Meatball...

Yesterday was an awful day....we had to make the hardest decision to put our baby boy Meatball down. It was very hard but we know in our hearts it was the best thing for him. We will always love Meatball and we'll never forget the past 8 years (almost 9) with him.

We got Meatball my junior year in college. It all started shortly after Elliott and I first started dating. He asked me why I had never had a dog growing up and I told him how my mom was super allergic to dogs. He couldn't believe I'd gone soo long without having a dog. Being a dog lover he said that had to change ASAP. Elliott started visiting the Humane Society because he wanted to adopt a dog. They told him it would cost $50 to adopt a dog. Being poor college students Elliott and I started to save up....or we joked about saving up the $50 bucks plus food, toys etc. It didn't take too long before we had enough money to get everything. Then one day Elliott went back to the Humane Society and saw a bunch of puppies. Someone had found a box by the Toledo River with all the puppies. They were all girls that were tan and one boy that was tan and black. At first Elliott thought he wanted one of the tan girls but when he saw Meatball (the tan and black boy) fighting with the girls...he knew right away he wanted that one. So he adopted Meatball and brought him home with him.

Meatball was my first dog so I didn't know what to expect. He was peeing all over Elliott's apartment and biting people (not hard) and chewing up stuff. He was a puppy and that's what puppies do. We fell in love with Meatball right away. Despite him chewing things (mostly my stuff) he was a really good dog. Elliott got him potty trained really fast.

We had Meatball for acouple years before we moved into our house. Once we moved into our house and out of apartments he became a new dog. He loved having a backyard to run in. He went from a super hyper dog to a calm and chill dog (unless people came to visit him, then he was excited).

I can't say enough good things about Meatball. He was a great dog. If you were sad he could sense it and would come up to you. I think most people will remember him as the dog who loves people, loves to have his belly rubbed, loves car rides and he also loved to sit on our couch like a human.

Meatball especially loved his little sister Maya and his human sister Sophia. He acted like a mother to Maya and cleaned her face and ears daily. He looked after Sophia and would always lay near her.

Up until September 25, Meatball was a healthy dog. We never had to take him to the vet (except once when he got a stick in his eye). We always joked and said he was soo healthy because he's a mut. Then, after a wedding we picked Meatball and Maya up from Jim and Sharon's and they told us he had a seizure in the middle of the night. Meatball had never had one before so we were a little worried. The next couple days he acted weird. Elliott decided on that Wednesday to take him to the vet. The vet told us he was blind in one eye and he thought he might have a brain tumor and that we should take him to OSU to get some tests taken. We took him to OSU the following week and they told us the bad news...Meatball had brain disease which caused the seizure. They also told us he had a tumor on his lungs. We were devastated.

We then had to decide what to do. We could do chemo but that wouldn't solve both issues...the brain disease and the tumor. We could put him to sleep...but that wasn't an option for us. Unless Meatball was in pain, we weren't going down that road. So we decided to just let things pan out. We wanted him to be comfortable (not on chemo) until the end. So a week went by and he had another seizure. This was the first one Elliott and I saw. He was awful. I've never seen anything like it. We called OSU and they gave us some meds for Meatball. We really thought they were working. He was like a new dog (or how he was before all this started). He was getting excited to see people, to go bye bye and he was eating again.

While we knew he still had brain disease and a tumor, we were happy to see him back to himself. Then he had another seizure yesterday morning. I was getting ready for work when I heard a thud. I ran into our bedroom and Meatball was having a seizure. We tried to comfort him. The seizure only lasted about 5 minutes which was alot less than before. So we thought it was just a one time thing. I went to work and Elliott called me around 11 a.m. to tell me he had another one. I was scared and worried. I came home from work and he was having another one when I walked in the door. I think Elliott and I both knew then that he wasn't doing good. Three seizures in one day was awful. He then had two more for a total of five when we looked at each other and knew. I told Elliott to call the vet and make the arrangements. We knew we had to take him in right away. We didn't want him to suffer or be in pain. Meatball was running into things and wasn't himself.

I called my sister right away and asked if Ricky could come and take Meatball. Elliott decided he could take him with Ricky. So Ricky and Elliott went together.

I think yesterday was one of the hardest days for us. We have loved this dog for almost 9 years and won't see him again. As I write this I continue to cry. I don't know how we'll get through this. Even though Meatball is gone...he will never be forgotten by us. We will always love and think about him. :(