In 2007 my rescue partner rescued a senior dog from the pound. The poor little thing was so skinny and full of worms and just looked like she lived a rough life or at least the last year or so was rough.
A very nice couple fostered her and then adopted her. They adopted her in Aug 2007 and came to my puppy party September 2007. The sweet little girl was so happy to be carried around everywhere.
Unfortunately today I received this email. I am now sitting at my desk crying like a baby!
*****************************************************************************Hello, Gloria
About a year and a half ago (in August) I fostered (then adopted) a little cockapoo that you had rescued. You had named her Gretchen (named after the person who worked at the shelter). I had re-named her Billie
I wanted to inform you of the very sad news that I had to have Billie put to rest on Saturday. I'm heartbroken and have been crying all weekend. Billie was a sweetheart and I had gotten even more attached to her than I was to my other two dogs that I raised from puppies. She would follow me everywhere and cuddled next to me every night on the couch and in our bed.
When I first adopted her, I took her to my vet for general visit. She had two large heart mummers, one on each side of her heart. We also determined after a couple months, that it was very apparent that she was deaf. She didn't learn her name and didn't respond to loud noises. We had to be careful waking her up from sleep as to not startle her.
Poor little Billie's immune system was weak. Only a month and half ago, she became very ill with diarrhea and suddenly began bleeding blood clots. She was in the vet hospital for three days with IVs and antibiotics. Thankfully, is was just an infection as was treatable. When I returned to the hospital to pick her up, she was just as spunky as she always was.
But over the past couple weeks, she seemed to be sleeping more often than usual and was more hesitant using stairs. I thought that it was just her age and maybe she was developing arthritis. But during the past week she was becoming more irritable towards our other dogs. At that time, I didn't really think much of it as she never really did want much to do with our other dogs.
Early Saturday morning at 4:30 am, my fiance woke me to tell me that something was wrong with Billie. She was in bed with us and was lying up against my fiance. He felt her shaking, which woke him. I first thought she was having a stroke or heart attack. I held her close to me to keep her safe and realized that she appeared to be having a seizure. It lasted about a minute or so and then she seemed completely normal. I called our vet and planned to take her in as soon as the office opened to have her examined. Then a few hours later, she had another seizure. I rushed her to the vet. The doctor prescribed a medication to give her daily, but the medication wouldn't be fully affective until two weeks of administering. The other option was a 24 IV drip first, then the medication on a regular basis. The doctor tried to gently tell me that she didn't want to give me false hope and that with Billie's current age and health, and the fact that she was having multiple seizures in a 24 period, that it was likely that there was something more serious going on with her. There was really no way of knowing without additional tests and an MRI. There was no guarantee that the medication would work. With her hear mummer getting worse, she didn't expect that she would be with us for too much longer. She would most likely continue to have more serious health problems. The doctor also said that the medication itself, sometimes will make the dog lose it's zest for life and lose interest in most everything except sleeping. She didn't think that would be a humane life for her, either. The doctor suggested that I take her home and try the medication first. If she had more multiple seizures, then I should rush her back in and then I could then make to decision to either try the 24 hour IV or to put her to rest.
Within half an hour of being home from the vet, she had another seizure. Then another one a couple hours later. It was horrible to see her go through this. Each one weakened her more and she was having a hard time recovering from them. Seeing her condition after the fourth seizure, I felt in my heart that it was time to let her go. I also felt that our vet probably felt the same way, although she didn't want to come right out and say it. We took her back to the vet and I held her close to me through her final journey. Even my fiance sobbed with me.
It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life, but she doesn't have to suffer through any more illnesses. I have no regrets in adopting her and want to thank you for bringing her into our lives. She was the best little dog. She loved people and loved to be petted and cuddle ad was as cute as could be. Please thank Amy for me as well. I am going to miss little Billie and will be grieving for some time. Thankfully, I have two other dogs that seem to know something is wrong as they keep coming up to me giving me kisses. I certainly would consider adopting another senior dog some time in the future as I was happy give Billie a good life for her last year and a half. I just with that she could have been with us a little longer. Thank you so much for rescuing her and bringing her to me. This photo was taken of her during her first summer with us.
Sincerely,
Laurie S.
About a year and a half ago (in August) I fostered (then adopted) a little cockapoo that you had rescued. You had named her Gretchen (named after the person who worked at the shelter). I had re-named her Billie
I wanted to inform you of the very sad news that I had to have Billie put to rest on Saturday. I'm heartbroken and have been crying all weekend. Billie was a sweetheart and I had gotten even more attached to her than I was to my other two dogs that I raised from puppies. She would follow me everywhere and cuddled next to me every night on the couch and in our bed.
When I first adopted her, I took her to my vet for general visit. She had two large heart mummers, one on each side of her heart. We also determined after a couple months, that it was very apparent that she was deaf. She didn't learn her name and didn't respond to loud noises. We had to be careful waking her up from sleep as to not startle her.
Poor little Billie's immune system was weak. Only a month and half ago, she became very ill with diarrhea and suddenly began bleeding blood clots. She was in the vet hospital for three days with IVs and antibiotics. Thankfully, is was just an infection as was treatable. When I returned to the hospital to pick her up, she was just as spunky as she always was.
But over the past couple weeks, she seemed to be sleeping more often than usual and was more hesitant using stairs. I thought that it was just her age and maybe she was developing arthritis. But during the past week she was becoming more irritable towards our other dogs. At that time, I didn't really think much of it as she never really did want much to do with our other dogs.
Early Saturday morning at 4:30 am, my fiance woke me to tell me that something was wrong with Billie. She was in bed with us and was lying up against my fiance. He felt her shaking, which woke him. I first thought she was having a stroke or heart attack. I held her close to me to keep her safe and realized that she appeared to be having a seizure. It lasted about a minute or so and then she seemed completely normal. I called our vet and planned to take her in as soon as the office opened to have her examined. Then a few hours later, she had another seizure. I rushed her to the vet. The doctor prescribed a medication to give her daily, but the medication wouldn't be fully affective until two weeks of administering. The other option was a 24 IV drip first, then the medication on a regular basis. The doctor tried to gently tell me that she didn't want to give me false hope and that with Billie's current age and health, and the fact that she was having multiple seizures in a 24 period, that it was likely that there was something more serious going on with her. There was really no way of knowing without additional tests and an MRI. There was no guarantee that the medication would work. With her hear mummer getting worse, she didn't expect that she would be with us for too much longer. She would most likely continue to have more serious health problems. The doctor also said that the medication itself, sometimes will make the dog lose it's zest for life and lose interest in most everything except sleeping. She didn't think that would be a humane life for her, either. The doctor suggested that I take her home and try the medication first. If she had more multiple seizures, then I should rush her back in and then I could then make to decision to either try the 24 hour IV or to put her to rest.
Within half an hour of being home from the vet, she had another seizure. Then another one a couple hours later. It was horrible to see her go through this. Each one weakened her more and she was having a hard time recovering from them. Seeing her condition after the fourth seizure, I felt in my heart that it was time to let her go. I also felt that our vet probably felt the same way, although she didn't want to come right out and say it. We took her back to the vet and I held her close to me through her final journey. Even my fiance sobbed with me.
It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life, but she doesn't have to suffer through any more illnesses. I have no regrets in adopting her and want to thank you for bringing her into our lives. She was the best little dog. She loved people and loved to be petted and cuddle ad was as cute as could be. Please thank Amy for me as well. I am going to miss little Billie and will be grieving for some time. Thankfully, I have two other dogs that seem to know something is wrong as they keep coming up to me giving me kisses. I certainly would consider adopting another senior dog some time in the future as I was happy give Billie a good life for her last year and a half. I just with that she could have been with us a little longer. Thank you so much for rescuing her and bringing her to me. This photo was taken of her during her first summer with us.
Sincerely,
Laurie S.
1 comment:
Ok crying twice in one day is enough. My heart breaks for this family. It is never easy to loose a loved pet. It sounds like they gave her a wonderful life and that the two of you found her a wonderful home.
Post a Comment