My Sister Princess, The Best First Dog I Could Ever Have.

Chapter 10: Goodbye Brother!

I am sad to say that on January 24th 2018 Champ had to be put down.

He had started coughing three months before and it was too much on him. He developed fluid on the heart and lungs and X-rays showed that he had developed a tumor or mass near the lungs.

He had shown the day before that he was going down heel when he skipped breakfast that morning. He played outside with his brother Boo instead of coming in to eat breakfast. That night I had to cokes him in bribing him with cheese and other foods. He came in and ate his supper. He had a goodnight rest and seamed to be ok.

The next morning he ate breakfast and went out to play, we thought he was feeling better. That night after I got home from work, I got the bad news. Champ was acting strange when walking down the stairs that day, mom had to carry him into the house. He would not eat. I tried to feed him after I got home. Still not eating.

We took him to an emergency vet clinic where we found out his gums were white. Boo came along, and I am glad that he did! I don't think I could have gone through the whole ordeal without him. White gums were sign of dehydration as well as a sign that blood was not getting to all the places it needed to go. They took X-rays to try and find out what what was wrong with him. That's when they found it! He had a mass or possibly a tumor on the right side of his lungs.

My mom and I were back and forth about what to do! We called Bonnie. We called and texted Kristy (the breeder) we called and texted Kristin. They brought him in to us and we held him in our laps for around an hour or two. We could see he was not himself.

He was lethargic and basically not being there. He did give mom several kisses. I put him down on the floor to be with Boo Bear. He just lay there not trying to get close to his brother. Boo tried to get a little closer, but then stopped. The two dogs lay together for what seamed like ten or so minutes. It might have been more, I didn't look at my watch.

I brought him back up to sit in my lap. He slid off my lap and laid between me and my mom. The vet was back and forth in and out of the room all night. They were trying to get answers from us about what to do next! They originally thought about trying to take the Fluids off his lungs and his heart. But after the X-rays, they thought it would not help him much.

Ultimately after hearing the results from the x-ray and the thought process Bonnie and other family members and friends we decided to put Champ to sleep. I cried and cried and the more I cried the harder it was to give him up! After talking to my dad we talked some more. We could see Champ getting weaker and weaker. We wanted to end his suffering so we decided that now was the time to say Goodbye to our beloved Champion! 

I took one last picture of my beloved Champ that day. He was so weak that my mom had to hold his head up.

Around 11:30-11:45 we said our last goodbyes and left him to be euthanized. I took his collar and leash off him. I will keep his collar for memories and use his leash with Boo bear. The vet office had a paw print memory keepsake. They asked us if we wanted to get a paw print made. I said yes and asked them if they could make two paw prints. They told me that they could make two of them for us. They made the two paw prints out of clay. There was a special candle out in the lobby with a sign.

I knew in my heart that I would not be able to run him in agility the way he was. That was his original purpose other than as a companion dog for my family and I. To me Champ truly was a Champion in my eyes, he had his Novice title in jumpers with weaves. He also had a qualifying ribbon in Novice Standard. I couldn't have asked for a better first agility dog than Champ.

I just am shocked at the fact that he was only 9 years and 11 months old. If he had made it for another month and two days he would have been ten years old. That is still young for a sheltie. Especially when everyone else in his bloodline has live till at least 14 years of age.

Maybe one day Boo will allow me to do agility with him. He has great potential, just on his own terms.  I hope that Boo will have enough strength to keep living. I hope that he will live to the age of at least the age of 14 like his mother if not the age of 18-21 like some of his and Champion's bloodline.

This is the end of Champ's story, but we still have Boo Bear. As of last night he is confused and looking for Champ. It may take him days, Weeks, or months to grieve and get over the loss of Champ! I know for certain that it will take me a long time as well to except that Champ is in a better place and that I can move on with my life. As of now dad says we will not be looking for another companion dog for Boo.

I don't know what I think about that, but we might think about trying in at least three months. Time will only tell!

For now I am going to keep working with Boo trying to get him certified as a therapy dog with Bright and Beautiful. I let Boo's testing expire because I didn't pay the registration. That was a mistake and I will be having Boo re tested at the next testing that Bon-Clyde has.

In the mean time I will continue training Boo with his tricks and his Obedience training, and I hope that I can start walking Boo at the parks and taking him to socialize with other dogs at the dog parks. I've got to keep his mind off of Champ. I may also have play dates for Boo and Kristin's dogs since they use to enjoy being around each other. Bye for now!