Bennington Barbalich

Bennington’s Story

We weren’t looking for another dog, having one at home and losing one 9 months prior. But we meandered into a shop and there he was… literally, the doggie in the window… 5 months old and all his littermates spoken for. He looked up at me and smiled and licked my face… he was ours.

Bennington was simply the happiest boy I have ever known. Filled with joy… and a jokester. He was never too busy to play. He loved his family, but he loved his “brother” Ajax more. For 6 years, they were inseparable. When Ajax crossed the Rainbow Bridge (at 16 years), Bennie was devastated. After many long months of grieving, he settled into being the sole dog of the house… a job he didn’t take lightly. He did though become more fretful about being left alone for any length of time, but we did our best to keep that to a minimum.

He traveled with us and was a very polite tourist. He seemed to enjoy exploring all the new sights and smells!

And then, like a lightning bolt, he became deathly ill. He was in kidney failure, and our Vet thought he might have gotten poisoned. He was hospitalized and stabilized but sent home on many medications as well as requiring nightly SubQ infusions of fluids. But what was worse, he went home with a timeline. They gave him 4-6 weeks.

I’m a Nurse Practitioner, and I immediately switched into ICU-Mode. I put his medications on a strict schedule. I made his food. I monitored his blood pressure. I created a peaceful place for his nightly infusions. I had medication on hand to cover any possible turn for the worse. I charted on his status every night. That 4-6 week timeline expanded out to months. Not to say that there weren’t bad days… there were… but for 7 months, he saw more good days than bad, traveled to New York, lounged in the sun, walked at his leisure, and was smothered in love. And through it all, he gave all his love to us.

And then that last month came. He was almost as sick as when he was originally diagnosed. It didn’t matter what meds I used, he wasn’t bouncing back. His labs were spiking and his good days were short lived. More importantly, he lost all appetite… and he was food driven. And then, he made up his mind… he “told” me he had enough. He snarled and growled, and wouldn’t let me give him his medicine. And this boy never growled a day in his life! So, I stopped all treatment and just showered him in light and love.

Over the course of 3 days, he deteriorated quickly. On his last morning, he woke up yipping to go out… sat in the sunlight on the porch and barked at a squirrel… and looked up at me with a knowing look and rested his head on my lap. It was time.

If love could have saved him, he would have lived forever.