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Losing Rosco


We were getting ready for church when I heard shouts about Rosco. I caught bits and peices about Mercedes, Rosco, and car. It didn’t take long to figure it out. I was still in my pajamas, threw on a pair of boots and a coat and ran out the door. Jayden was shouting and running towards me telling me Rosco was hurt, hit by Mercedes car and may be dying. I feared the worst and was scared of what I would find. I told Jayden to grab a  blanket. I found our neighbor standing on the road and Rosco in the ditch. He was sitting halfway up looking at me in the cold wet grass. With a blanket, I scooped him up and covered him. It was rather cold outside. I carried him into the garage and set him on some old pillows. He seemed alert and acted like himself just something was hurting and to me it seemed to be a leg. Rosco does not care for flies and is constantly trying to catch them in his mouth. His head was up and he was snatching at the fly around his head. This seemed like a very good sign.   He didnt want to use his back legs but nothing seemed paralyzed. He was in obvious pain as he would lay on his side with his body stretched out and his breathing was fast. I worried about internal bleeding and wanted to get him to the vet ASAP. In one phone call I found out our Boone vet does not have weekend emergency care, so we had to take him to ISU vet hospital. I knew that meant very expensive, I was anticipating $1,000. Jake had been at Karen and Orrie’s so he hurried home and went with me to the vet. I laid Rosco in the back of our tahoe and we drove with Jake talking to him and checking on him. The rest of the family went to Jayden’s good friend Erica’s graduation and on to church. Jayden wanted to go to the vet, but I told her she really should go to her best friend’s graduation party. Jayden saw Rosco get hit right outside. It was hard for her and she felt bad. He had followed her to check the rain gauge and just kept going right in front of the car. Luke was in the house and happened to look out the window at the exact time too. Both were very bothered by having to see it happen.  In Ames, I carried Rosco in my arms into the vet hospital. Little did I know that would be the last time I held him. Jake and I had no idea how serious it was. Once inside the door the ICU team was called to the front and they scurried half running to the front with a cart and strapped Rosco in and swept him away. We weren’t allowed to go back so had to wait. After some time the doctor told us in assessing Rosco, she did not see any broken bones in his limbs, however he could have chest, rib, or pelvic injuries, x-rays would show what was wrong. They told us he would be heavily sedated and it would take a couple hours. Jake had not eaten yet, so I took him to eat. While away the vet called and wanted to know if I would approve a blood transfusion if needed. His blood cell counts were dropping. We held off to see what the x-rays show. There was so much going on with Rosco, I wish I had the vets assessment with all the details, but what I recall was, 3 pelvic fractures. One area his femur was separated from the socket. His injuries were extensive and would require surgery, a long recovery time, weeks to months, eventually arthritis, and a huge vet bill. He would never be the same, he would not get to be a working dog, active dog, the vet said he would be a companion dog. I questioned how you handle his recovery. I was told he would basically live in a small crate so he couldn’t walk and be mildly sedated. That seemed awful. Where does one draw the line? IT is so awful making the choice. This is an animal, not a human, of course we want to save him and take care of him, yet going to extreme measures with an unknown outcome doesn’t seem right either. I talked it over with Jake and with Mark, we all agreed we didn’t want Rosco to suffer and we didn’t want him to have a sad life not being able to run and be the dog that he was. It was an awful choice to make, you could feel the heaviness. With our decision, Mark and the kids were on their way over while Jake and I waited. We were taken back to a quiet room to see Rosco one last time. My heart just ached for Jake. This was “his guy”, his dog, his buddy. I told him that his dog would be heavily sedated, which I thought was true from his xrays. When they rolled him in on a cart, his head was up and he was looking directly at us. That was like a punch in the gut. He was laying with a blanket over him, yet his head was up and he watched Jacob. His eyes were on him, he was his person. Tears, we both cried and petted on Rosco. This was the worst. Seeing your child hurting and crying over their beloved pet. I have never in all my life experienced a dog cry. Maybe he had some drops put in his eyes and maybe it was unrelated, but I still say he was crying. He had tears in his eyes and he was looking right into our eyes. He would lay his head down, but he still watched Jake and once in awhile would bring his head up to see where he was. Jake went through emotions of mad, sad, and guilty. It wasn’t fair, that we agreed on. Jake told me one of the reasons he picked the breed Shiba Inu, was because they had a really long life expectancy into their 20’s and he planned on having his dog many many years. That just crushed my heart some more. Jake was taking it very hard. This was his dog, he was Roscos's boy. The rest of our family showed up after some time and more tears and goodbyes. Mark took Jake and Jayden home while Luke and I waited to take Rosco home. I brought him into the vet in my arms, thinking they would put a cast on his leg or give him some pain meds and send him home. I left with him in a box.
At home, Mark and the kids were working on a hole. Mark ended up digging with the skid loader. It was a nasty day, cold and drizzling rain. Tuff anxiously waited at the tahoe. He saw us leave with Roscoe and was waiting for his return. He was looking all over and he sniffed the box. He didn't seem to understand until he was buried. Another ache. He was sad too. We buried Rosco today.



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