Hello everyone.
I know it's been a few weeks since we've (Nick & I) have posted, but I have some sad news to pass along.
Our baby boy, Buddy, whom we obtained in early April from a local couple who didn't take very good care of him...has passed away this afternoon, only a few minutes ago.
I took Buddy outside with me this afternoon as I have a bunch of times in the past few weeks when the weather was really nice. I was laying right next to him on a beach towel, listening to my ipod and checking on him every few minutes. He had himself deep in the grass, just sitting there calmly. When I went to check him for the last time (around 4:10pm EST), I saw him moving around in the grass, but he was dragging his left leg like it was hurt or broken. It was literally dragging on the grass while his other limbs were doing the work. This instantly worried me because I had never seen him act like this before. I picked him up in my hands, and as soon as I did, he sucked his head into his shell super fast, which he rarely does because he's gotten so comfortable with us. His eyes were open for a few seconds, but only slightly. I pet his legs very lightly with my fingertips to get a reaction (waiting for him to wiggle or kick, to let me know he was alright). But he wasn't responding. Then his eyes closed and all four limbs went completely limp. I held him to my chest and ran him to my mom's house next door, turned the kitchen faucet on a cool stream and held him in my hands, hoping the water would wake him up. Still no response. I frantically ran back to our apartment (I live next door to my mom) with him against my chest, put a tiny bit of lukewarm water in his soaking bowl and set him in it. No reaction.
Buddy is gone. I am bawling my eyes out as I type this. Just called my boyfriend at work all upset, he gets out of work in 5 minutes, should be home within a half hour.
What the hell went wrong here?? He had been active in the days leading up to this (walking around a lot, both in his enclosure and outside in previous nice weather days), although he wasn't eating as much as he was in weeks past. Was the heat too much for him outside? Was it something else?
I am heartbroken right now...Nick and I were certain he was doing great, from the meds the vet gave us to give to him back in mid-April...Where did we go wrong??
He was our little boy.
I know it's been a few weeks since we've (Nick & I) have posted, but I have some sad news to pass along.
Our baby boy, Buddy, whom we obtained in early April from a local couple who didn't take very good care of him...has passed away this afternoon, only a few minutes ago.
I took Buddy outside with me this afternoon as I have a bunch of times in the past few weeks when the weather was really nice. I was laying right next to him on a beach towel, listening to my ipod and checking on him every few minutes. He had himself deep in the grass, just sitting there calmly. When I went to check him for the last time (around 4:10pm EST), I saw him moving around in the grass, but he was dragging his left leg like it was hurt or broken. It was literally dragging on the grass while his other limbs were doing the work. This instantly worried me because I had never seen him act like this before. I picked him up in my hands, and as soon as I did, he sucked his head into his shell super fast, which he rarely does because he's gotten so comfortable with us. His eyes were open for a few seconds, but only slightly. I pet his legs very lightly with my fingertips to get a reaction (waiting for him to wiggle or kick, to let me know he was alright). But he wasn't responding. Then his eyes closed and all four limbs went completely limp. I held him to my chest and ran him to my mom's house next door, turned the kitchen faucet on a cool stream and held him in my hands, hoping the water would wake him up. Still no response. I frantically ran back to our apartment (I live next door to my mom) with him against my chest, put a tiny bit of lukewarm water in his soaking bowl and set him in it. No reaction.
Buddy is gone. I am bawling my eyes out as I type this. Just called my boyfriend at work all upset, he gets out of work in 5 minutes, should be home within a half hour.
What the hell went wrong here?? He had been active in the days leading up to this (walking around a lot, both in his enclosure and outside in previous nice weather days), although he wasn't eating as much as he was in weeks past. Was the heat too much for him outside? Was it something else?
I am heartbroken right now...Nick and I were certain he was doing great, from the meds the vet gave us to give to him back in mid-April...Where did we go wrong??
He was our little boy.