blushone: Oh Sweet, Sweet Shamus

January 2007 to August 2011

Rest In Peace

I wish I could report something more pleasant after not posting for 4 months, but Shamus (the big clumsy one) passed away yesterday. We think he got tangle up in a cloth bag that was holding some baby accessories and he broke his leg trying to escape it. He may have broke it either on landing from the kitchen counter or while racing downstairs with it attached to him - he never was very agile. Jeff heard the commotion and checked to find Shamus in the basement with the bag and baby accessories strewn across the kitchen and basement floors. Shamus then raced to the 2nd floor on three paws and hid under our bed. Pure determination and luck on Jeff's part made for a successful rescue into the cat carrier.

The vet clinic did all they could to make him comfortable. They said it was the worst break they'd ever seen and quoted a $3-5k fix with the possibility of amputation, either right away if it couldn't be repaired or if the attempt at surgery fails. We started to really panic when their orthopedic surgeon said the repair was way beyond his expertise. Not that we thought that we could afford it, but we had an appointment today for a consult at an orthopedic vet clinic, plus we asked for a referral to Guelph's vet college hoping they might be able to do it at a reduced price. However, Shamus didn't survive yesterday's sedation. He had become so violent towards the staff, even with the pain management, that they gave us the sedation spiel so they could to more x-rays. With his diabetes, we were aware of the worst case scenario.

We're okay, it was just so sudden. At least the injury happened while we were at home and not while we were away visiting family in Muskoka for 3 days; a few hours of suffering was more than his fair share. The real tear-jerkers are that Shamus let Max pet him for the first time that morning and that Watson went looking for Shamus before eating his dinner last night. Right now we're just trying to keep Max and Watson happy.

Super Shamus Cape Costume