SheltieMommy
Forums Regular
Today I had to say goodbye to Lady, my 12 y/o puppy mill rescue. I adopted her about 2 years ago, so she spent the first 10 years of her life churning out litter after litter. I thought I was prepared to adopt a rescue....I had read everything I could find on the subject, but I must admit she was a challenge! The poor girl never knew what it meant to be a dog, let alone a SHELTIE! She had no idea what to do with a bone or a toy, barely made eye contact, rarely barked, and didn't want to do anything more than sleep in her crate (and poop there when she had the chance too!), and EAT! Wow, she loved her food!
We had been treating her for congestive heart failure for several months, and this morning she was panting hard, wouldn't eat, and drank four big bowls of water. Then she started coughing up mucous until she threw up most of the water she had drank. Otherwise she seemed in good spirits though! She still went outside to potty, and trotted her laps around the dining room table for her breakfast....she just wouldn't eat it! After she wouldn't even eat her favorite treat--a bit of turkey hot dog that I use to give her meds--I called the vet, who suggested I bring her right in. We had talked about this for several months now...that this would be a progressive thing, and that we'd just treat it as long as we could. So it turns out that the fluid in her lungs had built up again, despite the lasix, to a dangerous level, plus she now had fluid in her abdomen as well, which meant that both sides of her heart were starting to fail. I couldn't let her get any worse....what a scary thing to not be able to breathe.
I told her what a brave life she led, and how many families she has blessed with all those puppies! (Of course I'm not condoing puppy mills, but it made me feel better to think that she didn't live that terrible existence in vain!)
I think the hardest thing for me all along, has been trying to know when I've done enough for her. I wanted her to have the experiences that a "normal" dog has. But for her, it seems that all she wanted was a nice crate to sleep in, and lots of healthy food. Well, by golly, I made sure she got lots of those for the last two years! She also got lots of love, scratchies, and kisses. (And more baths than she probably got in 10 years, thanks to her not having any qualms about pottying in her crate and laying in it! Thank you, Mr. Puppy Mill dude...) Not sure she appreciated those as much, but maybe she did in her own way and just didn't know how to express it.
My heart is breaking, but I know I did what was best for her. I think she's now finally running, herding sheep, and barking at everything that passes by, just to say hello. And I know at least one other sheltie from the same mill is already there at the bridge, so I bet they have hooked up and are comparing notes about how their lives took a turn they never expected!
Sigh....despite all her quirks, I sure love her.
-Chris
We had been treating her for congestive heart failure for several months, and this morning she was panting hard, wouldn't eat, and drank four big bowls of water. Then she started coughing up mucous until she threw up most of the water she had drank. Otherwise she seemed in good spirits though! She still went outside to potty, and trotted her laps around the dining room table for her breakfast....she just wouldn't eat it! After she wouldn't even eat her favorite treat--a bit of turkey hot dog that I use to give her meds--I called the vet, who suggested I bring her right in. We had talked about this for several months now...that this would be a progressive thing, and that we'd just treat it as long as we could. So it turns out that the fluid in her lungs had built up again, despite the lasix, to a dangerous level, plus she now had fluid in her abdomen as well, which meant that both sides of her heart were starting to fail. I couldn't let her get any worse....what a scary thing to not be able to breathe.
I told her what a brave life she led, and how many families she has blessed with all those puppies! (Of course I'm not condoing puppy mills, but it made me feel better to think that she didn't live that terrible existence in vain!)
I think the hardest thing for me all along, has been trying to know when I've done enough for her. I wanted her to have the experiences that a "normal" dog has. But for her, it seems that all she wanted was a nice crate to sleep in, and lots of healthy food. Well, by golly, I made sure she got lots of those for the last two years! She also got lots of love, scratchies, and kisses. (And more baths than she probably got in 10 years, thanks to her not having any qualms about pottying in her crate and laying in it! Thank you, Mr. Puppy Mill dude...) Not sure she appreciated those as much, but maybe she did in her own way and just didn't know how to express it.
My heart is breaking, but I know I did what was best for her. I think she's now finally running, herding sheep, and barking at everything that passes by, just to say hello. And I know at least one other sheltie from the same mill is already there at the bridge, so I bet they have hooked up and are comparing notes about how their lives took a turn they never expected!
Sigh....despite all her quirks, I sure love her.
-Chris
