t take the pressure and snapped. Timo’s arthritis started acting up very severely. She was put on heavy medication which had little effect. She was given cortisone shots directly into her legs to try to relieve the pain. Nothing worked. We discussed stem cell replacement for the arthritis, but she was not a candidate for it. She became unable to use her back legs at all and needed to be lifted to go outside.

Timo was in agony and there was nothing that we could do for her. There was one thing. She has given us so much over the years, that the thought of ending her life, even if that meant ending her pain, was a hard decision to make.

We are going to miss Timo. She was such a joy and was always there to make you smile. If you were feeling sad, she would come and rest her head on your lap, emphatically feeling your pain and trying to make it better. We will be grieving for her for a long time.

Goodbye Timo.

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Tagged as: canine arthritis, canine cancer