Last Tuesday Bandit lost his fight with cancer, after 414 (known) days with the disease. Bandit was a nine-year-old Terrier mix who first came to us on September 3rd, 2018 for suspicious lumps on his leg. After 35 doctor visits and two surgeries Bandit’s body had finally had enough. He never would have let you know it though. “Strong” is probably the politically correct term, but we think his mom would agree “stubborn” would fit just as well.
When his blood sample read “-.-“ on October 1st that meant that the blood cell count was so low that the computer could not find a value. Bandit had five of these on his bloodwork results. Here’s another number for you: 18.5. That’s how many times lower than the lowest possible red blood cell value Bandit had. It’s a number hardly any of us has ever seen before. It meant that Bandit would most likely not make it through the next 30 days.
He defied the odds, he and his mom both fought, and they refused to give up. He lived his life the way he wanted to, right until the very end. Both of them reminded us of why we chose this profession. You see, we don’t only play with puppies and kittens all day. Bandit wasn’t the first pet to pass away this week and he probably won’t be the last. It takes a toll. It’s a whirlwind of emotions that can change on a dime.
Every parent is essentially bringing in their child, entrusting us with them and sometimes quite literally expecting us to work miracles. Some days we feel like we can’t do it anymore. And some days we really can’t. But next time we feel that way, we can think of Bandit and his mom and keep on going. Every staff member at Bridgeport Veterinary Hospital will agree that we treat each pet like our own. It’s easy to say, but harder to do when things don’t end well. Bandit reminds us of what we are trying to accomplish when times get hard. We as a staff would like to personally thank Bandit and his mom. You two showed us what true love really is. We will all be better people because of it.
Matt, Resort Manager / Veterinary Assistant
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