This is Charlie, an 11-year-old Maltese/Poodle Mix.

Charlie is a troubled dog. He lived in an apartment with his original owner for the first two years of his life, so he has a bad habit of peeing around the house rather than ask to be let out, he has a bevy of medical issues like frequent ear infections we give him drops for and special food he eats to prevent crystal forming in his bladder and is a very irritable dog from time to time, with a history of biting when angered.

Despite all these things and the fact that he is technically a family dog, Charlie is very much my dog, my little "Chu Chu." He crawls into bed with me at night, waits outside the bathroom in the morning for me, cuddles up to me while I'm sitting on the couch, likes to hide under my desk while I'm on the computer and lets me pet and hug him without so much as a growl.

Over the last few days, however, Charlie has seemed very off, barely eating, having trouble going to the bathroom and being oddly needy, following me everywhere I go even if I'm still in eyesight. Finally, we took him to the vet today, and the diagnosis was... grim. Two different severe ear infections, one in each ear, and a severe urinary tract infection likely caused by his kidneys shutting down. We have him on antibiotics and such, but right now he's very lethargic and does nothing but nap. Right now we're waiting on his blood test results to figure out how severe his condition is, but everyone's worried. 

Obviously, we're all hoping for the best... but I would be lying if I said I wasn't preparing for the worst. Right now I'm trying to spend as much time with his as possible if our fears are realized, but I still don't want to lose my little "Chu Chu"...

I'm sorry, I just needed to get this off my chest. Thanks to anyone who sat through my ramblings.