October 27th 2005 2:40 pm
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It is with great sadness and truly heavy hearts that we (Loki's parents) are writing to let you know that Loki passed away last Friday, at the young age of 5 years & 9 months.

As you know, he had been suffering through the deadly disease of canine lymphosarcoma. He had fought the good fight for nearly a year, and handled the chemotherapy better than most humans would have. A few months ago as we prepared to move from Kentucky to Ohio after my (Joe's) graduation from medical school, we found that we could no longer afford the intravenous drugs as we had used for the previous 8 months. So, we continued on just oral meds and TLC for as long as he would last.

Over the the course of last week, Loki began to slow down quite a bit. The enlarging lymph nodes under his chin were no doubt affecting his airway and he was starting to retain fluid. When he lost interest in eating, we knew the time had come. We drove back to Kentucky to visit Loki's friends at our last vet so we could all say goodbye together. We were with Loki as he left this world, just as we were when he entered it. Saying goodbye was harder than we ever imagined, and there was (and is) no shortage of tears shed about his passing.

He was our best & most loyal friend, protector of our house & home, and was as dear to us as either of our children. To say that we are emotionally devastated is not doing justice to how we feel right now, and the house seems way too empty without him.

Loki wasn't just a pet to us. He had a wonderful soul, and his main mission in life seemed to make us happy, secure, and comforted. We may someday have another dog, but there never will be another Loki.