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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