So I ended up making really good time getting home to Helotes. Left around 7pm and got in just after 10pm. I knew my parents were going to be painting over the weekend, so I did not know what to expect when I walked in the door. I parked my car, grabbed a few things and walked towards the door.
Opening the door, I was met by my brother. He had a stern look on his face. "Hey" he mumbled to me. "Welcome home." I open the door further to see a friend of his Stephanie talking to my parents in the hallway looking into the living room where I see my parents have already started taping the walls.
I started to look around for Snoopy but he was nowhere to be found. I noticed the back porch light was on so I figured he was outside. I stood inside for a few minutes as they discussed painting and such as well as a job opportunity for Stephanie. She was on her way out. I waited for my brother to get back inside before I asked him to help me get the rest of my things.
After bringing my things inside, I sat down in the living room, my mom came in and sat down next to me and told me she was glad that I was home. My brother jumped on the other sofa and then my dad came in and leaned in on that sofa. All attention was fixed on me. I asked what was up, was something wrong? I began to freak out. I asked, "Where's Snoopy?" Then my dad began.
"At around 3:30 this afternoon..." That was all I needed to hear. I knew what had happened. I looked at my brother who began to bury his head in the sofa. Shock set in as I began to look around the room, questioning the belief that was I was thinking was true.
I knew Snoopy was not feeling well. My mom had taken him to the vet less than 48 hours prior because he had been throwing up and he was limping a little bit. They were concerned it was something internally. They did blood work to check for the liver functions.
He continued....
"your brother was home by himself" More and more shock setting in, now pain... I looked at my mom who knew what I was feeling. She started to cry, I asked, "Is Snoopy dead?"
"Yes" she stated back as she continued to sob more.
I lost it. I began to cry my brains out. I had never lost something so near and dear to my heart. My dad continued to explain the situation, what occured earlier in the afternoon and how my dog of 9 years passed away.
He was lying in our hallway when my brother said he stopped breathing. He took the dog to the Vet just outside our neighborhood. They tried to revive him, but it was too late.
Today, we got the autopsy results and it was a little comforting, but scary at the same time. Snoopy had cancer in the spleen. It created tumors in the spleen that spread throughout his body. one of them blocked a key valve to the heart stopping the flow of blood. On the day he passed, the valve exploded causing him to (in a sense) bleed internally. They told us that once a dog gets cancer in the spleen, there is nothing you can do. They usually have 6 to 9 months afterwards.
There were symptoms that they described to us that were signs of early detection and when my mom went back and looked, she realized that he might have had this for longer than 6-9 months or at least held on longer than that.
I thank God for the loving memories and for moment I got to spend with Snoopy, he was a grand dog, a true companion and my best friend. He will never be forgotten by me and always have a special place in my heart.
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