We almost lost Fiona, our 13 years old Labrador, this morning. Like most days of the week, we took her for her morning walk and swim in a forest lake. She was as usual very happy to go swimming, took the path to the lake and was running up and down the trail in front of us as if to tell us to hurry. Since last year, I don’t take her up the mountain path but we stay on the lower part of the forest avoiding steep climb as she is too old. She enjoy swimming the most and since she developed problem with her articulation the vet said that it was a good exercise for her, less damaging than walking.
So everything was as usual this morning, nature always stimulate her, give her energy and strength. I took precaution this year by not throwing her stick too far and luckily my wife remembered this morning otherwise Fiona would have drown.
I don’t kwon what happened, I wasn’t looking when my wife threw the first stick for Fiona, I just heard my wife say that Fiona was coming back without her stick. I turned and immediately saw that something was wrong, I saw panic in Fiona eyes and saw her going under and back to the surface. I was up and running and cut her as she was going under the second time in about 5 feet of water. She wasn’t paddling anymore just drowning. Grabbed her collar and brought her head to the surface and pulled her out to the lake. I pushed on her thorax and stomach to make her empty her lung, she was breathing with difficulty and we thought that she wouldn’t survive. I lost track of time, I don’t know for how long she lay on her side fighting to get air in her lung. My wife volunteered to go get our vehicle maybe a km away. She did but first she helped me lift Fiona as I thought that this will help empty the water in her lungs and it did with pressure on her stomach. She vomited some more and seemed to get more air to her lung. After my wife as left, I let Fiona regains some strength sitting for a few minute and then encouraged her to stand on all four leg and try to walk. It helped her to empty some more water from her lung and regain some strength. She then took some step toward the path back the way we came and I just followed her as she made her way on the trail. Slowly she walked back to the forest road the closest our vehicle can get and walked until I saw the FJ coming up. By that time her breathing as improved a lot almost back to normal. I lifted her in the truck and we brought her back home so I may change cloth before going to the vet. Unfortunately our vet couldn’t take us today and any other as far as Montreal 70 km away.
I think she will be ok. She is in shock shaking but her breathing is normal. I stayed with her to calm her and now she is sleeping. I check on her every few minute, I think that she will recuperate. It was a close call.
I know that I will lose her eventually; I started to prepare myself emotionally for when the day will come when she can no longer be my best companion. One of the reason I prefer not working since last year is to be home for her. I know that without her daily walk and daily immersion in nature she will lose her strength and will to live. If I can give her some more good time and affection for some more months, whatever I am loosing doing so will ever be a small price to repay the affection and companionship that she gave me for all her life.
So everything was as usual this morning, nature always stimulate her, give her energy and strength. I took precaution this year by not throwing her stick too far and luckily my wife remembered this morning otherwise Fiona would have drown.
I don’t kwon what happened, I wasn’t looking when my wife threw the first stick for Fiona, I just heard my wife say that Fiona was coming back without her stick. I turned and immediately saw that something was wrong, I saw panic in Fiona eyes and saw her going under and back to the surface. I was up and running and cut her as she was going under the second time in about 5 feet of water. She wasn’t paddling anymore just drowning. Grabbed her collar and brought her head to the surface and pulled her out to the lake. I pushed on her thorax and stomach to make her empty her lung, she was breathing with difficulty and we thought that she wouldn’t survive. I lost track of time, I don’t know for how long she lay on her side fighting to get air in her lung. My wife volunteered to go get our vehicle maybe a km away. She did but first she helped me lift Fiona as I thought that this will help empty the water in her lungs and it did with pressure on her stomach. She vomited some more and seemed to get more air to her lung. After my wife as left, I let Fiona regains some strength sitting for a few minute and then encouraged her to stand on all four leg and try to walk. It helped her to empty some more water from her lung and regain some strength. She then took some step toward the path back the way we came and I just followed her as she made her way on the trail. Slowly she walked back to the forest road the closest our vehicle can get and walked until I saw the FJ coming up. By that time her breathing as improved a lot almost back to normal. I lifted her in the truck and we brought her back home so I may change cloth before going to the vet. Unfortunately our vet couldn’t take us today and any other as far as Montreal 70 km away.
I think she will be ok. She is in shock shaking but her breathing is normal. I stayed with her to calm her and now she is sleeping. I check on her every few minute, I think that she will recuperate. It was a close call.
I know that I will lose her eventually; I started to prepare myself emotionally for when the day will come when she can no longer be my best companion. One of the reason I prefer not working since last year is to be home for her. I know that without her daily walk and daily immersion in nature she will lose her strength and will to live. If I can give her some more good time and affection for some more months, whatever I am loosing doing so will ever be a small price to repay the affection and companionship that she gave me for all her life.