My heart is breaking but Sarge is at peace. We took him with us to Tulsa this weekend and he enjoyed another road trip. Sarge absolutely loved going Bye-Bye!!! He had an amazing day yesterday and hopped all over the yard and ate all of his supper. He has had good days and bad since it was determined the cancer had returned. I knew the time would come, but he kept fighting and beating all the odds, so we kept helping him live to the fullest. Even though I knew his time was coming to an end, I still was not ready. His breath became labored and he desperately wanted to get up this am, but his weakened body refused to cooperate. I laid on the floor with him and he passed peacefully in my arms. My husband and I buried him by the stream in the yard where he spent so many joyful years playing, chasing his dog friends, gardening wth Mom, watching embers fly into the air from the fire-pit and enjoying life to the fullest. My heart is completely broken, as I know he was not ready to go, even in the end, it was clear he wanted to live. Heaven gained a special angel today and hopefully he will be waiting on me, like he always did, till I come home to be with him. May Sarge be an inspiration to all those that battle osteosarcoma and may his story continue to live on. Thank you to all those on the tripawds forum that have ALWAYS been there to offer advice, an understanding ear or to cry with me when no one else seemed to understand. I love each and everyone of you for being there for our family.
Author: c1nicolei
Sarge has been the the love of my life since we rescued him in 2007. He was thought to be a carcass on the side of the road in our community park. As I walked over to look at the pitiful dead dog, I soon realized he was still breathing, barely. We rushed him to the vet and although severely malnourished and in a terrible state, with TLC he miraculously pulled through. Snap shot ahead to 6/2014, we decide to go outside to play fetch, he was so excited and full of energy, doing his typical bouncy boxer pelvic shuffle. He took a nasty tumble and the sounds that followed was nothing short of heart piercing. My heart stopped, because I knew it was bad, very bad. I am a PA, not a veterinarian, but I knew instantly the leg was broken badly. I splinted him and rushed him to the vet. What initially was going to be an orthopedic surgery to repair a broken radius and ulna, quickly turned into, "Your dog sustained a pathological cancer, we think he has osteosarcoma". I could not even hear what I was being told. How could this seemingly happy, healthy, FULL of life dog have CANCER?? The BX confirmed my worst fears. This whole process took over a week. In that time I researched every aspect of canine osteosarcoma I could find and I had already made up my mind, we were going to fight this, not for me, but I knew he was not done living!!! Making the decision to amputate was not one taken lightly. We ensured there were no macro mets and that his blood work looked stable. I also decided if we amputated we would also do chemo. Sarge had his leg amputated 2 days ago and I am amazed at his hour by hour improvement. We start chemo in 2 weeks. I will keep everyone updated and love reading stories on here that give me hope that he will be able to be a happy, pain free normal Sarge!!! This is when we joined TRIPAWDS! What a wonderful, reassuring supportive community! I love you TRIPAWDS!
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Oh Candie, I am so so sorry. Sarge was a true Warrior. I know this part of the journey is going to be very hard for you. I am so sorry that you have to go through this. I hate it.
He will give you signs that he is still with you. I am glad he got to go on his many trips this past few months.
Thinking of you and your family
Run Free Sarge until you meet your family again.
xoxoxo
Michelle & Angel Sassy
Thank you Michelle. It does not seem real that he is gone. We were together almost constantly the least few weeks. There is a huge void. <3
Crying too jard to even attempt to write or jave any coherent thoughts.
I cry with yiu. My heart breaks with yours tonight
I hear you… my face is still swollen and painful from all the tears. I know you all understand this is so very hard.
My heart breaks for you. I have been reading about Sarge, and he was an amazing dog. Glad I got to know him from your blog.
Jesh,
Thank you. He was extra special for sure. He had human fans that were not even “dog people”. He is irreplaceable.
So sorry for your loss of your sweet boy. Thinking of you and wishing you peace in the days ahead. Nitro and Sarge have many stories to tell each other at the Bridge.
Paula and Warrior Angel Nitro
Paula,
YES! I hope that Nitro and Sarge and sprinting and jumping around, full again!
I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your beloved Sarge. Sounds like he’s buried in a very special spot, I hope that gives you comfort in the tough months to come. Look for signs he’s still around. It is so special when they do, you will know! It will be just for YOU. Take care xox
Chris & spirit Kylie
Thank you Chris. I foresee lots of visits and long talks with him.
So very sorry for your loss.
Thank you Dawn.
We are so sad to hear this news, Sarge seemed like he would live forever, the way he beat that cancer and showed us how to live. He never felt sorry for himself or looked back at life before cancer, Sarge just embraced every new day and made the best of it. And oh how he did! All of us looked forward to every new blog post to see how he was doing and to cheer him on. What an inspiration!
None of us are ever ready to say goodbye, there’s just not enough time with our animals. Their lives are short, but they pack so many things into their days and leave us with many great rules to live by. We’ll always remember Sarge’s rules:
– Fight like a champ and live with gusto
– Love and cuddle everyone you know (they just might have treats in their pockets!)
– Wiggle your butt with joyful gratitude for the day ahead
Our hearts go out to you and we are keeping you in our thoughts today, and always. May the legendary Sarge live on in other ways, through the lives he touched, the lessons he shared and the future Tripawds who will be inspired when they read his story here. Thank you for sharing it with us. We will miss your boy dearly.
xoxo
This site was such a comfort for our family! I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. The foreign and daunting world of canine cancer and amputation was terrifying. Without this site and the support of everyone here, I truly am not sure we would have gone through with it. I have NO regrets and hope others will have the courage to be able to give their beloved pet the same option. <3 You guys are angels!
I am so sorry to hear about your loss. This is such a hard time. But take joy in knowing that Sarge had everything a dog could want – a home, a family and lots of love, even in the end.