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I had to say good-bye to you yesterday, my sweet little girl. You were such a joy to have. You were dealt a bad hand in life, but I hope I gave you some peace, security, and a pain-free life for the 3 years you were with me.
I had asked the rescue if they ever saw shelties in the pound, that they were my favorite breed and I would LOVE to foster one. 3 days later, they found you in the county pound. They pulled you out, unaware of the extent of your problems. After a month of basic medical care to cure your infections and get your overall health to a level that you could come out of quarantine, you came into my home.
It wasn't long after that that the rescue fell apart. I adopted you to get you away, to spare you from euthanasia and to get you the medical care you still needed. Luckily, another rescue I had worked with before volunteered to cover your surgery expenses. You had allergies that caused your ear canals to swell up with growths, and the canals had to be removed. You were now deaf, but you were much healthier. A change to a high quality kibble helped your hair to grow back, and the skin odor to almost disappear. After a couple of months of research, I started feeding you a raw meat and bones diet. The skin odor totally disappeared, and you stopped chewing your paws.
Finally, being pain-free in your ears, probably for the first time in your life, you started to come out of your crate, to socialize with the other dogs, and allowed me to touch you, pet you, and cuddle you. You even insisted on sleeping in my bed with me at night, and sometimes would crawl into my lap for some one-on-one attention. You were finally a normal dog.
Taking you out for walks was such a pleasure. Because you were such a beautiful dog, many heads would turn, many people would stop to talk to me about you, to admire you. Your lovely disposition and your oh-so-petite size was just so hard to resist.
6 months ago, you lost your eyesight, and began having seizures. We got your seizures under control, but you started to develop other symptoms that told me it was time to let you go.
My poor Scarlett, you came to me in pain and distress, but figuring out all that I had to do to make life pleasurable for you taught me a great many things. I learned blind/deaf dogs are not "handicapped." You even learned a few commands after you lost your hearing. It was fun to teach you. I learned a bit about basic medical care for dogs after you had your surgery. I learned that I did have patience to care for you, even in the middle of the night. I learned quite a bit about dog nutrition. I learned never to be scared of taking in any dog with special needs, with guidance from the vet and bit of research, I can determine what I can handle. When I'm able to do so, I will look for another special needs dog that needs to be saved and cared for, because of you.
My sweet little girl, I hope for the 3 years you were with me, that most of that time was pain-free. I love you Scarlett, I miss you so much already.
So very sorry for your loss. In my belief system, she is now running the great fields of the sky, happy and healthy, with lots of new friends, among them my now-gone furbabies. <<hugs>>
I'm so sorry for your loss. Bless you for giving her those 3 wonderful years...and bless her for showing you that you have the strength, love, and patience needed to help special-needs dogs...it's not something everyone can do, it takes a very special person! (((HUGS)))
I had to say good-bye to you yesterday, my sweet little girl. You were such a joy to have. You were dealt a bad hand in life, but I hope I gave you some peace, security, and a pain-free life for the 3 years you were with me.
I had asked the rescue if they ever saw shelties in the pound, that they were my favorite breed and I would LOVE to foster one. 3 days later, they found you in the county pound. They pulled you out, unaware of the extent of your problems. After a month of basic medical care to cure your infections and get your overall health to a level that you could come out of quarantine, you came into my home.
It wasn't long after that that the rescue fell apart. I adopted you to get you away, to spare you from euthanasia and to get you the medical care you still needed. Luckily, another rescue I had worked with before volunteered to cover your surgery expenses. You had allergies that caused your ear canals to swell up with growths, and the canals had to be removed. You were now deaf, but you were much healthier. A change to a high quality kibble helped your hair to grow back, and the skin odor to almost disappear. After a couple of months of research, I started feeding you a raw meat and bones diet. The skin odor totally disappeared, and you stopped chewing your paws.
Finally, being pain-free in your ears, probably for the first time in your life, you started to come out of your crate, to socialize with the other dogs, and allowed me to touch you, pet you, and cuddle you. You even insisted on sleeping in my bed with me at night, and sometimes would crawl into my lap for some one-on-one attention. You were finally a normal dog.
Taking you out for walks was such a pleasure. Because you were such a beautiful dog, many heads would turn, many people would stop to talk to me about you, to admire you. Your lovely disposition and your oh-so-petite size was just so hard to resist.
6 months ago, you lost your eyesight, and began having seizures. We got your seizures under control, but you started to develop other symptoms that told me it was time to let you go.
My poor Scarlett, you came to me in pain and distress, but figuring out all that I had to do to make life pleasurable for you taught me a great many things. I learned blind/deaf dogs are not "handicapped." You even learned a few commands after you lost your hearing. It was fun to teach you. I learned a bit about basic medical care for dogs after you had your surgery. I learned that I did have patience to care for you, even in the middle of the night. I learned quite a bit about dog nutrition. I learned never to be scared of taking in any dog with special needs, with guidance from the vet and bit of research, I can determine what I can handle. When I'm able to do so, I will look for another special needs dog that needs to be saved and cared for, because of you.
My sweet little girl, I hope for the 3 years you were with me, that most of that time was pain-free. I love you Scarlett, I miss you so much already.
Thank you and bless you for helping this dog. She is an Angel now watching over you...
Steelstress I'm so sorry about your loss of Scarlett. But know that the 3 years you had her were the best for her, she was loved. And that's really the ultimate gift we can give to a pet.
My prayers go out to you and Scarlett.
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