He fought a good fight

Today we put Giggy to rest. While it is hard for us to not feel like quitters, we remind ourselves that we are not. None of us are. Mark, Gigilo or me. There just comes a time when we have to decide what is best for the patient. At our followup appt. at the vet this morning, they were very concerned with the amount of tissue Gigilo had lost and was continuing to lose on his hind legs. Upon further inspection (while Giggy was under sedation, so he felt no pain) they learned that his patella (and the knee joint) was exposed as well as his femur. The open joint was their main concern. There was infection present there.

In most cases an amputation would be in order. And believe it or not, most animals do just fine with one less appendage. The only problem was that Giggy's other leg was not in great shape either. Multiple wounds, and a few of those wounds affected joints. So even if that leg healed, it would likely not be able to support his weight if the right leg was amputated. The vet did not have a good feeling. Money was no object, so I knew that the vet was not thinking that way. Even with money, this could not be fixed in a way that would have been fair to Giggy. And that is and was always our primary concern.

Mark and I talked and decided that Giggy fought a good fight...that he deserved to leave in dignity...not in pain and bandaged and drugged. So we are freeing him from this fight. We will bring Giggy home and will bury him on our farm. We have a spot on top of the hill where his good friends are. I'm sure they will be waiting for him.

Gigilo you have touched our hearts, our souls and our spirits. We hope you enjoy a place that is free of pain and full of cat treats. We also hope you visit us often in spirit. You will be greatly missed and we are thankful to have had you in our lives.

RIP my friend.