i saw a dog die today.

not that this is anything unusual...as unpleasant as it may be, i see a lot of people's pets die. it's part of my job. the bizarre thing about this is that i saw this dog die twice.

a woman showed up for her appointment this evening with contessa, her little cocker spaniel who had been acting very lethargic and shakey. i went out into the waiting room to get her, and saw that contessa, who was lying on the floor with her head slightly lifted, had left a large puddle of urine. i ducked in back to grab a towel to lift her up with since she was wet. when i got back to the waiting room (literally seconds later), contessa was flat out on her side. the owner appeared unalarmed, but it was apparent to me that the dog was glassy eyed and not breathing. it had literally walked into our waiting room, laid down, and died.

i scooped up the dog and brought her in to the doctor, who listened for a hearbeat, but found none. she checked for ocular reflex, and found none. she listened again with the stethoscope...and there was a faint, erratic heartbeat. and then contessa started to breathe. and then, contessa sat BOLT UPRIGHT. as amazing as this unaided return from death was, it was apparent that the dog was shocky and in poor condition. we rushed her in back to begin stabilizing her, but as we were putting in her catheter, contessa began breathing laboriously. we put her on oxygen, but almost immediately, contessa died. again. this time, for good. i can honestly say that this was the first time i ever saw a dog, or anything, for that matter, die twice. Not fade a little and then come back, but honest-to-goodness lack of breathing, lack of heartbeat, completely limp, flat-out die...and then start breathing again. the body, human or otherwise, never ceases to amaze me.