Kacie

 In February of 2019 Kacie started to act a little weird. On Monday February 11 she threw up, not that overly uncommon bc shes a lab and she gets into everything. On Tuesday  she wouldn't eat. I chalked it up to her not feeling well, maybe she had gotten into something and thats why she threw up and wouldn't eat. But then she wouldn't eat the wednesday either. I called our vet and he told me to give her some pepcid. He said if she wasn't feeling well this would likely take care of her upset stomach. He said to call him back if she was still not feeling well the next day. So that night I went out and got some pepcid and gave it to her. The next morning, Thursday,  she wasn't any better so I called the vet back. The wanted to see her immediately. They said they didn't have any appointments available but if I could drop her off then they would see her at some point during the day.

After I got the kids all ready I drove all the way back to Fishers to drop her off at our vet. My heart was breaking, I was hoping that it was nothing, that they would say she just had the flu or something (dogs get that right). But later that afternoon they called me and gave me the worst news. They said that when she got there they noticed that she was a bit swollen around her lungs, trunk area. He was hopeful it was just fluid so he planned to aspirate some fluid and test it. But when he began to pull back the fluid it was blood. That is when he called me, he told me he could do further testing but in his professional opinion it was CANCER. ughhhhh my heart sank. He asked if I wanted to do further testing and I said no. Adam and I have always had the philosophy that while we love our dogs, they are just dogs and we don't have insurance on them and can afford to go thousands of dollars in debt over them. 

So then I asked him what our options were and he recommended putting her down. I asked him how soon. He said he would recommend sooner rather than later. I had to work friday evening and was really wanting one more night with her. I quickly called my boss and we found someone to switch with me so I could work saturday and then I could have one more night with her at home.

So we Brought her home and quickly made our footprints and things so we would have some memories of her (obviously other than the millions of pictures I had)

So Friday night I let her sleep in bed with me, like I had for so many years when Adam was away for work, she snuggled at my feet and I just held her. Kacie was always my dog that liked to touch me but on her terms. She wasn't a huge cuddlier but she loved to touch me. I was honestly worried she wouldn't make it through the night. 

. 

But she did and Saturday morning, Adam the boys and I took her to the vet and we had her put to sleep in the back of my dads truck. We then drove her out to my uncle Randy's house and had her buried next to Sadie, Luke and Lucie. 

To say that my heart is broken is an understatement. Kacie was my dog. We got her shortly after we got married. I had wanted a dog for a long time and debated on getting a lab because my lab that I grew up with we had to say goodbye to right after Adam and I got married. But I settled on a chocolate lab and Adam found an add for one in the paper and went to Spencer Indiana to get her. 

She was the best dog. She loved me so fiercely and was my ever constant companion. She followed me EVERYWHERE and really was my little shadow. Her and Sadie were my first "kids" and I just loved them. 

Here are the last pictures of Kacie with the kids. 

And here are some pictures of my Kacie through the years. 

For the girl who doesn't handle change well, I went from having a house of my own with my 4 kids and 2 dogs, to living with my parents, and no dogs in under 6 months. It was a struggle to say the least for a variety of reasons. But most of all I missed the companionship of having dogs. I have a lot of regret when it comes to Kacie and Sadie and I often don't feel like I lived up to being the best dog mom to them. We had 5 kids in 6 years and it was HARD! It was stressful and there was so much to juggle, kids, grief, being married etc. that unfortunately Kacie and Sadie took a back seat. I'm not proud of it but when I just couldn't handle things I would put them in their cage. Looking back I feel bad about this because they spent more time in there then they probably should have but it was unfortunately what I needed to do to get through the day. I would give anything to go back and do things differently but I can't live in the past and I can just move forward and be better next time. But dang it I miss those girls and their kisses and their unwavering love for me, adam and the kids.

Kacie Kate August 28, 2008 - February 16, 2019

Kacie and Sadie you are so missed.