Rowdy has been with us since he was about 9 weeks old. We were on our way to church one Sunday when we spotted a sign that said Heeler Pups for Sale. So on our way home we stopped and picked one out. Of course it couldn't be one of the calm quiet ones. It had to be the one that would bite at your hand and jump and play around. He was perfect! We named him Rowdy Burns and his name has forever been exactly who he is. Rowdy.
He is a nut! We love him so much. As a puppy, he was a little bit of a terror. He tore so many things apart. I'm not sure he ever grew out of his puppy stage. He loved playing ball and frisbee. Sprinklers were probably his favorite. When he wanted attention, he would stand between your legs and look up at you with those big eyes and wag his little nub of a tail. He was Justin's dog. They would go for Jeep rides all the time and wrestle around. But at night, he was definitely my dog. He slept on my side of the bed (the only dog that gets too) and he would usually end up sharing my pillow half way through the night! What a silly dog we have had and one of the best.
What Happened:
Several weeks ago we noticed Rowdy was getting kind of fat. We just thought he had gained some weight and we hadn't noticed. A couple of weeks went by, and we started to see more of his ribs and backbone but he was still fat. So we took him to the vet. They did x-rays, but unfortunately there was so much fluid in his abdomen, they couldn't see exactly what was going on. They did blood work and other tests too. Later that day after they had drained a gallon of fluid and took another x-ray, they found that his liver was a lot of scar tissue and it wasn't functioning the way it should. This was causing the fluid build up. So they put him on medication and told us we could get about year with him.
Well, he stopped eating after they drained his fluid. We finally got him to eat some chicken, rice and green beans. We kept him on that for a couple of weeks and then he started eating wet food. A few weeks went by and his abdomen started getting big again. The vet wanted to give it one more shot and drain it again. It was about another gallon. Our poor guy doesn't weigh much once it's drained. Maybe 25-30 lbs when he used to be just over 40.
About a week ago, one of the signs that we were told to watch for, vomiting, started to happen. He was ok for a few days and then it happened again and again just over the weekend. That is when we made the decision to say goodbye to him. He looks like he is in pain, his back legs are starting to give out because there is no muscle left. We just can't let him suffer any longer. It kills us to have to do we what we have to do, but we know he will be better off.
He was a crazy, funny, lovable, sweet dog and he will be forever missed.
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