Favorite Old Dogs: A Tribute to Mandy

“Heaven’s the place where all the dogs you’ve loved come to greet you.”
                                                                                           Unknown Author

One of the most difficult things any pet owner has to deal with is the loss of a beloved pet. When we get a pet, whether from a rescue shelter or from a reputable breeder, we should make a commitment to be there for the duration of its life. Nothing appalls and angers me more than the despicable people who turn old, senior dogs and cats into a shelter just because they are old. Dogs are not throw-aways like some kind of worn-out stuffed toy! Old dogs are just like old people. They suffer from arthritis and various aches and pains; they may develop chronic diseases; the hearing and the eyesight may dim; and sometimes incontinence shows up! That adorable puppy grows into the sleek, mature adult who then morphs gradually into the senior with a white muzzle.

My Stick!!

The decision of whether or not to euthanize a pet is truly the most awesome decision a pet owner will ever have to face. I deliberately use the term awesome, not in the trite, banal way it is used today, “You look awesome!” “That outfit is awesome!” Rather, I use it with the true definition of the word, meaning full of reverence, awe, and wonder. The question that haunts us is how will I know when it is “time”? There is no simple, easy answer for that question. Basically, it comes down to objectively determining the pet’s quality of life. Can she get up and walk by herself? Is she still eating and drinking? Does she still seem to be enjoying life or is she slowly withdrawing from the things she once enjoyed?

I worked as a Hospice nurse for several years and saw way too many deaths. What I have seen, both with human patients and with our pets, is a calm acceptance of death and a waiting for the end to come. With my human patients, all we could do was try to ease their pain and wait until it was their time to cross over to the Other Side. With our pets we can help them over that insurmountable border, something we cannot do for our human loved ones. This is such a huge responsibility!

Is dinner ready yet?

Sadly, last Friday we faced this heart-breaking decision with Mandy, one of our two Irish Setters. She was a beautiful girl; her Mom and Dad were both Grand Champions. The breeder tried to convince us to show her, but that wasn’t a life we wanted for her or for us. You may recall that in October 2016 I wrote a piece about her health issues in “Blind Dogs See with Their Hearts.” Her diabetes had remained in fairly good control, but the huge benign tumor in her leg finally grew too severe and impaired her ability to walk on her own. Now, we were more than willing to continue helping her get up and move about, but I think she just gave up and was ready to go. She stopped eating and was barely drinking. Being a nurse, I could see the signs of the body shutting down. So, with heavy hearts, we arranged for her to go to the Rainbow Bridge.

Our veterinarian came to the house. He was very caring and compassionate. She passed peacefully with no pain and didn’t even wake up during that final injection. After she was gone, he took her body with him to be cremated for us. Once they were gone, the three of us, her “sister,” Caley, Bill, and I were all in a state of grief and distress. Dogs know and understand when the life force leaves the body. You can tell that the other dog realizes that her lifelong buddy is gone. Saturday was also a tough day for all of us, our first full day without her. You find yourself second-guessing your decision. Should we have waited longer? Would she have gotten better? Even though you know the answer is no, you beat yourself up with all the what-ifs. I certainly didn’t want her to be in pain and suffer, but it was so very hard to let her leave!

Want me to put the clothes into the dryer!

Each day gets a little easier. We have made an extra effort to take Caley for more walks and outings with lots of extra treats. Then, when you least expect it, some little something reminds you of her, and the tears well up again. On Monday I was walking around, upstairs and downstairs, taking up the little scent discs that helped her navigate around the house. As I peeled them off of furniture and walls, thinking we don’t need these any more, my heart cracked a bit more! All of us who have lost a deeply loved pet have had moments like this, that sudden heart-wrenching memory of the little one who is no longer there with us.

I think each pet we lose to death takes a little piece of our heart along with it. I firmly believe that we will all be reunited one day, and all of those little pieces of our hearts will again be made whole. That may be why I like the analogy of the Rainbow Bridge so much. What could be more wonderful than being greeted by our loving pets, now healed and youthful again, when we too cross over that final Bridge!

Those Malamutes have nothing on me!

Well-meaning friends and relatives ask “When are you going to get another dog?” “You should get another one.” There is something about the loss of a dear pet that reminds us of our own mortality, especially as we get older. What if I should die before my pet? To me that is a totally distressing thought! When my Mother was close to death, her one over-riding concern was for the welfare of her two cats that she was leaving behind. Once my sister and I had them safely adopted into new forever homes, it was as if she breathed a sigh of relief and gave herself permission to move on to the next chapter. 

Mandy
2006 – 2018

Good-bye, little Mandy. To paraphrase Shakespeare a bit,

Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet Princess,
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!

 

 

 

©Eclectic Grandma, 2018

Smokey Died Today

Dateline:  August 12, 2016

Last Saturday marked two years since my Mom died.  If she were still alive, she would now be 93.  After her death, my sister and I decided that we would tilt a glass or two of wine on her birthday rather than on her death day in remembrance.  Nonetheless, it is hard not to recall that date when she left us for good.  One of the loneliest feelings is when you suddenly realize that you are now an adult orphan with no living parents.  You are now the older generation as the endless cycles of life continue to roll forward.

How often do you miss calling her to tell her the little news of the day?  The Rufus hummingbirds arrived today.  There was snow on the Indian Peaks this morning and on and on.  She was ready to go, frail and in pain, but we weren’t necessarily ready for her to leave.  One of the last things holding her back from that big crossing over was her worry about her two beloved cats, Scooter and Smokey.  Once she knew that they were both well placed, she felt free to leave.

Scooter went to live with a friend of my sister.  He is in a bustling household with two other kitty playmates and three young children.  Always more playful and active than Smokey, he seems to be quite happy in his new domicile.  He loves the kids, and they love him back, and he thoroughly enjoys having two other furry friends to play with!

Finding a new home for Smokey proved to be a bit more challengingSmokeyg.  You may be asking why we didn’t just take her.  With two 100 pound Irish Setters, a large coyote population, an occasional mountain lion, and even a couple of beautiful lynx, our household was simply not an option for an elderly arthritic kitty.  Our doors stand open almost year round with the walk-through type of hanging screens.  We finally just gave up on traditional screen doors as the dogs viewed all screens as walk-throughs anyway!

So Smokey went to live with the wonderful people at the Evergreen Cat Lodge.  This lodge just for kitties does boarding for private guests as well as housing any number of potential adoptees and special needs cats.  Now I am not a cat, but if I were, this is definitely where I would want to go for my vacation!  This place is the Waldorf Astoria of cat boarding.  Every guest has his or her own little room with large glass windows and doors, complete with snuggly chairs, perches, and a private covered litter box—a little touch of feline privacy!   About 40 sq. feet per cat, I would guess.

As a more permanent resident, Smokey had the run of the place.  She found a couple of favorite chairs and hiding places and soon let the other cats know if they dared to get in her spot!  As her arthritis got worse and her kidneys started acting up, she was moved to a more privileged spot in the owner’s private den area where her food, water, bed, and litter box were all within easy reach.  I have to admit I didn’t stop by very often after the first couple of months to visit.  I wasn’t sure how well she even remembered me, and seeing her was a painful reminder of my own loss.

On Friday, August 12th, Susan emailed and called to let me know that Smokey was near death and did we want to have the vet put her down or let her go on her own.  She didn’t think she was in any pain, just slowly shutting down.  After a brief discussion we agreed to let her go on her own terms and not have the vet speed up the dying process.  She always hated riding in the car anyway, and I hated to think of her last moments being filled with an anxiety-provoking car ride.  I told Susan I would stop by on Saturday for a final good-bye visit, but Smokey didn’t wait that long.  Susan called later in the afternoon to tell me she was gone.

We’ll pick up her ashes when they are ready and spread them on the hillside behind the family cabin here in Colorado where we spread our Mom’s ashes two short years ago and our Dad’s oh so long ago, almost thirty-five years now.

Good bye, Smokey!  I hope you are happily purring on your Mama’s lap in a better place.

©The Eclectic Grandma, 2016