These boys love each other, but...

These boys love each other, but Toebean (the orange one) isn't usually a lap kitty. I guess he decided that he needed to snuggle Balthazar regardless of the fact that he was in my lap. 😊❤️

When I say that Cub never snuggles Balthazar...

When I say that Cub never snuggles Balthazar, it's not an exaggeration. Cub is uncomfortable with Balthie coming up to him and laying near him; Cub will even look for a way to get up and leave without disturbing the cat and getting "in trouble."

This is highly unusual. I think Cub is having feelings. He was so excited to have another dog around. Even though he didn't understand why Oreo wasn't playful or why he barked at the things he barked at I think he was really happy to have him here.

Cub is usually a Papa's boy, but he's been up my butt the last few days. Even when the "mean" cat was in my lap.

It's ok, buddy. I appreciate the extra love and I know you need it, too. ❤️

I promise...

I promise that I will get around to responding to everyone's comments individually in few days, but right now I'm still raw and trying to process.

I do want to say that I've been reading every one of them, though, and I am overwhelmed by the love and support that has been shown to me, Aunt Taimi, and Oreo. This is not the ending any of us wanted or expected.

I am mourning not only the loss of one of the sweetest, cuddliest boys I've had the pleasure of knowing, but the loss of the life I'd planned to give him.  I wanted to spoil him. To have him crawl over everyone and everything in his way when it was time to snuggle. To have him stand politely with his face inches away from my face so I could kiss him easily. To kiss his kissy spot on top of his head. To see him outgrow his clothes and his need for clothes. To get him his first pup cup. To watch him feel well enough to play with Cub. I am beyond sad that none of those things will ever happen.

Instead of being able to look forward to all of those things, I'm fighting to accept that the short time we had was enough.

I'm trying to hold my focus on his good days. On the small health gains he made. On him enjoying his first plush bed. On him wanting to explore the house and be near us. On the bones he got to chew. On him resting on his back with his legs in the air. On him snuggling in with Carla, cuddling his Aunt Taimi, and playing with Kiwi. On his nightly cheese ritual. On the deep sleep he got knowing he was safe. On being welcomed home by Cub and the cats, like he just belonged.

The love we all (I'm including everyone who has been following his story) share for sweet Oreo was brief, but beautiful. It was big. I can't claim to know how the universe works, but I hope he felt every bit of love and support sent his way. I know that I sure have. And I am so grateful to not be going through this alone.

Thank you. Thank every one of you for your love and support and prayers and good vibes and kind words. It matters. It helps. I am not ok today, but I know I will be eventually. Because if we learned anything from Oreo, it was to hold on through the bad times until the better ones came back around. ❤️❤️❤️

Our sweet boy didn't make it, y'all. 😭😭😭

Our sweet boy didn't make it, y'all. 😭😭😭

He was full of growths (could have been cancer or a fungal infection). Like, it was bad. He had a mass at the blood supply to his intestines. His lymph nodes were affected. There were lots of adhesions. At least 18 inches of his small intestine were thickened to 4x what it should have been. The surgeon said there was no way to remove it all. She's surprised he was even eating at all.

I take solace in our cuddles last night. He seemed to feel pretty good, considering. No nausea or vomiting. I'm glad it ended on a better note. It could have been worse.

I am pretty devastated. He was such a tough and good and sweet boy. I don't really know what to do with myself. My heart feels shattered - like I'd had him for years. I am so glad I kissed his kissy spot one last time before we left him. 💔💔💔

We just got the call.

We just got the call. Oreo is sedated and going back for surgery. If we don't hear anything before an hour and a half or two, that's good news.

We're back from Oreo's consultation.

We're back from Oreo's consultation.

To manage expectations, he's either going to be ok or he will no longer be with us. I definitely didn't realize yesterday that this was so black and white.

Best case is that he's ingested a foreign body (which is entirely likely given his past) that can be removed.

Worst case is that he has a mass or some other complication that would require resection at the duodenum. That is complicated because the duodenum is short and contains two very important glands and there's not a lot of room to work without disturbing them.

If it comes to a resection in that area, there is a work-around surgery that requires a lot of "re-plumbing" of the area and the surgeon said she does not recommend it because it comes with a lot of complications and she's seen dogs suffer from it. She wouldn't choose that for her own dog and we won't be choosing that for Oreo, either.

If the surgery goes well, he will also be neutered while he's under today.

We will be called before surgery. If things aren't going well, we will be called during surgery. We will also be called once he's awake afterwards. I will post as soon as I get any calls and keep you all in the loop.

Paws crossed it's just a foreign body and that his duodenum is ok. I'm trying to stay positive over here, but I'm definitely having nerves. Thank you all for going through this with us! ❤️

Today has been so, so good.

Today has been so, so good. I can't even express how relieved we are to have answers to what is wrong with Oreo (see previous post if you missed it).

I was holding back tears when the vets gave me the news. We know what is wrong and it can be fixed. No more watching this boy yo-yo between good days and bad days. No more seeing him act so hungry and then throw up what he ate. No more stretching his tummy because it hurts so much. No more rumbling gut and smacking lips due to nausea. No more thinking that it's all happening because you fed him the wrong thing. The only other person who knows any of this better than I do is Aunt Taimi and she's tough as nails for enduring it with him for the past month - and for somehow getting him to a healthier state while all of this was going on. I will never be able to thank her enough for how she cared for this boy.

I know we have to get through the surgery, but when I tell you I was giddy this morning... I was on Cloud 9. I made 2 wrong turns trying to take us home and I damn well knew where I was; our vet is less than 15 minutes away from our house. I have been messing up my words and bouncing off the walls. One of my current biggest fears was that we wouldn't figure this out anytime soon, and then poof - it was gone! A weight was lifted. I feel like I am only just now starting to calm down from the news.

I have turned in the paperwork to the surgeon's office and I'll let y'all know how things go tomorrow as soon as I know something. ❤️❤️❤️