Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Jared didn’t go to work this morning, but he woke up at 8:00 AM anyway and started taking a shower. I thought he was going into work late. Kano thought he was getting ready to take him for a walk. I could see the excitement in his amber eyes. He had started showing signs of degeneration and hadn’t eaten in 8 days, so it was good to see him with a little energy. Jared came out of his room with an extra pair of clothes. It was obvious he was preparing to leave for the gym, but I convinced him that Kano was more excited about the possibility of a walk. He walked both dogs with me part of the way down the long driveway. When he turned back to walk to his truck, we kept walking down the driveway. By the time he caught up with us again, we were at the end of the driveway. I held Kano to keep him from chasing the truck. I learned a short while later that Kano wouldn’t have made it very far anyway.
We turned around and headed back to the house. Near the house, Kano stopped to drink from a puddle for a long time and then seemed to get confused. He looked at me, and I could see the question in his eyes. Then he started back down the driveway again. He seemed to be walking more from habit than from wanting to walk, but since he had been having problems with his bowels, walking seemed to help. As long as he had the energy, I figured it was good for him. Lately his walks had shrunk from a little over a mile to about a tenth of a mile down the driveway.
We walked out to the road and back again. This time when we neared the house, Kano turned right toward the big field. Again it seemed more habit than want, but I let him go. Maybe it would help him get his appetite back.
It had rained the day before, and the grass was swollen with full-size water drops rather than the immature droplets of dew normally there. The air was cooler than it had been for a few weeks. I wasn’t prepared for a walk through a wet field, and my leather shoes (without any socks) soon had enough water inside to slosh as I walked. But otherwise it was pleasant enough.
Kano took the long route around the field. It was another surprise for a dog who hadn’t walked more than a tenth of a mile in over a week. We walked along the long side of the 20-acre field, and a deer suddenly sprang from the tree line in front of him. I used to walk him on a leash to keep him from running off after deer. They seem to have become used to that after four years, and this one seemed to expect it. Since Kano became sick, I haven’t had a reason to keep him on a leash. He can’t run faster than I can anymore. That’s saying a lot because I’m not a runner. By instinct he started to sprint after the deer. For one second it was a moment of pure joy for him. In the next instant, it became a moment of pain and confusion.
He only went about 15 feet before his hind legs buckled underneath him. When he went down, he immediately turned around and looked at me. There was confusion and pleading in his eyes. I knew his legs had buckled, but I didn’t yet know he couldn’t get back up. I stood by him for a few seconds, and slowly it began to creep in that I had no way of getting him up or getting him back to the house. Jared was gone, and the sun was making it very hot for a long-haired, furry, white 85-lb dog who had only a little extra energy a few minutes before. He was too heavy for me to carry. The only solution I could come up with was to walk all the way back to my truck and drive it through the field to pick him up. I didn’t want to leave him, though. I didn’t want him to think I was leaving him alone when he was in distress and couldn’t understand what was going on.
It was a couple of minutes before he could get back up, but it felt like an hour as he and I both wrestled with our thoughts. I felt so bad for him, and I was trying to come up with a different solution, so I was ecstatic when he was finally able to stand. I don’t think the deer started to run until Kano started sprinting at it. I almost wonder how close it would have let us get if he had been on a leash.
After a couple of minutes of struggling to move his legs, he started walking again, slowly, and I walked with him. At that point we were half a mile along the trail, almost exactly halfway. When we got to the lake where he normally takes a drink, he walked into the water farther than usual. I knew he was thirsty and needed a long drink. I wondered if I was going to have to walk in and carry him out.
By this time my shoes were completely soaked and my jeans clung to my legs up to my knees, so it wouldn’t have made much difference if I had to go in. 85 pounds or not, I was going to find a way to carry him out. He had trouble turning and moving his legs, but he eventually made it back out, and we walked back to the house without any further trouble.
That afternoon I fed the dogs and then roused them for another walk. Kano hadn’t moved since we came back from the morning walk. The Australian Shepherds down the street came out to bark at us when we reached the end of the driveway. Kano started to run at them, and I saw one of his back legs go down, but he stopped and recovered almost immediately. He seemed to remember what had happened earlier.
The Aussies are young and bark a lot. They seem to think they’re guard dogs, but they run away at the slightest forward movement. Kano perked up his ears at times as if he wanted to greet them. In his prime I would have had a hard time holding his leash as he tried to run to them. But he turned and looked at me as if asking what he was supposed to do. The look of confusion is clear in his face. It’s a look he has never had until recently, and it breaks my heart.
When we returned to the house, I noticed he was starting to have trouble with his front legs, too. It may just be that the weight of his weakened hindquarters is making him lose his balance. I’m not sure right now. The deer made another appearance in the evening. They like nibbling on the grape leaves (Mustang grapes) in the small field by the house. Kano didn’t have the energy to act interested or even look their way.
Kano passed away less than a month later on August 5th. He never ate again and existed on water only for over 24 days. He was able to get up and walk with help a little each day right up to his last day.