First, we noticed that she slowed up.
She used to run a lot with my other dog, Dakota, who was younger than her.
They loved to run together.
But then she had a hard time keeping up with him, because she ran slower and slower as time went by.
Then, she just stopped running completely.
And lately, she was having a hard time even walking.
We took her up to the vet a few months ago, and they said she had the Wobblers disease.
Wobblers disease is a condition of the cervical vertebrae [in the neck] that causes an unsteady [wobbly] gait and weakness in dogs and horses.
The vet told us that she could have surgery, but there was a chance that she might die during the surgery because she has Canine Von Willebrand's Disease.
That is a disease that is very common in Dobermans where the dog's blood is thin, and it has a hard time clotting.
Because of this, the vet prescribed medication for Gangster.
We had to give her 4 steroids, 2 pain relievers, and 1 Maximum Strength Pepcid AC, all in 1 day.
They seemed to help her some, but she still wasn't the same.
The steroids gave her a big appetite, so she was gaining a lot of weight, too.
She got so bad that it hurt her to pick up or bend down her head.
We had to hold up the dog bowl for her so she could eat.
We could tell that she wanted to be around us a lot and run like she used to, but it just hurt her so much.
Most of the time she spent lieing down, and she was just 4 years old.
We as a family decided that it would be best for her that we have her put to sleep.
So, on Monday my dad and I took her to the Dairy Queen and got her a Hot Fudge Sundae for her last meal.
Then we took her to the vet, and watched her just go to sleep.
We brought her body back home and buried her in our yard.
Every day I go out there to visit her, talking to her about the day and telling her how much we all miss her.
***
I think about all the great times we had together; she was such a great dog.
Such a beautiful dog.
She used to be so energetic, so youthful.
She loved to be around people, and have her picture taken.
She always enjoyed car rides.
She loved playing with Dakota.
But recently she just wasn't enjoying much.
Sometimes she would wag her tail, but you could she it in her eyes that she was in pain.
She looked at us as if saying "Fix me", but there was nothing we could do.
Every time I remember hearing the vet saying "She's gone", tears roll down my face; like they are now.
I loved her so much; and I still do.
***
This is a recent picture that I took of Gangster; on the right is Dakota.
Gangster has a Beefhide Chip in her mouth that she is chewing; Dakota is sniffing the grass.
Here's a picture of Gangster's grave.
I'll miss you, Gangster.
I love you.
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