Bobbie blogs about dogs as she lives with mostly hounds. While no longer rescuing, she maintains Silverwalk Hounds Sanctuary for the remaining Sanctuary dogs as well as occasional fosters. She enjoys talking about dogs, including rescue, fostering and adoption.

Good night, Sweetie Pie

Posted Wednesday, June 10, 2009, at 4:25 PM

Sweetie Pie - Beagle/Dachshund mix? Lived up to her name

Last week on Thursday at 5:10 PM, Sweetie Pie went to Heaven. I am not going to debate whether dogs go to heaven or not; my God, who knows when a sparrow falls, who searches for the lost sheep both literally and figuratively, and who created all beings (including ticks - why?) on the earth, certainly welcomes dogs to his Home.

I do, however, invite your views on when and how you decide it is time to help your beloved pet on her way to her final Home. One author I read let her dog suffer in pain for a year because he would still eat - her criteria was as long as he can eat, he will live. I was horrified. What made Sweetie's passing difficult for me was she still wagged her tail when she saw me and ate with gusto - she was a dog who could lick the taste and smell right out of any dog bowl after eating whatever was left :). Her breathing due to her congestive heart failure resulting from years of neglect and an almost overwhelming case of PREVENTABLE heart worms incapacitated her to be able to sleep on my lap. She had difficulty resting at all. The last 4 days of her life, she was taking 120 mg of Lasix to relieve the fluid pressure on her lungs. Her quality of life was so compromised, I knew it was time - and yet, as I write this almost a week later, I get teary missing her as these words conjure memories of a little lost dog in the Jefferson County Animal Control, pulled by a group of do-gooders and brought my way, then financed by other do-gooders via Fundable.com for her treatment. Her name was Sweetie Pie for a reason.

I want to encourage those of you with aging dogs, dogs whose lives are truly compromised or those on the brink - to carefully review what is best for your dog with your vet, with me, with others who can help you take that final step in releasing her to her Heavenly Home. Please, don't take her to a shelter away from those she loves because it is too difficult for you - I and others are ready to help you in this time. This is the time you need to suck it up and do what needs to be done. I have heard and read to keep 3 things your dog values in mind; when those are no longer happening, then it is time. Sweetie could no longer enjoy her life besides eating - and her last two days, she ate as much as she wanted :).

Sweet dreams, Sweetie Pie! I will see you, Louie, Victor, Elvis, Oliver, Emma, and everyone else when we are all Home.

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I'm so sorry about your loss. It's so hard to say good bye to our best friends.

For me, it was when Nigel didn't bark at the UPS man anymore.

Abbey's tumor was big enough to cause hourly seizures.

It's a personal thing and I would never judge anyone for the choices they make for a dog they TRULY loved. I define Truly Loved as a dog you took care of, vetted, groomed, trained, etc. If someone makes that choice because they Truly Loved their dog, I cast no judgement upon them for the decisions they made.

And then it can be different for different dogs. Like Gracie (ex bait dog), she's got calcified lungs and pulmonary artery (heart worm damage), a broken bone in her front leg we can't get fixed (not possible, went to Dr. Alan in Bridgeton, he couldn't believe she could walk, tibia still intact), arthritis in her back legs, missing teeth....

She's a mess! lol But, she still romps (as best as she can romp) over and barks at the UPS man :) I think with her, her life was soooo bad before we got her that, even in her condition, she's got a new lease on life and this is probably the best she's ever felt. When the time comes, I will take that ride, get her a large order of chicken McNuggets and Dr. Crystal will give her the blue shot.

I've seen so many rescues lose dogs. We lost Epona to HW treatment. That's something people don't realize about HW's. If the dog gets them, the treatment might kill them. So easily prevented.

We have to remember that although we were able to give the dogs a limited amount (because we didn't get to control what happened before they got to us), we gave them all they ever wanted... Someone to wait for at the Rainbow Bridge and we'll have a rootin' tootin' time when we get there.

Do dogs go to heaven? Doesn't matter to me. To quote Twilight Zone, The Hunt "Any place that's too high-falootin' for Rip is too fancy for me."

I'll go where the dogs are.

**hugs**

-- Posted by colliemom on Wed, Jun 10, 2009, at 6:18 PM
Thank you, colliemom. It is most difficult to decide when to send a pet to heaven especially when that pet is not in extremis. Yet I do feel I erred on behalf of Sweetie Pie's quality of life, though I am sure I could have kept her alive for another month on that dosage of Lasix. So hard and I do truly miss her. Once i have made the decision, I try not to second guess myself as it would make me crazy. I appreciate your comments more than you will ever know :).

-- Posted by silverwalk on Sun, Jun 14, 2009, at 8:22 PM
I truly understand how you feel. I'm going through the same thing right now with my little cat. She's old, and declining, and will soon be gone. Surely any animal we have loved and cared for will be with us in eternity, if God loves us at all. And He does, because He trusted us to take care of his creatures for a little while. Take comfort that you and Sweetie Pie were blessings for each other for a time. That's how I try to think of it.

-- Posted by srobertson on Sun, Jun 21, 2009, at 3:30 PM
Thank you, srobertson. My prayers are with you and your beloved cat. They become such a part of our hearts and homes, even if only for a short time, the loss is deeply felt. I do like the thought of blessing each other for the time we had :).

-- Posted by silverwalk on Tue, Jun 23, 2009, at 5:35 PM

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