It is with great sadness and a very heavy heart that I write this. On Friday, November 20 in the wee hours of the night, my beloved boy Albert passed away peacefully after fighting off a major post-operative infection.
Albert had major surgery on Friday, November 6th to remove a blockage. The little guy had decided to eat a throw rug the week before. We think that he had a sore tummy (he'd been eating grass) and because he couldn't get outside for grass overnight, he ripped apart the carpet to get something into his stomach.
I thought he had thrown it all up, but as the week progressed he started to slow down. A trip to the emergency clinic suggested he likely needed surgery. I took him to my amazing vet, Dr. Hannah at St. Clair Veterinary. She did a barium xray and called me to say he needed immediate surgery. She estimated it would take just over an hour.
After 4 hours of surgery, 3 vets working on him, and 7 major incisions in his intestines, Albert's stomach was clear, but he had a long road to recovery ahead of him.
Initially Albert's recovery went well...but he quickly started to decline early this week. His belly slowly got more swollen, he wasn't able to walk very well. I took him to the vet immediately.
Dr. Hannah confirmed that he had peritonitis - an infection in his stomach cavity.
She kept him comfortable on fluids and morphine, but his white blood cell count just kept climbing. His little body just wasn't able to fight it.
I will miss Albert more than you can imagine. That little beagle that could had a profound impact on my life, and I find it hard to believe that he was only with me for 2 years.
The pain of the loss is profound, but I take great comfort in knowing that Arthur, Stella and I gave him the best 2 years of life.
Rest in peace little man...when you feel up to it, go for a stroll and try to find my dad...he could use a good little hound dog and he'll take good care of you.
