Missing my Gumball

I had to say goodbye to my Gumball this morning - he very suddenly became sick yesterday; he refused lunch, and after napping for about an hour from 1 - 2PM, he grew more and more restless, and got very clingy. He wanted me to hold him, which was SO out of character for him - he was an independent little cuss! Then he refused his supper, and just couldn't get comfortable (even in Bailey's bed). I knew he was tired, but he just kept pacing, then asking me to hold him. I had a long, sleepless night worrying about him, and had set the alarm for 2 hours earlier than usual so I could get him to the vet as soon as they opened - didn't NEED the alarm, since I never went to sleep.

Gumball drank a good bit of water around 11:30PM, and slept for about an hour. We got up around 1AM, and I took him outside to pee. Then more pacing around the bedroom. He fell asleep again around 4AM. I finally gave up on sleep and got up at 4:30 AM and showered, and then thought I would get some computer work done while we waited for the vet to open.  I logged onto the computer at 5AM, and at 5:10 I heard the bells on Gumball's collar going crazy, and thought he must be up and ready to go outside again. But no --- he was having a grand mal seizure. Scary. It lasted a long time - and then he was only semi-conscious for about 20 minutes afterward. Then his gait was very abnormal, and he paced in circles in the backyard for 2 hours until we could leave for the vet.

He was running a fever at the vet - about 2 degrees higher than normal. The vet could tell from the history that bloodwork was probably not going to reveal anything treatable, and recommended that we put him to sleep, which I had known was going to happen ever since the seizure - and so I lost my buddy Gumball this morning, and I really miss him!

Gumball on Sunday, 6/17/12 - curled up in his bed, but keeping one eye on me.

Last picture I took of Gumball - Sunday, 6/17/12. He loved to sneak into Bailey's big bed and curl up.

In the foreground? That's a big bowl of the metal beads I've been struggling to ream, waiting for me on the bedside table. The walls are scratched and dirty because unlike Gumball, Bailey has to squeeze into this space, and often scratches the walls when he turns around.

The first time Gumball coopted Bailey's bed - shortly after I rescued him. He looks so sick here (and he was.) Notice how much cleaner and less scratched the walls were. This was July, 2010.

My perky, "Zombie" Gumball - sucking on a rawhide chew, eyes glowing...

Gumball came in to my life July 22, 2010 - I had him for 23 months, and he was a wonderful dog. He was a roadside rescue who had clearly had a rough life before he stumbled in front of my car.  He went to work everyday with Bailey and me, greeted all the customers, and kept a watchful eye on his new Mama. He definitely had mama issues - he would cry so pitifully when he couldn't find me. He was deaf, almost blind, and had no bottom jaw, but he was a little fighter - and at home he fiercely defended his territory and his Mom - often giving Bailey an earful if Bailey got too close to me, or to Gumball's food, or Gumball's bed, or my bed, or to whatever territory Gumball had decided Bailey needed to back the hell away from! But at the bead shop? Different story - he was just as meek and mild as could be. Always on his best behavior!

He always ate like there was no tomorrow, prompting me to once compare him to the planet-eating Doomsday Machine on an old Star Trek episode. He especially loved people food - as long as it was meat. Fish, chicken, beef, pork - didn't matter. He wanted it NOW. And if he didn't get it, he started asking for it, LOUDLY. And a few months ago I discovered he loved ice cream (but not Frosty Paws!) - and I would always give him a little. He was quite the character.

Miss you, Gumball! I know I'll keep checking to make sure you aren't right under my feet every time I get up for a long, long time. The shop is so empty without you, and I know the house will be, too, when I get home tonight.