Josephine Dunlap (1996-2009)

My female basset hound, Josephine, finally lost her battle with heart and lung problems today. She has had a "leaky valve" in her heart for most, if not all, of her life. This causes the blood to back-flow into the heart, and has been slowly stretching the heart for years. Just like stretching a piece of clay, it finally reached a point where it is too weak to handle the pressure, and breaks.

Something told me to stay home, and wok from the home office today... probably the same something that told me to stay home last night instead of going out drinking with friends. Thus, I was able to be with her at the end. She ate her breakfast this morning, albeit slower than normal, and went outside to do her business. Anyone that knows her, knows that she would never miss a meal or any opportunity for food. She had lost some weight recently, but not for lack of eating... she just seemed to not be absorbing it as well. Around 1 pm, I went outside to change the water, and she was laying on the patio sunning herself. She stood up to come to me, and stopped about one step in and collapsed. I got down to her, and within about a minute, it was over. Without getting into too many details, it was clear that the heart had given way, and she probably died almost instantly. While it is hard to lose her, I am glad that she did not suffer with her passing.

Josephine came to live with me and (then wife) Alexi in the spring of 2006, so she was already a senior citizen when we got her. She cam with a full list of medical issues, such as the heart murmer, skin conditions that required bathing 3 times a week, allergies, a thyroid condition, and probably a few others that I can't remember right now. Through diet, and a lot of care, we got her off of all of the medications, with the exception of the heart pills, and she lived a pretty happy and vibrant couple of years. In the last couple of months, she has been struggling more and more with her breathing (a result of the heart crowding out the bronchial passages and lungs), and has had to start taking medications to help her at least take in a bit more oxygen with shallower breaths. She then started losing weight, and the last couple of weeks has been very slow and in obvious discomfort. Today, she finally let go, and I know that she is no longer suffering.