A Goodbye to my Brother, Yukon...

Good evening Puppers ~

This is one of the hardest posts I've ever shared with you guys, which is why it's taken me so long to write it. On November 3rd, my brother Yukon began his journey North of the Rainbow Bridge.



Yukon joined our pack in May of this year. He was a frail guy weighing in at 39 pounds. Clearly underweight, a trip to the vet and some bloodwork confirmed that he had high liver values. He was started on some medication that we hoped would bring the values down ~ maybe to within normal limits.

Even though I didn't want to admit it ~ I really hoped that he would stay. He made us all smile with his goofiness. Looking back, I don't think that he was ever supposed to be anywhere but with us. From day 1, he picked Scout as his favorite (btw - I don't understand how I couldn't be his favorite since everyone loves me). He would follow him around everywhere ~ if Scout looked out the window, Yukon was right next to him looking out the same window. If Scout went to lay on the dog beds, Yukon would be laying on the bed right next to him. If Scout wanted to go outside, Yukon was right behind him prancing in the yard.

After 3 months of his medication, the vets were amazed at the results ~ all of his values were within normal limits!!! We were happy for Yukon, but we were afraid that now he was going to have to start looking for a furever home. We didn't want him to go anywhere cause we loved him so much. It seems that fate also had plans for Yukon...

On August 26th, Yukon was rushed to the vet. He couldn't get up and he was very pale. When Mum came home, Yukon wasn't with her. We couldn't understand where he had gone. I overheard Mum talking on the phone. She said that Yukon had to have emergency surgery and a blood transfusion. Apparently, he had a tumor on his spleen that had ruptured and he was bleeding internally. They had to remove his spleen and he stayed at the vet for 2 whole days. Here's a photo Mum took of him after his surgery...



The vet had said that she thought the tumor was hemangiosarcoma, which is an aggressive cancer. Sadly, the biopsy results confirmed it. His prognosis was not good ~ median survival rate was 2 - 3 months post-surgery. Mum and Dad had decided that Yukon was already with his family and they made it "official" by adopting him.

Yukon came home and he got all kinds of great food ~ chicken, steak, noodles, potatoes, rice, cottage cheese (ok - the cottage cheese is kinda gross) and plain yogurt. He gained 7 pounds after his surgery and he was eating really well ~ 3 times a day!



On the afternoon of November 3rd, Mum picked up Yukon's leash to take him outside. He started prancing around like he always did. Mum hooked him up and we all went out in the yard. Mum was on the phone with Aunt Kathy talking about some pup that needed rescue, when Mum noticed that Yukon stumbled. I heard her say that something was wrong with Yukon. I turned just in time to see Yukon lay down in a pile of leaves. Mum hung up the phone and tried to get Yukon up. He just couldn't get up. She tried to get us in the house, but we just needed to know what was going on with our brother. We could tell Mum was upset, so we just gave up and went into the house. With some help, Mum carried Yukon to the car and they drove to the vet as quickly as they could.

We tried to wait patiently, but couldn't stop pacing. Finally Mum came home, but Yukon was not with her. Mum was crying and I realized that Yukon wasn't coming home. The cancer had spread and Yukon's body could no longer fight. He began his journey North of the Rainbow Bridge with Mum and Dad by his side.

That night, Scout curled up on Yukon's bed and fell asleep.

We all miss him terribly and wish we would have had more time to spend with him. He was such a joy for our family and we hope he enjoyed his time with us as much as we did.

Yukon ~ you will always be in our hearts and we are grateful for the short time we got to spend with you.

~ Chloe