Max is in Doggy Heaven.

Max

Age 13, December 16, 1997 - February 09, 2011

Magnificent Max, rest in peace as you will paws-itively always be in our hearts

Saying goodbye is never an easy thing…

It’s been a little over a month now, since we were faced with the hardest decision we never ever wanted to make for any of our “boys”, when our beloved Max’s suffering squared off against his “incompatibility” with life, and the gut wrenching need to assist his magnificent soul to transcend peacefully called out to our aching hearts, so soon… too soon.

As the clock turned over another early Wednesday morning on February 9, 2011, we could not believe that we would once again find ourselves at the crossing of “the bridge”, mourning one more tragic loss of life to illness that robbed our furry soul mates of a pain-free parting into eternity that they were so worthy of. The similar fate that tore our shattered hearts out less than 6 months prior, was upon us once again bringing on those stinging tears that are shed when emotions are screaming inside and there is not enough that you can do to make things right for those so dear who need to say goodbye.

Being forced to yield our remaining, 13 year old bichon frise canine “son”, Max, to yet another overwhelming and agonizing final battle was beyond sorrow. Max’s parting was particularly difficult as his quality of life seemed to have been so compromised too quickly at the end- he tried so hard to deal with the discomforts of the malady he was dealt which we often were not successful in consoling.

Our magnificent Max always “took on” whatever he was given/could get without much fuss being the “middle child” for most of his life between our other late canine son, who we loss to hemangiosarcoma in September 2010, and his 7 year old two legged human “buddy”. Max was such a tough little guy who often wouldn’t let us help him. Instead he tended to want to try to figure things out for himself first, almost as if to not burden us- which at times was simply too grueling to allow him to endure alone.

When sight was abruptly taken from Max, within a week’s time, in May 2010, due to what was diagnosed as Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration syndrome (SARDs), we were not only at a lost but also at the mercy of what little was said to be known about this malady. It is our sincerest belief now, through living with and learning from Max’s suffering, and from the expertise of a couple of pioneers in the field at the end, that this tragedy probably was the unfortunate onset of Max’s final demise, that we unknowingly accepted as a condition that “there was not much that could be done” for except to learn about and to help him adjust to life without sight- which we were more than content to do.

Although being told that we were seemingly “too late” to restore sight, which appeared to be the only singly prominent focus discussed at the time, no one went further to vigilantly pursue what little was said to be known/shared about this “autoimmune-type” disease until we stumbled over Dr. Alfred Plechner’s work months later when trying to find some answers for everything else Max was manifesting beyond being blind. With the blessed help provided by Michael Goldman from Healthy Pet Network, who went out of his way to answer our appeal for some expertise with all that Max was enduring, we were finally able to be acquainted with some basic knowledge about the imbalance that contributed to Max’s downfall that was imparted by the invaluable work of a great man and unbelievably dedicated pioneer in the field, Dr. Plechner.

Sadly our efforts again were much too late for our beloved Max. After going down the many customary pathways of traditional practices in attempts to explain the heavy panting, insatiably ravenous appetite, pacing, disruptive sleep, lethargy and irritability/agitation, liver/Cushing’s disease seemed to be ruled out with seemingly “normal” results prevailing. One would think this should have brought a sigh of relief, except that Max was clearly uncomfortable most of the time.

So as we vividly recall coming home on that last Friday afternoon in January, looking forward to finally having everything set up to commence with Dr. Plechner’s protocol the next morning to address the confirmed physiological imbalances that might provide Max with some relief, we were sadden to find Max quite sick. Unfortunately everything prior had already taken a toll on Max, contributing to a compromised system that became victim to a kidney-related condition that in the end could not be rectified. Dr. Plechner generously made himself readily available to us and our local vet all along the way and was with us to the end of Max’s precious life and even thereafter as the truly remarkable man and caring professional he is.

So with nothing more to lose, and with what proved to be some treasured days gained, we initiated Dr. Plechner’s protocol and were hopeful as Max appeared to respond positively at first and seemed to be trying to come back to us. Regrettably the odds were not in Max’s favor for the long haul. We readied ourselves to proceed to do whatever it took to insure his comfort, as we were faced with a setback that advanced Max’s suffering to a point where he was head pressing with blood results all suggesting an incompatibility with life. One last attempt to provide some relief under Dr. Plechner’s expertise presented Max with a couple of additional days where he got back his appetite and wagged his tail, full of the life we wanted for him which turned out to be his last hurrah.

The next day as we prepared to bring Max home from his daily stay on IV fluids at our dear vet’s (who had been coming in to accommodate us on her days off), Max appeared okay but briefly demonstrated a look, that I will always remember from our other dog’s final distress- a tongue hanging out to the side with what appeared to be a slightly blue tinge. Although I was a little concerned, Max had just walked around and urinated on his own at the clinic, so I put him in the car to go home for the evening of IV fluids and shots we had been providing over the past couple of weeks. The remainder of the ride home was not necessarily remarkable in any other way.

Upon returning home, however, Max refused any water/food but did go outside to use the bathroom and lay on the grass for a while. When he was ready, he came in and we hooked him up to the IV drip, seemingly without much fuss. Then the most alarmingly bizarre thing happened- Max fell limp on his side and laid unresponsive on his side in his crate but still breathing, which prompted an immediate call to our vet. We both agreed that perhaps it was his time and that we should let him rest and allow destiny to take its course.

So Max laid quietly without much visible distress while we awaited other family members to rush home, all along, by his side trying to comfort him however we could. Then when everyone made it home, somehow Max miraculously stood up which caught us totally by surprise. From this point forward we did not know what more to expect, but just stayed with him believing, that this was the best thing to do.

As the evening wore on, the debilitation and battle with compatibility of life obviously seemed to be taking its toll as Max was often gasping for air while we tried to get him to rest, assuring him that he could go whenever he was ready because he gave it his best, as he always did, and we just didn't want him to suffer anymore.

The struggle continued throughout the night seemingly becoming more intense with each episode and Max often appeared to be looking at us for help even though we knew he couldn't see. We tried to get him to rest telling him he could go to sleep and not worry about waking up in hopes that this would offer him a comfortable end which unfortunately his body would not succumb to as easily as we would had hoped for his sake. With much remorse, we realized we couldn't have Max just "take it" anymore, as he always did, and we wanted his obvious suffering to end. So we made the final call.

We will be forever indebted to our blessed vet ,Dr. Pauline Koreyasu, for coming out to us so late into the night to assist as even up to the last moment we continually questioned our decisions. She has always been there for our “boys”. So when the last episode of gasping breathlessness presented itself, she did not have to say anything, we could see it was far too much for such a debilitated body to withstand- we are SO SORRY Max and hope you understand how painstakingly hard this was, as a precious part of our being was taken away with your passing.

Words can never express ALL our gratitude to those who helped us give Max one last spark of life… we thank Michael Goldman for reaching out to connect us with Dr. Plechner; Dr. Plechner for the great collaboration with Dr. Koreyasu and his willingness to bestow his knowledge from the beginning of our acquaintance to Max’s final days; and Dr. Koreyasu for being there for us in the end with both our beloved “boys”. It meant so much to have had some “borrowed” time with both Max and Sam before their final passing. We miss our four-legged treasures profusely and are eternally grateful to have been granted the priceless gift of being with them to the very the end when they were released from their suffering to run free with their cherished spirits- we hope they felt our deepest devotion that will always remain in our hearts.

We want to believe that both Max and his canine companion, Sam before him, was speaking to our hearts as we watched both pass on in our arms with each last labored breath during their final moments of struggling with all that they were up against at the end. Both needed us to let go and allow them to move on which we had hoped Max could’ve done on his own. We do realize though, with heavy hearts, that the suffering was too grave to continue. The empty void remains ever-present though that time will probably need to fill for all of us.

We are so sorry Max and Sam that we couldn’t do enough for you as you did for us in touching our souls with your special lives and unconditional companionship… may your souls rest in the peaceful serenity of the heavens above us while we miss you and take solace in all the treasured memories we hold close in our hearts until we are able to see each other again to make more!

Thank you everyone for paws-itively touching all our lives… you will be in our hearts fur-ever…