Wednesday, October 01, 2014

Very Sad...

I lost a very special friend.  She was one in a million and I will never have another friend like her.

I hesitate to even write because words will not do her justice.  She was that special.

She came into our lives in 2006 when she was 6 years old.  Her original owners were unable to keep her.  I truly believe they must have loved her because she was so sweet.  I found her on Pet Finders and she was being fostered by a Veterinarian's wife.  She had needed two surgeries and was finally ready to be adopted.
Her name was Sophie and we weren't about to rename her.  That name belonged to her.

She was a Miniature Schnauzer with a laid back Collie or Lab's personality.  Yes, she barked like a Schnauzer, but loved everyone she met.  I would joke that if someone broke in while we were gone she would run up and lick them and act like their new best friend.
She even loved and tolerated the cats.  That's her in the upper right hand corner.
One of the cats had a bad habit of making Sophie move.  If Sophie was sleeping on one of the couches Murphy would go over and nudge her until she moved.  Usually she'd jump off one couch and onto the other and lay down with a sigh.  That's about as much as she'd complain.
She enjoyed sleeping in cat beds more than the cats.
I suspect at times she might have thought she was a cat.

In May I took her to the Veterinarian and she had lost some weight.  That was strange because she was eating just fine.  But over the summer she stopped eating as well and finally didn't want to eat much at all.
We ended up taking her to a specialist and she had lumps and bumps in her spleen.  It was probably cancer.  I opted for surgery, but her pre-op blood work showed that her kidney wasn't functioning as well anymore.  (She only had one good kidney.)  We tried IV's to see if the numbers would improve, but they didn't improve enough.  She did start eating a little more, so we brought her home to love for a little while longer.  We knew the days were numbered.
I didn't want her trying to jump on and off my bed, so we put one of those blow up mattresses smack dab in the middle of the den floor.  Reid and I took turns sleeping there with her at night.
She loved all the extra attention.  She was in no pain.  We became pretty creative trying to find things she would eat.  Reid had some success with dog omelets.  Since she loved eggs he'd put dog food inside an omelet.

Eventually that wouldn't even work.

Reid and I talked.  We knew it was time to let our friend go.  Last Thursday we took her for a long car ride.  That was one of her favorite things to do.  We drove back over to Friendswood and took her for a ride past our old house.  When we turned down the street she sat up straight.  She had always done that when we lived there and would return home.  Somehow she knew.

We took her for one last ride on Friday.  She was always happy to go to the Veterinarian and last Friday was no exception.  In a way that made it easier.

We miss her so much.  She was definitely one in a million.  I feel so sad and lost without her.  Jim used to say that he had "one dog" and I had "all those cats,"  but she truly belonged to all of us.
 







9 comments:

  1. I think this is my first visit here, and I am in tears. So sorry for your loss.. those furbabies ARE family. I can certainly tell she had a wonderful, loving home.. hugs to you and yours! What a sweetie!! -Tammy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, Betty... I'm so sorry for your loss. She will always hold a special place in your heart. Always. Jim will watch over her until you are all together again. Blessings and hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  3. So your loss is Jim's gain, my friend and please take these words to heart...they helped me when I lost my best friend too. "...grieve not, nor speak of me with tears but laugh and speak of me often as if I were beside you. 'Twas Heaven here with you...I loved you so..."...:)JP

    ReplyDelete
  4. Condolences on your loss.

    ReplyDelete
  5. She was so lucky to have had such loving dog-parents. I know it was hard, but you truly did the best possible thing easing her way out of this world into the next.

    I am sorry for your loss and recommend reading "The Rainbow Bridge".

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a beautiful tribute to Sophie - her love for you and your love for her!

    I am so very very sad. I can just put myself in your place with Disco and it would be one of the hardest things to go through.

    I am so sorry!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a beautiful tribute to Sophie - her love for you and your love for her!

    I am so very very sad. I can just put myself in your place with Disco and it would be one of the hardest things to go through.

    I am so sorry!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh Betty.

    Just.

    Oh.

    Betty, I am so very sorry to read this.

    Close your eyes and I'm sending you a giant hug and gentle prayers of peace!

    I am so very sorry for your loss. She sounds like an amazing friend.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am so sad to read tat you lost your beloved dog, Sophie, Betty. I know how hard this is for you. {{{ hugs }}}

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to visit my little world and leave a comment. I appreciate hearing from you.

I do not receive all comments by E-mail and I'm not exactly sure why. I do try and remember to check the actual blog so I won't miss any of your comments.

I do not belong to Google+ and regret that I am unable to leave comments on Google+ blogs.

WORD VERIFICATION: I have NOT set up word verification for comments. However, every so often it appears on my blog even though I have chosen NO in the settings. Please let me know if you encounter word verification when leaving a comment so I can try and fix it. Thanks.