I wrote this last night. An internet problem meant I couldn't post it till today:
It feels as if there is no point right now, as if there is never any good news. Never anything to give us hope for very long. I'm sitting here in tears having just had to say goodbye to one of the dearest dogs I've ever had the privilege to meet, trying to come to terms with the cruel hand that Anja was dealt.
Anja suffered from a disorder where her kidneys were to small. Through medication and a renal diet we managed her condition, and gave her a happy and contented life living with first Doyle and then Oliver. Such fine company for a dog that was left abandoned in a crate with no food or water in the back garden of a deserted house. She loved both the boys, so much she would never go on a walk without them, and I think everyone could see just what a bundle of fun she was. Anja loved company, she loved to play, she loved life.....
Today she wasn't good. She was very lethargic and her nose was filled with a really thick mucus. Her gums were really white and deep down I knew the inevitable time had arrived. At the vets her blood test results were through the roof, described as worse than they ever expected, and having left her to be hospitalised I got the call as I reached home to say there was nothing anyone could do.
You will have to excuse me for not remembering all the figures or even the names of what they represented, but the one I do remember was that her phosphate level which we'd managed to maintain at around 300 was up to 780. The results showed that she'd lost the use of at least 80% of her kidneys, and unlike a liver there was no chance of her regaining it.
I turned around and went back, and was met by a waggy tail, slightly jaded but a waggy tail all the same. As she slipped away we cuddled on the floor, she starting licking my face. I don't know if she was saying thank you or if she was telling me she was ready but she left this world still giving me a kiss.....
I guess that summed Anja up. So affectionate and so loyal. She always put others first. I feel as if I failed her by not finding her a family who would of benefitted from all that love, although I do know that with out us her life may not of lasted even the short time she had. And both of those points are just so sad.
I can't believe she's gone. The people she's left behind who loved her can't believe she's gone. The world really has lost an amazing character and a dog that really did epitomise everything that was good.
