I wish I could find a way to write about Bob and not start crying, but I'm just too sick and tired to fight. I never expected Bob to die like Bill did; even though I could see that he was failing in just a few short days, I just couldn't face the truth. I look back on the weeks before, and I just can't believe he was that sick. I think he was making an effort to hide it.
He started drinking more water than usual, and he stopped feeling frisky on walks. After a few days, he vomited his food and stopped eating. I took him to the emergency clinic the next day. His blood sugar was at 400, just like Bill's before he died. I felt frantic, and I panicked. The bill, even though I have some dog insurance, was intimidating and scary. I didn't feel good about one of the vets. I cried and prayed for Bob constantly. I did not want to lose him. Out of all of the dogs I have owned, he was the sweetest and simplest. He was just a kind, old soul.
The team at the clinic put Bob on an IV insulin drip along with hydration. He eventually required a feeding tube, and he felt miserable. Two and a half days later, I let the veterinarian euthanize my precious Bob.
A side of me wants to believe that someone did something evil to Bill and then Bob. But I know that Bob had always been overweight and kind of lazy. It turns out that he might have had an undiagnosed case of Cushing's disease. The veterinarians that treated Bill and Bob think they had a form of type one diabetes that is probably genetic.
Whatever the cause, it is too much to deal with in a year. Bill passed away at the vet clinic on January 4, 2021. Bob passed away at the emergency vet on January 24, 2022. Bill was only nine. Bob was only eight.
Now that they are gone from my life, it seems as if a chapter has been closed prematurely. They were brothers from different litters, and they loved each other. They helped me change careers, raise my Vinnie, study for my master degree, move from house to house, apartment to apartment, and they were my best friends. They accepted me without any questions.
I am devastated by this.
