SAYING GOODBYE....

RIP Emily November 19, 2000 - May 21, 2011

May was an awful month in our family. On May 17th my Mom (above with Emily) was admitted to hospital for low blood pressure, I was with her at the hospital until late in the evening. The next morning I was woken by her doctor calling my cell phone to tell me she had had a stroke.....

We spent the next few days at her bedside not knowing if she would make it or not and if she did what would the damage be. Her speech was severely impaired but she seemed to be able to move OK. Her speech is still not good but she is ambulatory and is now in a rehab facility and the doctors, nurses and therapists are working with her to try and recover some of what the stroke caused her to lose. Hopefully she will continue to recover and get well.

Meanwhile little Emily hadn't been feeling well that week and I took her to the Vet on Friday expecting her to have a stomach upset and need antibiotics. Well, he felt around and said her spleen was enlarged. He took xrays and blood work and he could see the spleen was very swollen and she also had a bladder stone. The poor little girl had to be suffering but she did it in silence which the vet assistant said is common as dogs don't like to upset their owners. She never complained of anything hurting but was off her food and every now and then would upchuck bile. Then she would be fine for a day or two.
So the Vet said depending on the blood work, he would like to remove the spleen, he felt there was probably a tumor there but he wouldn't know what kind until he opened her. He felt her odds were very good at a complete recovery. Saturday morning he called me and said he wanted to do surgery in the afternoon, the tests were back and he still felt she would be OK with the surgery. So I dropped her off and he said he would call when he had completed her. At about 2:10 in the afternoon my other dog Max, who is Emily's biological brother sat up straight on the couch and put his head right back. When the phone ran a couple of minutes later I just knew it was bad.

The Vet did the surgery, got the spleen out (there was a tumor but not as big as I had expected) and there was a bladder stone. I saw both later in the day. He said the operation was a success but as he was closing her little heart gave out. The Vet's assistant said he made a valiant effort to try and revive her but she was gone. I was and I remain heartbroken about my little Buddie's passing. She was my little shadow, she followed me everywhere and never let me out of her sight and at night her bed is on the floor beside my bed. I am the last one to bed around here and she always stayed with me and kept me company. I really miss her a lot. I had her cremated and I brought her home. The crematorium took a cast of her paw print and that is the plaque at the back right of the photo. Her ashes are in the urn. Very sad times.

Here Emily is in happier times.
And with the odd looking Santa below she is on the right front with her brother Max behind her and our other dog Molly on the left.