K'mpec came to us as a foster from the Texas Great Pyrenees Rescue. He was 67 pounds, nearly bald and according to the intake vet, had been chained and beaten for a long time. He was terrified of everything, and it took two of us to even get him in the car when we went to pick him up. Once I got him home he did not know what he was supposed to do, as he wasn't sure if he was supposed to be inside the house. Even though he had been starved he never snatched food, always taking it very gently from our hand even from the first. The signs of abuse were obvious. He had gall marks on his neck where he'd been chained, and if you touched him when he wasn't watching, he would literally fall to the ground in terror, trying to get away. It took me about a month to show him that someone touching him wasn't to hurt him. If he saw someone walking in his direction holding anything like a broom or a garden tool, he would run in a panic and try to hide. We worked with him constantly to show him that he was safe, and that no one would hurt him ever again.
During this time my sister had 10 acres out in the country in North Central Texas (We're in Austin.) and just fell in love with K'mpec. We had been fostering him about 2 months when my sister decided she wanted to adopt him. So she paid the adoption fees on a Wednesday, and we prepared to drive K'mpec to her place on Saturday.
Friday came, and my sister called. She had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic and liver cancer. She asked me to keep K'mpec, and of course I agreed. I tried to keep her involved in his life as much as possible, I sent her daily pictures and told her about his recovery progress. He blossomed into a beautiful floofy boy, happy and with the sweetest disposition. He was protective of the property, but loved for visitors to come over and give him many pets and belly rubs. My sister died 9 months later without ever seeing K'mpec in person, but I always thought of him as hers.
Fast forward to 2025, and K'mpec is 10-12 now, which is the life expectancy of a Great Pyrenees. We aren't sure how old he really is as he came to us a full adult. The vet said he was probably around 3, but could have been older. Last summer he started sleeping and laying around a lot more. He also began panting heavily all the time, which we contributed to the brutal summer we were experiencing and that our central air had died and we were using window units. He hadn't been able to go on his usual morning walks, but when the weather started cooling down he did not seem to be getting any better. He still ate and drank, but wasn't enjoying life like he used to. Then he began having difficulty getting up, and we could tell he was hurting.
Last weekend I noticed he was having issues urinating. On Monday I found a mass the size of a grapefruit hanging next to his genitals that was bright red and soft to the touch. I called the vet and took him in, they said he was bleeding from somewhere. They ruled out trauma and poison, and after tests it was decided to treat him for prostate disease. Cancer was not ruled out, but because of his age it was agreed by all parties that treatment was not an option, so no tests were run. They sent us home with several hundred dollars worth of medication, and we hoped that would be the solution. He seemed to be getting a little better on Wednesday.
Thursday morning I was checking the area where the swelling had been (It was gone at this point leaving massive bruising.) when I noticed another huge blood filled mass in a different spot, and the back of one hind leg was massively swollen and hard to the touch. I called the vet, and after a discussion they said it was probably time to call the mobile vet and have him euthanized.
This is not the first time I have had to do this. With the previous two dogs, they had both suffered strokes and were pretty much 'gone'. K'mpec had not, and is still eating and drinking, and thanks to the meds, able to pee, but still not normally. I can tell he is in pain when the pain meds start wearing off.
I found a mobile vet (Ours had retired some years ago.), got the appointment set up, and I haven't stopped crying since. We are in the 'good death' period the vets talk about, after quality of life is declining, but before the really bad suffering starts.
My son came last night to say goodbye, and K'mpec got up several times to get pettings. Today he gets the royal treatment. He got smoked pork jowl bacon, bread, a fried egg and a small bowl of coffee with cream and sugar for breakfast. Many snacks are being administered, even a little of the forbidden food, chocolate. We are making sure that he is never alone, and tell him constantly that he is the Best Boi, which he is. Tonight he will get pork roast, a can of sardines and other goodies for supper. He's having a good day, he made a patrol of the yard, which he hasn't done for a while, and scratched around a bit in his current favorite wallow, but didn't lay down. He usually wants to spend a long time outside, but he stopped wanting to do that last weekend, and now usually comes right back in to lay on his bed in the living room.
I have spent the last 24 hours second guessing myself. Is it too soon? Would he recover if we just gave him time? That he is still all there mentally makes the doubt even worse.
I am having such a hard time with this because even though she never got to see him in person, I always felt that he was my sister's dog. My sister was a mother figure, a best friend, a mentor, and a sibling soulmate. When she died half of my soul was ripped away, and K'mpec is the last living link I have of her. I think that's why this is hitting me so hard, it's like I have to let go of the last of my sister and it is breaking my heart all over again.
I hope I am making the right decision at the right time, I don't want him to suffer like my sister did at the end.
