Rest in peace, Levi
14 February 1996 — 16 March 2014
I usually associate a song with a pet’s passing, but I think this time, I’m too emotionally numb right now to think of one.
Levi was an amazing little buddy. His tail was always wagging, usually so hard it was a blur, and he seemed to smile at us. As he grew older, and his vision and hearing started failing, he didn’t seem to smile as much, but his tail still wagged, especially for his chorizo or Schmacko, the former of which was the mode of delivery for his Vetmedin and diuretic pills and the latter of which was his most favourite treat of all time (not the brand name Schmacko, but he knew the word meant “treat” and we gave him Beggin Strips, which he loved).
In the last few weeks, he had started to fail. His breathing grew heavier and he was not as active as he used to be. Last Saturday, we took him to our vet, the wonderful Chantal Moreton, who upped his medication but in a moment of instinct, gave us her home phone number, just in case we needed it. Yesterday, we needed that number because Levi refused to eat, arched his neck when he was breathing, and his breathing was through his mouth with a strange clicking noise.
Chantal found that his chest was full of fluid and his heart was having big problems. She said she could give him oxygen and shots of this, that, and the other thing, but that was what his sister Nyota went through, and she had to be put to sleep a few hours later because she was very distressed and coughing up blood. It would only buy him a day, maybe more, and Noel and I decided that he couldn’t spend his last few days in a strange place when he was blind, deaf, and distressed. So we made the hard (but right) decision to have him put to sleep.
I love my little buddy, and it’s so hard to see his cushion in front of the fireplace, indentation where he used to lay. It’s hard not to have him following us around, or checking up on us wherever we are in the house, especially when I get within 10 feet of the fridge or his snack cupboard. But, wherever he is, he is at peace and no longer struggling for breath.
Levi, you were a lion in a puppy’s body, and you were the best little buddy anyone could ask for. I love you, give your sister and aunties a kiss and cuddle from us, and rest in peace, my boy.
Beam Me Up, Scotty 