[lgslgs]

Well, we are back from taking Luther's body to the vet. The vet will be doing a necropsy this afternoon to see if she can find out exactly what happened. We visited with Georgia Rae who is doing great. She is going to be staying there until this evening just so they can monitor her further.

We really didn't have a lot of choice about the decision to spay and neuter the pups despite the heart murmurs. We live in a rural area, and have a good fence - and right on the other side are at least 8 intact, unleashed dogs and bitches, possible more depending on how many puppies they all end up having this year. Having Luther intact with the entire area smelling like a bitch in heat would have been stressful to him and seriously interfered with his abilities to function as an off leash farm & livestock helper on our fenced 15 acres. Keeping Georgia Rae intact would risk attracting hoards of neighborhood strays and would put our livestock at risk of attack. You just don't risk luring a bunch of dogs to your land when you have a herd of goats.

The vet team did a lot of special advance preparation, minimized anesthesia time, brought in extra staff for a higher level of vital sign monitoring than normal, and even after the anesthetic wore off each pup had a tech monitoring them for any indication of problems. The most experienced tech (a favorite of ours as well) actually had the job of listening to each heart beat during surgery - monitoring each beat for any changes in quality. Another tech was monitoring the oxygen saturation through the entire procedure. Everyone in the practice was pulled in to monitor, assist, or be on standby.

Neither pup showed any indications of problems during surgery.

Luther and Georgia Rae were the center of attention at the office yesterday, and when we brought Luther's body back today every one of the staff was in shock and spent time with him in tearful goodbyes. I think there are going to be more tears when they gather around him this afternoon for the necropsy. Luther was a very nice little guy and made a lot of friends there during his short life.

We will meet with the vet again at 4pm, and Georgia Rae is scheduled to come home at that time. The vet will be taking photos of her findings during Luther's necropsy which will be shared with our other local vet (the one who did the free heart sonograms on Luther and Georgia Rae), the breeder, and the breeders vet.

The house is quiet, and Diva has inspected Luther's collar. I think she has an idea what it means when a collar comes home empty.

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. They mean a lot.

We just keep reminding ourselves that all rottweiler lives are a bunch of wonderful days, and then one really bad awful day. It's part of the continuum of rottweilers in our lives. The only way to deal with the really bad awful day is by being sure to make the most of the wonderful days - And Luther-boy certainly did. As hard as today is, we are not regretting bringing special needs puppies into our lives. I am glad to have had the opportunity to give little Luther a happy and wonderful life.

Lynda