The hard part..........

[Chuck the Duck Slayer]

RIP DIESEL 5/21/14---2/16/18

So for whatever reason we as dog owners decide to acquire a dog, there's always a reason at least one. My reasoning for getting Diesel was to fill a void in my life, have a companion that was always there and always happy to see me, plus I wanted a hunting retriever. I finally found a breeder with the pedigree I was looking for with a litter scheduled to drop in May 2014, I put a deposit on a black male. The wait was brutal but I couldn't wait to breathe that unforgettable scent of puppy breath. I picked Diesel up on July 11 from the breeder outside of Charlotte, I stopped in rock hill to see my parents and let them meet diesel. Of course they loved the little ball of fur that was still clumsy and exploring everything he could.

Luckily with my job I was able to take diesel with me to work, so he could spend the days with me instead of locked in a kennel all day. We made it through the puppy stage without much incident other than when he rearranged my office at work one day when I left him out of his kennel while I went to lunch. Once he turned 6 months of age it was off to see Rhett at Bay Creek kennels to begin his retriever training. After five months with Rhett I brought him home to spend the summer with me and because I missed my buddy. What I didn't miss was all the holes he would dig in my backyard, some of which I think could have held a body or two. He spent that summer going and helping build a barn in Aiken, working at the hunt club, and climbing mountains of stone at work to retrieve a bumper or four. Diesel came back from Bay Creek with muscles on top of muscles. He was fast, had excellent marking abilities, was agile, and could jump into the bed of a 2500 duramax from the side and not touch the truck.

Spring of 2016 he went back to Bay Creek to get more training and actually go to Maine with Rhett for the summer. When he got back, I couldn't believe the progress Rhett had made with Diesel getting him where he was taking hand signals and running blinds with confidence. When diesel came home there was a new addition to the household as the wife and I welcomed or son into the world in July of 2016. Diesel wasn't sure what to think of little man but they would play in the floor together and not once would diesel get aggressive. That hunting season Diesel picked up doves, ducks, tracked a couple deer and continuously had that drive and desire to retrieve.

May of 2017 we had to put the wife's dog down due to cancer, that was rough on us all especially Diesel. He quit eating, he became withdrawn, had no desire to want to retrieve and was losing weight. I took him to the wife's vet to see what they thought, after bloodwork, exam and checking him out they said he was just depressed and gave me prednisone and something else to give him. He had a slight up tick in appetite and after a few days was back to where he was previously. I took him to Summerville for his yearly check up in July and same thing blood work was good and the vet said he was just depressed and gave him a script for Xanax. I gave him half a tablet and thirty minutes later when I went to let him go outside he could barely stand and was walking like a freshman at his first Carolina Cup. I said never again will I give him Xanax.

In August one of my hunt club buddy's father passed away and while visiting with him and his family they suggested I take diesel to the vet they use. I made a call and got diesel an appointment to be seen the week before dove season, perfect he'll be ready to go just in time for opening day. I took all previous bloodwork, history and even about a page of notes to the vet with me so that they had all the information. Well the vet wanted to keep Diesel overnight and give him fluids and run a few other tests. We tested diesel for all sorts of diseases but he always came back negative, finally the vet said I need to open him up and see what I can find. She didn't find anything that wasn't supposed to be there but did notice his digestive system wasn't very reactive when she'd touch it and his stomach was like leather when she stitched it up from doing a biopsy. She sent bloodwork off to either Kentucky or Tennessee to have it tested for myasthenia gravis a (neuromuscular disorder). She decided to start the treatment even before getting the test results back and with in a few days diesel was alert, wanting to play with a ball and actually getting better.

Diesel stayed at the vet for a month before getting to come home, while at home he was on 6 different meds up to four times a day. Hoping he would get back to his old self we hunted the remaining dove seasons and duck season but he just didn't have the drive or desire to retrieve. The last weekend of duck season I took him both Saturday and Sunday. Birds were killed but Diesel just didn't want to retrieve and I wasn't going to force him no matter how bad I wanted him to get that one last bird. It was then that I knew the decision I made in early January was going to be the right one but the most difficult one.

I scheduled an appointment for diesel on February 16 with the vet and she understood my decision was ok with it. I took yesterday off from work and laid around with Diesel in the floor most of the day just petting him and holding him. I knew what to expect and the procedure the vet was going to go through but it was still difficult to experience but I know he's in a better place and no longer suffering. He's retrieving pain free, chasing a 2 liter bottle around entertaining himself waiting on me to see him again.

To those of you who got to meet Diesel thank you for letting him be a part of your life. While he may have been the wildest dog around but he knew when it was time to get serious and focus. There will never be another dog like him but I just hope one day I can find one close.

RIP Diesel until we meet again
5/21/14 2/16/18
I love you buddy

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