New Year’s Eve started the way it always does in our house. Simple, cozy, and full of little traditions. None of us realized that one small moment that night would end up meaning so much more than we ever expected.

The countdown began just like every year. “3, 2, 1, Happy New Year and Happy Birthday Mommy!” We celebrated with hugs and kisses, grabbed my Mom’s birthday cake, and jumped right into singing. “Happy birthday to you…” And that’s when everything changed in a way we didn’t understand at the time.

Right in the middle of the birthday song, Austin started to bark along until we finished the last chord. He had never done that before in his entire life. It was like he was giving everything he had to celebrate with us, almost as if he somehow knew it would be his last.

That morning, we started to notice a change. 

Austin didn’t eat as much. At first, it didn’t seem too unusual. 

Breakfast came around and he didn’t want to eat. We thought he was just tired from the festivities from the night before. He took his normal mid-morning and afternoon naps and engaged with us as much as he could. He was already lethargic and spent his days lying down.

As the day went on, we saw that he was drinking a lot more water than usual, while his appetite continued to fade.

For a month now, it’s been hard for him to get around. His hind legs had become wobbly and standing up took more effort than it used to. Sometimes he would try to stand on his own, but his back legs just didn’t have the strength they once did. Because of that, he often couldn’t make it outside in time and would wet his pads. We knew it wasn’t something he could control and we just wanted to keep him as comfortable as possible. We were changing his washable pads two to four times a day.

On Monday morning, we made the call we had been dreading.

We reached out to the veterinarian’s office and explained everything we had been noticing about Austin’s health. They listened carefully, scheduled him in for Friday at 9am, and told us that once he stopped eating completely we should bring him in. I think they also understood what this visit might mean.

Then Wednesday came. Austin stopped eating. 

But we weren’t ready yet.

I know he’s a fighter. I kept thinking he could push through just a couple more days. After all, we had seen him overcome tough moments before. When he was a sick puppy, we helped nurse him back to health with orange juice and a lot of love.

So we decided to try something again.

The next day, he didn’t have any appetite for lunch so we gave him half a bottle of unflavored Pedialyte, hoping it might give his body the boost it needed.

It worked!

Dinner came around and he had the energy to eat his burger patty and small bites of shredded chicken breast for dinner. To make it even sweeter, he finished his dinner with a small bowl of Cool Whip for dessert, something he had enjoyed many times before. 

That small meal felt like a miracle. It gave us hope that maybe Austin still had a little more fight left in him. 

Maybe we have more time.

But Friday morning was coming and deep down I already knew that the next chapter of Austin’s story was about to begin. A chapter that would soon lead us to Austin’s final ride and the moment we would have to say goodbye.