Dear friends and family,
I am sad to share that my sweet Saint Bernard has been diagnosed with bone cancer. She started limping three weeks ago. I thought she just pulled a muscle. When it didn’t heal I took her to the vet thinking it would be torn ligaments. The vet knew immediately what it was. He said this is typical of the large breeds and happens in mid life. My Abby Rose (sometimes Abby, sometimes Rosy) is 6 years old. She has been my companion and my friend through the tough times of the last several years.
The vet could not say how much time she had but we thought it would be weeks or perhaps months. I don’t believe in letting animals suffer just to keep them with us so the focus was on managing her pain. After the pain meds kicked in we had one great week. We went to the dog park twice. We walked to the local high school where she watched the pigeons. We ran errands together on the weekends. It was cool enough for her in the car. She could be with me and watch what was going on in the world. I bought her a hotdog at the fundraiser for the local high school. It was fun to come back to the car to see her either get excited to see me or resigned, with her mug on the back of the seat looking as if she was terribly picked on. She had that look down pat. She would pout if she felt neglected. Once she was so mad at me for giving my daughter’s dog, London, attention that she went behind the curtains with just her nose sticking out as if to say, “don’t worry about me, I’ll just be over here.” This would be said with an eeyore voice.
Unfortunately this weekend she started coughing. I took her to the emergency Vet thinking she had kennel cough. Sadly she has developed a tumor in her chest. The vet asked if I wanted to put her down that day. I told him I wanted another day or two with her. I wanted Amanda, BJ and London to be able to say goodbye. I wanted another night or two to snuggle with her, petting her side. That has always helped me fall asleep. I had planned to get some good pictures of her but she has gone downhill so quickly that it’s too late to capture who she was.
Indulge me for a moment as I share some of what I loved about her:
· She and I loved going up into the hills in Salem and then in Pleasant Grove. I loved giving her off leash time and she loved sniffing and smelling all the scents of the outdoors. I loved that she got me outside on a regular basis. Life gets busy and it’s easy to not do what we love. Being with animals and out in nature has always been what fills my bucket and gives me joy.
· Both dogs and people do not look up. Rosy loved to look up to watch the birds. She loved watching birds and not with the intent to catch them which is also unique.
· At the dog park people thought she was a young dog because of her bouncing gate. She played like a puppy and loved seeing the other dogs.
· Any time we ran into a dog lover they would compliment me on how beautiful she was. After our move to downtown Salt Lake City I even had people driving by honk, wave and comment on her. I called her my pretty girl. I have to admit this was a source of pride for me.
· She loved riding in the car and was good company.
· She loved getting brushed. It was like a human getting a massage. It bonded us and was grounding for me.
· She loved to play chase. It was fun to observe her chase with another dog around the camper or the coffee table watching to see if the other dog would change direction.
· In the last year she had begun to view cats and small dogs as interactive chew toys. On our last trip to the dog park she knocked over a little old lady trying to get to her poodle. She has also pulled me over on more than one occasion running to play with another dog.
· I taught her how to swim which is not a natural skill for a Saint Bernard. I wanted her to enjoy the water with me. I would take her to Salem pond and go just past where her feet could touch. At first she thought I was out of my mind. But before long she was paddling after the ducks who always stayed just out of reach. One of our favorite walks was on the gravel road along the canal. In the summer she would swim. In late spring we watched a fox den where three years in a row a pair of foxes raised their pups (or is it kits?).
· Since she was a puppy when it was time to go to sleep she would move to the bottom of the bed by my feet. She never liked to snuggle while she was sleeping and would jump off the bed if I wiggled too much.
· She is the only dog that bonded to me. All the dogs I’ve owned or worked with loved me but Abby was my dog. She always loved me best of all.
· Yesterday I held her face in my hands looking into her eyes and telling her over and over again that I loved her. She met my eyes for the entire time which was unusual. Most dogs don’t like to make long eye contact.
· I’m sad she will not see the first snow this year. She always loved that.
· I will miss how her entire body wiggled when I came home in the evening. A tale wag was not good enough to express her joy and to welcome me home.
Few things in my life have been this difficult. The day I learned of her cancer and now that I know the end is so close I feel physically ill, I can’t breathe. Tonight I will snuggle with her for the last time. Tomorrow we will say goodbye for now. A friend told me of someone who felt the dogs that had once been in her life surrounding her in her hospital bed. They nestled around her and held up her arms. I hope to be greeted by my doggy friends when I leave this life. Those dogs taught me about unconditional love and Rosy has been the best of all.
I am sad to share that my sweet Saint Bernard has been diagnosed with bone cancer. She started limping three weeks ago. I thought she just pulled a muscle. When it didn’t heal I took her to the vet thinking it would be torn ligaments. The vet knew immediately what it was. He said this is typical of the large breeds and happens in mid life. My Abby Rose (sometimes Abby, sometimes Rosy) is 6 years old. She has been my companion and my friend through the tough times of the last several years.
The vet could not say how much time she had but we thought it would be weeks or perhaps months. I don’t believe in letting animals suffer just to keep them with us so the focus was on managing her pain. After the pain meds kicked in we had one great week. We went to the dog park twice. We walked to the local high school where she watched the pigeons. We ran errands together on the weekends. It was cool enough for her in the car. She could be with me and watch what was going on in the world. I bought her a hotdog at the fundraiser for the local high school. It was fun to come back to the car to see her either get excited to see me or resigned, with her mug on the back of the seat looking as if she was terribly picked on. She had that look down pat. She would pout if she felt neglected. Once she was so mad at me for giving my daughter’s dog, London, attention that she went behind the curtains with just her nose sticking out as if to say, “don’t worry about me, I’ll just be over here.” This would be said with an eeyore voice.
Unfortunately this weekend she started coughing. I took her to the emergency Vet thinking she had kennel cough. Sadly she has developed a tumor in her chest. The vet asked if I wanted to put her down that day. I told him I wanted another day or two with her. I wanted Amanda, BJ and London to be able to say goodbye. I wanted another night or two to snuggle with her, petting her side. That has always helped me fall asleep. I had planned to get some good pictures of her but she has gone downhill so quickly that it’s too late to capture who she was.
Indulge me for a moment as I share some of what I loved about her:
· She and I loved going up into the hills in Salem and then in Pleasant Grove. I loved giving her off leash time and she loved sniffing and smelling all the scents of the outdoors. I loved that she got me outside on a regular basis. Life gets busy and it’s easy to not do what we love. Being with animals and out in nature has always been what fills my bucket and gives me joy.
· Both dogs and people do not look up. Rosy loved to look up to watch the birds. She loved watching birds and not with the intent to catch them which is also unique.
· At the dog park people thought she was a young dog because of her bouncing gate. She played like a puppy and loved seeing the other dogs.
· Any time we ran into a dog lover they would compliment me on how beautiful she was. After our move to downtown Salt Lake City I even had people driving by honk, wave and comment on her. I called her my pretty girl. I have to admit this was a source of pride for me.
· She loved riding in the car and was good company.
· She loved getting brushed. It was like a human getting a massage. It bonded us and was grounding for me.
· She loved to play chase. It was fun to observe her chase with another dog around the camper or the coffee table watching to see if the other dog would change direction.
· In the last year she had begun to view cats and small dogs as interactive chew toys. On our last trip to the dog park she knocked over a little old lady trying to get to her poodle. She has also pulled me over on more than one occasion running to play with another dog.
· I taught her how to swim which is not a natural skill for a Saint Bernard. I wanted her to enjoy the water with me. I would take her to Salem pond and go just past where her feet could touch. At first she thought I was out of my mind. But before long she was paddling after the ducks who always stayed just out of reach. One of our favorite walks was on the gravel road along the canal. In the summer she would swim. In late spring we watched a fox den where three years in a row a pair of foxes raised their pups (or is it kits?).
· Since she was a puppy when it was time to go to sleep she would move to the bottom of the bed by my feet. She never liked to snuggle while she was sleeping and would jump off the bed if I wiggled too much.
· She is the only dog that bonded to me. All the dogs I’ve owned or worked with loved me but Abby was my dog. She always loved me best of all.
· Yesterday I held her face in my hands looking into her eyes and telling her over and over again that I loved her. She met my eyes for the entire time which was unusual. Most dogs don’t like to make long eye contact.
· I’m sad she will not see the first snow this year. She always loved that.
· I will miss how her entire body wiggled when I came home in the evening. A tale wag was not good enough to express her joy and to welcome me home.
Few things in my life have been this difficult. The day I learned of her cancer and now that I know the end is so close I feel physically ill, I can’t breathe. Tonight I will snuggle with her for the last time. Tomorrow we will say goodbye for now. A friend told me of someone who felt the dogs that had once been in her life surrounding her in her hospital bed. They nestled around her and held up her arms. I hope to be greeted by my doggy friends when I leave this life. Those dogs taught me about unconditional love and Rosy has been the best of all.
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