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Sheltie Angels Page Thirty-Four
I lost my little Tobey two weeks ago today. It
was heart-wrenching. He was a young dog, only six years. Tobey
was rescued from a puppy mill and was adopted through Precious
Secrets Sheltie Rescue, a wonderful organization in Ohio. My Tobey died from AIHA, an anemic disease
which is just now being investigated and linked to vaccinations.
Tobey died almost five weeks ago to the day following his rabies
vaccination. If Tobey were here he would want Sheltie parents
everywhere to know that this anemic disease could be prevented
through a simple test called the Titers test. You see, it is
suspected that AIHA is caused because not all dogs need to be
vaccinated the same. Tobey had enough vaccination left in him
and the Titers would have told us that. The vet has the test and
if your vet does not, go to a different vet! While the race is
on to prevent AIHA there will be speculation and that means
valuable time lost. The vet can give you a waiver to avoid
vaccinations if your dog has the proper amount of vaccine left
in his or her system and it will be recognized by the state in
which you live. Often, as in the case of Tobey, there are no
symptoms until it is too late. Those main symptoms are paleness
in the whites of the eyes and gums. Lethargy and loss of
appetite follow. Tobey had a history of skin infections, like
yeast and many allergies, all of which my be contributors to
this horrible disease. Ask many questions at your vet. Watch the
medications given your pet. Ask about the Titers test. Little Tobey, you came into our lives Kate Dierks
and challenged us with your sad soul and dared us to love you.
Mommy and Daddy did just that.
You will be missed, little sad-faced boy,
for forever.
You touched our hearts more than you will ever know.
July 1, 2005 - April 27,
2007 My Special Little Puppy Koa was born on
July 1st in Morgan Hill, California, with four siblings that all
went on to show careers. Koa was the runt of the litter and was
through to be too small. He surprised us by growing to be well
within the standard, and beautiful. I wasn't sure at the time if I was ready for
another puppy
and didn't even take Koa home the first time I saw him. But two
days later, after thinking about him constantly, I went back on
a starry night (Koa always loved to bark at the stars) and
picked him up and took him home! I was so happy and proud of
this little bundle of fur sleeping in my lap all the way back to
Half Moon Bay I knew it was meant to be for some reason. Three
weeks after having him in our home we did our fourth in vitro
and I became pregnant with twins. Koa had brought me out of my
depression and had made it possible for my mind and body to
conceive my babies and to carry them to full term.
But Koa's life
changed a bit after Keola and Kanoa were born. He wasn't the
only baby anymore and he started to be a bit more naughty but it
didn't matter, I did the best I could with my three babies. As
soon as I was able to I took them all on long walks to the
beach, and spent as much time as possible with them all. I
decided not to return to work and we started to plan our move
back to Hawaii where all of our families lived. Koa continued to
have play dates with his doggie friends until our move to
Hawaii. It was a difficult time but I thought things would be
better with family around. In March 2007 we
moved back to Hawaii and tried to get settled. Koa joined us on
April 3rd since that was the date he was able to come into the
state without having to go into quarantine. We planned our whole
move around this date and Koa. I wanted him to be happy so I set
up play dates with other dogs we knew. The first dog Koa met was
my friend's dog, Poipu, but that didn't work out too well
because Poipu wasn't used to playing with other dogs. So I took
him to my mom's neighbor's house to play with their dog Hapu and
they hit it off great. They ran and played and I think they had
fun together. We went to the park in the evenings with Hapu and
her owner as often as we could... little did we know our time
was short.
One night, three weeks after Koa came to
Hawaii he woke up in the
middle of the night coughing. I had
heard that kind of cough before when my fourteen year old
Sheltie died and so I became very scared. I tried to find an all
night emergency vet but couldn't reach anyone. I waited until
the morning and called the local vet, with whom ironically I had
an appointment later that day to look at a little sore on Koa's
foot that wasn't healing. Maybe this was my only sign something
was not right with Koa until his cough. The vet took a chest
X-ray at my request and when I saw his face my heart just
dropped into my stomach. He told me there was fluid building up
in Koa's lungs which could possibly be pneumonia but he wasn't
sure. He told me I needed to take Koa to a specialist clinic and
made an appointment for me at 4:00 pm. I couldn't wait until
4:00 pm because I felt I needed to go as soon as possible and I
was just waiting around for my little dog to die. I got to the
second vet around 2:00 and after another chest x-ray she looked
very worried. She asked me if Koa could have gotten into
something. Of course I said no right away, how could he have.
But then I thought about all the play time Koa had had with Hapu
in their yard and so I finally told her "maybe". We left Koa at
around 6:00 pm to go and take care of my two little boys and
when we got to my mom's house the neighbor was outside. I asked
her about rat poison and if they had it in their yard. The
husband confirmed they had had some out when Koa first started
coming over and he had noticed it was gone. I went back to see
Koa at 8:30 pm and he was in an oxygen crate with an IV,
antibiotics, and probably pain killing medication as well. He
looked o.k. but the prognosis wasn't good. He was given a 50/50%
chance of pulling through. I stayed with him until 10:00 pm and
as I left I looked at him once more and told him "please hold on
and I'll see you tomorrow". The phone rang at 11:15 pm and Koa
was gone. My poor little Koa was gone. I can't even begin to
explain my pain and grief so I won't even try. It is still with
me to this day. Now I sit here
nearly one year later and cry because I miss him and what should
have been. I wanted my little boys to grow up with Koa as their
best friend and now they will only know him in photos. They say
his name when they see a photo of him and it breaks my heart. I
have cried so many tears over the past year for this little
bundle of joy who in a sense gave me my little boys. I am angry
at the neighbors for being so negligent as to put out rat poison
in an open container with dogs in their yard, their own one of
them. They are lucky to still have Hapu. I am sad Koa had to die
the way he did. I hope he wasn't in pain but I will never know. By the way "KOA"
is a Hawaiian name the means "Brave", "Bold" and "Fearless". Koa
lived up to his name in life as well as in death never letting
on that he was sick or not feeling well until the very end.
Although if he would have shown me he was ill earlier I might
have been able to save him but for some reason it wasn't meant
to be. He was meant to be with me but only for a short time. He
was truly just borrowed to me from God himself. He was a gift.
I thought of you with love today ~ Author Unknown ~ Thank you, Koa, for being
part of my life. Khani
"Mollie" October 5, 1994 -
February 18, 2008
Mollie was born October 5, 1994, and crossed to
the Rainbow Bridge on February 18, 2008. She had a very sweet disposition
and was a loving and faithful part of our family. We all miss her so much
(this includes our cat, Beamer) but take comfort in knowing she can run and
play again. I can still see her lying on the kitchen floor in one of her
usual spots watching me cook dinner or clean the kitchen. She would go 'on
patrol' during the night - sleeping for awhile in one bedroom and then
getting up and going to the other bedroom to sleep for awhile. She was
making sure her humans were okay.
She was a terrific grilling buddy for Tom; she
would follow him out to the deck and stay with him to 'help' watch the
burgers cook. We were glad she was able to do that one last time, the day
before crossing to Rainbow Bridge. She would also help Tom check the mail
every day.
Mollie Girl did not have a vicious bone in her
body, but was very protective of Michaela when Michaela was little. One day
while taking her out for a ride in her wagon through the neighborhood, a dog
was out loose in the front yard and started barking and running toward us.
Mollie quickly turned to confront the dog, growled and bared her teeth
(looking back, I think that was the only time I ever saw her bare her
teeth). The other dog decided to stop and just barked at us from a safe
distance. I had to pull Mollie away though. She was still telling that other
dog what-for, but finally decided it was okay to continue our walk. Mollie
did love her walks and would always bark at the cows whenever they were in
the section of pasture close to our walking path. I am sure that herding
instinct was kicking in.
It was so hard to let her go, but we knew it was
the best thing we could do for her. It had gotten to the point that the
tumors in her lungs had spread so much the medicine was not really helping
her anymore. She loved to lie out in the sunshine and roll around in the
grass like crazy.
Mollie - I am sure you are getting to do that a
lot now. Oh, and I hope you have a squeaky cheeseburger toy (or a dozen for
that matter) to play with. I never could find you another one to replace the
one you played with so much it stopped squeaking and a person could not tell
it was supposed to be a cheeseburger anymore. We love you so much and will
always cherish these precious memories of you.
Elizabeth (Mommy), Tom, Michaela and Beamer
Prancer - Buddy -
Beads September 21, 2000
- March 20, 2008
My
best friend.
He was so much fun,
He had a huge impact on our lives
No sign of pain, you would never show
I would take your pain into my own
We went our separate ways
~ Joseph O'Connor ~
"Koa"
You were in my arms
Such a short time
But will be in my heart
Forever.
Koa came into my life during a very sad
period for me. I was in my 40's and trying to have a child
through in vitro without any luck for some time. I had
also just lost my first Sheltie (and baby) Kawika, at fourteen
and a half years old, six months before and was devastated by
this loss. Koa brought me happiness again with his sweet face
and funny personality.
Koa
was a great little puppy and we did everything to try to have
him grow up to be a well "socialized" doggie. He attended three
puppy schools, met tons of new people every week and had so many
doggie friends I can't even count them all. He was a happy, free
spirited little guy who cared about nothing except having fun!
An afternoon at the beach with all of his friends was his idea
of a great day. He loved to chase the birds, roll in seaweed and
just get dirty. He was so funny to watch. He wanted to chase
anything that moved or at least bark at it. He never met a
doggie or kitty that wasn't his friend. He was a very
independent little boy that loved his food or treats or anything
he thought smelled good. He once ate some of the babies' diaper
cream.
But that is nothing new
I thought about you yesterday
And days before that too
I think of you in silence
I often speak your name
All I have are memories
Your picture in a frame
Your memory is my keepsake
With which I'll never part
God has you in his keeping
I have you in my heart
They say memories are golden
Well maybe that is true
I never wanted memories
I only wanted you
I love you today, tomorrow and forever.
"Prancer"
but he was so sensitive to our needs and emotions.
He enjoyed every moment of his short
but spectacular life,
most of all being out in the yard,
and especially in the snow.
and helped make us who we are today.
He was the best friend and family member
anyone could have.
He was incredibly intelligent and kind
and friendly to everyone he met.
I will miss him dearly as all of us will.
He will always be in our hearts
I was wishing for the past
At my feet, at my side, no questions asked
I hold onto your pride like the ache of a winter snow
to have you for just one more day alone
But I know you will be waiting when I come home someday
~~~
With love from
Joseph, Laura, Shannon and Erin
|
"Sammy" This is my second angel in 4 years. Sammy (female) was 15. Her legs gave out some time ago, and so I carried her when needed. She loved to be wherever the family was and I wish I could hold her again and carry her myself to Heaven. She was the most loyal dog I have ever known and I will miss her and love her forever... The Kozenczak Family |
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Sheltie Angels Page Thirty-Five