Good Byes

My mom called me around eight this morning, saying that Calvin was doing poorly, so we should come over to help move him outside so he could relieve himself. When we got to the house, he was lying on the lawn beside my dad, where he had been able to relieve himself and looked alert, but he was unable to walk or stand. When we brought him back in, we put him on his bed and he just sat, looking around, and seeming to enjoy the attention. My mom and I then made a quick trip to the Whole Foods for some Arsenicum Album that the homeopathic veterinarian recommended we give him. After we gave him the herbal remedy, he seemed like he was finally able to relax, although his breathing was still very labored and he was still refusing all food and water. Around ten-thirty in the morning he seized up briefly, his breathing stopped, and Calvin died, but it was very quick and did not seem painful; he would have been fourteen years old this summer.