The Todd Family returned from a trip to Italy in late July, and we were happy to be reunited with our dog. Boomer was his usual self: healthy, happy, and ready to play.
We noticed that whenever he played ball, he would usually get a little bit of a limp. No big deal. Getting old.
But then he started limping all the time, and we decided to take him to the vet to figure out what was wrong. She diagnosed it as a torn ACL. He would need surgery in order to stop the limp.
In order to verify that he definitely needed the surgery, the vet suggested X-RAYS. We agreed. They had to knock him unconscious so that they could lay him on his back and get the best X-RAY.
That’s when they saw the bad news.
Boomer’s ACL was fine, but there was a dark area on his leg bone. The vet became worried, so she made an executive decision to X-RAY his lungs. She saw spots all over the place.
Katy and I didn’t know any of this, so when we came in to pick him up, the vet brought us in to see the pictures.
Boomer had cancer. The vet gave him only a few months to live.
We were all in shock, and it really didn’t make sense, because everything just seemed fine (other than the limp). He wasn’t even ten years old. We had figured that he would live to be 12 or 13 years old at least. We also figured that he would be with us after both kids had grown up and gone to college. Becky hadn’t even left for college yet.
Within less than two months Boomer would be gone.
The news didn’t really sink in, but in September of 2010 Boomer’s health and energy level would start to deteriorate.
August would be the last time he would be his normal self.
