We lost Duffy a week and two days ago.
It's weird that such a little dog can leave such a large hole in our lives. Lovey rescued Blanca and Duffy when we had only been dating about six months. Duffy was seven; Blanca was six. They were neglected by their previous owners. I still cannot fathom someone not loving those little guys to death like we did.
Although Blanca seemed much more affected by the neglect, Duffy was always such a chill little guy. He rarely barked. Mainly to express his happiness when we came home at night. There was never a cuddler as cuddly as our Duff boy.
Even though he was almost nineteen, he only showed his age by a stiff back leg. So when he got a cough a few weeks ago, it was noticeable that he wasn't feeling well. Trouble breathing led us to believe that he may have congestive heart failure like Baby Girl did. We thought we'd take him to the vet, get some meds and problem solved. He'd be fine.
Monday morning, Lovey took Duffy to the vet. Thirty minutes later, I got the call that Duffy's heart was fine. He was much worse off than we imagined. Fluid had built up in his body which was pressing against his lungs. This was causing his breathing problems. In addition, his kidneys were only functioning at 15%. He was in pain.
Lovey and I had to make the worst decision of our lives. We needed to put Duffy to sleep. We just couldn't let him suffer. We stayed with him, We stoked his head and told him how much we loved him. A few short minutes later, he went into a peaceful sleep and then he was gone. It all went so fast.
For such a quiet little dog, his absence in this house is deafening. I find myself looking for him a dozen times a day.
There will be another bichon in our future. We've discovered we cannot live without a little white dog in our lives. But there will never be another Duffy. None will even come close.
