Shut Up Kristyn! | Misc

46 | in memory of sprinkles

It's difficult to say goodbye to a pet, but even harder when said animal has been with you for 3/4 of your life. I got Sprinkles in 2006 and I'm so lucky that I was able to spend so much time with her, though of course it doesn't feel like enough.

Everything seemed fine, which is the part that sucked the most. I took her to the vet at the end of November and they said everything was perfectly fine, no issues. Then in late February/early March, she stopped eating her dry kibble. She's always been thin and a grazer when she ate, but I noticed that she wasn't clearing her dish at all anymore. She was also sneezing a LOT and had a bunch of eye goop which wasn't normal.

I suggested taking her to the vet again because I felt in my bones that something was wrong. I just knew. My dad was less convinced but I had him take her while I was at work (it was the only time they had available for a walk-in that soon). He came back with the devastating news that she had a tumor in her stomach and I had less than a month left with her.

She was able to hold on for those last few weeks because we gave her a steady supply of treats and wet food (the treats had soft insides so she could digest them easily)— aka my dad and I would put handfuls of treats on the floor and let her eat as many as she wanted. But unfortunately it still wasn't enough. She became thinner and thinner until she was basically skin and bones by the end. It hurt to see her moving so slowly and unable to groom herself.

I think it's for the best that we helped her pass when we did. We hosted a surprise birthday party for my grandpa this past weekend, and she received so much love from my whole family (who knew about the appointment yesterday). She moved around a lot during the party and I think it took a lot out of her. She mainly stayed in one spot for the next few days.

Yesterday morning, Sprinkles jumped up on my lap when I sat down to have my morning coffee, which sent me to tears because she hadn't been able to do that. I'm sitting here in that same spot right now and it's so weird to not hear the little bell on her collar jingling as she comes up to sit with me.

She was so loved until the very end, and she trusted me completely. I was petting her the entire time until she crossed the rainbow bridge. I paid for a private cremation, so I'll have her returned to me along with a paw print in clay🤍

Our house is now pet-less and it hasn't been that way since I was, like, 4. It was so weird to be truly "home alone" yesterday and not be comforted by Sprinkles's presence in the house. It's weird now to not have to go through my usual routine of feeding her, checking her water, etc. I haven't cleaned out her bowls yet because I'm not quite ready.

Here are some photos. Rest easy, my sweet girl

Me and Sprinkles, 2007