Juanita & Chika (GA)
Member Since 2009
My Chika, My Heart ~ April 1, 1997 – June 30, 2011
We had to make the heart wrenching decision to say goodbye to our sweet girl, Chika, on June 30, 2011.
I am devastated, DH and I both are. I still can’t believe this has come to be.
How to tell her story spanning 14 years in a few paragraphs? She was amusing, loving, stubborn, entitled, soft, sweet, cooperative, independent, territorial, content, surprising. She changed us from a couple to a family. All of our decisions became focused around Chika, specifically after her initial dx.
We were devastated to get her FD dx in June, 2007. We were so fortunate to eventually land in Lantus Land and I will be eternally grateful for all that I learned here, for the hand holding, the advice and the kind words. The Acromegaly dx came another year after that. We had her tested at the strong urging of Jojo despite Chika’s vet at the time initially refusing to do the test. It was not the acro that took her. We weren’t able to definitively dx it but from her symptoms her (wonderful) new vet believed she had cancer. Chika began her decline a year ago and it picked up considerable speed in the past 3 months. We had a constant struggle to get food into her and consequently she went from a healthy 12.5 pounds to a skeletal 7.5 pounds (she had a large frame). Her dose went from 10 u BID down to a fat 0 BID with many skipped shots. We tried some treatments, mirtazapine, pepcid and prednisolone but none of it seemed to make much difference and as easy as she had been to treat for her FD, she was very unhappy with these new treatments and frequent vet visits as we tried to find answers. Chika’s quality of life was quickly disappearing and as much as I couldn’t bear to lose her, even more, I couldn’t helplessly watch her suffer. It was a horrible decision to make but I know it was the right one. I miss her so much.
I am still looking for her shadow under the door when I come home.
We had to make the heart wrenching decision to say goodbye to our sweet girl, Chika, on June 30, 2011.
I am devastated, DH and I both are. I still can’t believe this has come to be.
How to tell her story spanning 14 years in a few paragraphs? She was amusing, loving, stubborn, entitled, soft, sweet, cooperative, independent, territorial, content, surprising. She changed us from a couple to a family. All of our decisions became focused around Chika, specifically after her initial dx.
We were devastated to get her FD dx in June, 2007. We were so fortunate to eventually land in Lantus Land and I will be eternally grateful for all that I learned here, for the hand holding, the advice and the kind words. The Acromegaly dx came another year after that. We had her tested at the strong urging of Jojo despite Chika’s vet at the time initially refusing to do the test. It was not the acro that took her. We weren’t able to definitively dx it but from her symptoms her (wonderful) new vet believed she had cancer. Chika began her decline a year ago and it picked up considerable speed in the past 3 months. We had a constant struggle to get food into her and consequently she went from a healthy 12.5 pounds to a skeletal 7.5 pounds (she had a large frame). Her dose went from 10 u BID down to a fat 0 BID with many skipped shots. We tried some treatments, mirtazapine, pepcid and prednisolone but none of it seemed to make much difference and as easy as she had been to treat for her FD, she was very unhappy with these new treatments and frequent vet visits as we tried to find answers. Chika’s quality of life was quickly disappearing and as much as I couldn’t bear to lose her, even more, I couldn’t helplessly watch her suffer. It was a horrible decision to make but I know it was the right one. I miss her so much.
I am still looking for her shadow under the door when I come home.
