RIP George

Our dog, George, unexpectedly passed away Tuesday night. He was my adopted son, and Jeremy's right-hand man ever since he was a puppy. George was a full-blooded, fawn boxer who was the joy of our life. He was schooled on the road while traveling with Jeremy from poolhall to poolhall. George knew no barriers in life, and as he got older he suffered from the strains of age. He had a bum leg due to an injury several years ago, which resulted in him losing feeling in the lower half of his right hind leg. Due to that injury he dragged his foot, and for protection wore a hunting boot when walking long distances, especially on concrete surfaces. Even though he had physical ailments to overcome, George was a happy dog, full of life, who showed everyone around him how to stay young.The preceding days of his departure, George showed signs of not feeling well. Tuesday was a busy day of errands and appointments for Jeremy and I, so we did not notice the drastic downturn he was making. Later that day he vomited and was lethargic. Unusual to him, he did not charge the door when someone came to visit. He lifted his head and barked at Ashley and Troy, but he did not move otherwise. We all immediately grew concerned. After several attempts, Jeremy coaxed George into taking a couple drinks of water. When he finally drank some water is then we noticed how pale and white his gums had become. Also, Ashley noticed his extremities were unusually cold. She called her vet tech friend and described George's symptoms. She recommended we take his temperature. His temperature was slightly lower than normal. We decided to give him a few minutes of rest, still thinking it was a cold coupled with age. A few minutes passed when I heard George trying to get up, so when I turned to look I saw him struggling to stand with a stare on his face I will never forget...a blank, scared stare. In my next blink, he went into a small seizure. At that moment pandemonium broke out! Hysterically, we drove George to the emergency vet clinic. The following moments tend to blur together. When the vet examined George, she immediately took him to the back room. We never saw George alive again. He apparently had a tumor on his heart and his spleen ruptured, which was the critical cause of his death. Jeremy gave orders to try and save his life and start CPR when asked what to do by the veterinarian. When she returned, the news was devastating! George did not make it; he died. We will love and miss George the rest of our days. Cheers to George!