Goodbye Big Dog!

We are incredibly saddened by the loss of our Big Dog, Kava. Today we had to put Kava to sleep and as horrible as our family feels, we're glad he's not in pain any more. "You can walk now."

It all happened so fast. Sunday night Kava came into the house limping a bit. We didn't think much about it because he's had things like that happen to him before and he was just fine. By Monday morning he struggled to get up and could barely walk. Every time we patted his neck he would wince in pain. We made an appointment with the vet for later that day. Our vet was wonderful, but not very hopeful. Kava's x-rays came back clean..., with no obvious signs of neck injury. The vet gave us a few options as to what could have happened and then gave us some options as to how we could treat Kava, none of which we liked. Kava stayed over night to be observed and received IV medications. The following morning, Kava was the same.., couldn't stand or walk..., still in some pain. He did not respond to the pain medications, steriods and cortisone shots they gave him and now his front legs appeared to be affected by what ever was going on as well. Having an MRI was an option, but all it would tell us, if anything, was that he needed surgery. With Kava's age and the likelihood that there were other complications with Kava's spinal cord, our vet didn't feel he was a good candidate for surgery. We visited with him that day in hopes to be able to take him home for one more night, but we couldn't. At that point, they were having to cath him to drain his bladder because he wasn't urinating. We spent some time with him and it was so hard to see him try and stand and not be able to. He was completely mentally there, just trapped in his big body. Through lots of tears and sadness, we made the decision to put him to sleep the following day if he continued not responding to the medications. Our vet was wonderful and though he gave us many options, in the end, after we had made our decision, he told us that was the best thing for Kava. We miss our big dog so much but we know it was best for him.

Kava was our gentle giant and the most obedient dog ever. Mason could even tell him to sit and stay, and Kava would do it. He thought he was a lap dog and had no problem trying to snuggle up his 180 lbs frame to you. We'll miss his 'bunny hop' when he would get excited, we'll miss his "winks" and his run that sounded like thunder outside. We'll miss his long stretch that spanned the entire kitchen floor. We'll miss his awesome physical presence (you always knew he was there for strength, comfort, support and protection) and we'll mostly just miss him. You are an incredible dog, Kava..., We love you!