Mirabella
09/05/2008 - 06/30/2019
It is with a heavy heart that we share with you our beloved Shih Tzu,
Mirabella, passed away early Sunday morning, June 30, 2019. She was born on
September 5, 2008 and would have turned 11 years old in a few months. We adopted her
from Second City Canine Rescue, Palatine, IL, on October 21, 2017.
On our travels south during the 2018/2019 winter season we noticed Mirabella
became sensitive at times when we would pick her up. Upon arriving home in early
May we made an appointment with our veterinarian to get her checked out.
On May 24, 2019 an x-ray revealed she had a large mass on her spleen. On May 28,
2019 she had surgery to remove her spleen. During the operation it was
discovered she had several tumors on her liver. The pathology report showed the
mass on the spleen was hemangiosarcoma, a fatal form of blood cancer, that had
metastasized to her liver. Life expectancy was projected at a few weeks. With
our veterinarian’s approval, we were determined to keep her as comfortable as
possible to the very end.
Following her surgery, she had mostly good days. She had her frisky moments and
took nourishment normally. On 6/26 a noticeable change started taking place.
Longer periods of lethargy, loss of appetite, bowl movements were smaller and
watery. Even with all of that, she strived to please. She would eat if I hand
fed her, which I did! She would always stay close to us and find an inner
strength to momentarily become her old self, full of energy and dancing in
circles to accept a treat.
On Saturday, 6/29, as the day wore on it became apparent the end was near for
our beloved Mirabella. We kept her medicated to ease any discomfort she might be
experiencing. She was having difficulty standing toward the end of the day and
would just lay in the yard when we took her out for potty breaks. Saturday night
Sharon took her upstairs into to our bedroom and put her into her favorite spot
in the room where she sleeps with us every night. The poor girl was so weak. I
checked on her at midnight and talked to her, she was still breathing and
somewhat alert and just looked up at me with those sorrowful big eyes of hers. I
just felt she knew the end was near. Upon awaking at 6:00 am I went over to
check on her and she had passed.
We will always cherish the pure joy this 15 pound bundle of energy brought into
our lives over the past 2 years and 8 months. R.I.P. our beloved Mirabella.
