KAYA

KAYA was a very sweet girl. She had a beautiful coat with striking coloration. She was well mannered, knew commands, came when called, and was very eager to please. Such a delightful family pet! But her family had to release her to a large shelter. She had a big tumor under the skin on the top of her head, and the owner also thought she recently had urinary “incontinence.” She spent 2 weeks alone in the shelter before coming to ODH after our staff noticed her straining terribly to urinate – clearly a serious problem.

Once with an ODH home on Saturday, it was quickly determined that she was not incontinent, in fact she could hold her bladder just fine and had no leakage. But when she tried to urinate, she would squat for about 5 minutes or more while the urine just dripped out one drop at a time. She looked so miserable and embarrassed, straining so hard to pee. If she saw someone watching, she would look terribly guilty then move away where she thought no one could see, and strain some more.

Kaya was in a Catch-22: We’d hoped that a surgical specialist could remove the malignant tumor on her head, but now something was preventing urine out-flow in the rear end – no point in fixing one end unless we could fix the other. So on Monday morning she went straight in for an ultrasound. It was quickly apparent that a very large tumor had consumed her urinary bladder and most of her urethra – the urine just could not get out any faster than one drop at a time. With 2 malignant tumors, much pain and no way forward, Kaya was fed a bowl of yummiest canned food, and lovingly relieved of her discomfort.

Because of Old Dog Haven and all the volunteers who provide support, Kaya did not suffer with 2 malignant tumors alone in a shelter. She was able to spend the last days of her life in a comfy home, hugged at the end by someone who thought she was really special.