She is alive and well. She is laying right next to me snorning. Glad one of us is sleeping.
Aly turned 8, Sept. 21. I hope we have at least 6 more years with her.
She trotts next to me when I ride my bike, she loves walking by any body of water so she can get wet. That is a normal trait for a Cocker and Koko was the same way. Of course Lucky had to be different and never wanted his paws to get wet :-)
She has her booster seat and rides with me to the coast and anywhere else she can go. She's even been in a TJMaxx and a tile store. Everyone adores her. She looks just like Koko and is the same size Koko was. Lucky was a little bigger, well a bit bigger :-) he was leggy.
I'm trying to get her a Cocker step-sister. Sometimes I think she is just fine alone but she's never been the only dog. This is the first time in her life. I try not to leave her but sometimes it cannot be avoided. When I get home she acts like a puppy that has not seen me for days. Dancing and running like she's crazy. She did not do that before. Before she and Lucky would stand by the door wagging there tails while the door got unlocked and then they would follow me around.
Well like we always do, we will find our way. Love your Cocker Spaniel, they are very special merry little dogs.
I'll continue to update the blog about Aly.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
The rest of Lucky's story....
Lucky continued to improve and amaze the vets. He never could jump up on the bed but he used HIS stairs faithfully. With his weakened immune system we never could get beyond the ear infections but lord knows we tried everything. Even weekly packing with antibiotics did not work. I cleaned and cleaned and used all thedifferent drops. That at least kept him from getting to the point of needing a surgery he could not have because of his condition.
Then in the latter part of 2012 he wasn't eating. We went back to rice. I kept telling the vet he was not himself but all his numbers where the same. In Feb 2012 he had turned 8 so as he got closer to 9 I wondered if it was his age considering all he had been through.
In Nov. I got a feeling that Lucky would leave us in 2013 and I decided I needed to prepare mentally and just enjoy him. I'm Ok with planning but I don't like the bad surprises, the unexpected. I can deal with what I know, it's the unknown, the darn unexpected.
Lucky suddenly, unexpectdly left us Dec 20. There will never be another one like you. RIP
I look at his pictures and smile. I'll never forget the time I got a visit to the ER thanks to him and a big bump on my head. Or what a surprise when he was born. He was the runt, runt and so small. He did not show-up on Koko's U/S so he was not expected and then he was the only survivor . I named him Lucky. He was such a boy and so beautiful.
And one last thing, he was fixed before 6 months and he never even knew it!
Then in the latter part of 2012 he wasn't eating. We went back to rice. I kept telling the vet he was not himself but all his numbers where the same. In Feb 2012 he had turned 8 so as he got closer to 9 I wondered if it was his age considering all he had been through.
In Nov. I got a feeling that Lucky would leave us in 2013 and I decided I needed to prepare mentally and just enjoy him. I'm Ok with planning but I don't like the bad surprises, the unexpected. I can deal with what I know, it's the unknown, the darn unexpected.
Lucky suddenly, unexpectdly left us Dec 20. There will never be another one like you. RIP
I look at his pictures and smile. I'll never forget the time I got a visit to the ER thanks to him and a big bump on my head. Or what a surprise when he was born. He was the runt, runt and so small. He did not show-up on Koko's U/S so he was not expected and then he was the only survivor . I named him Lucky. He was such a boy and so beautiful.
And one last thing, he was fixed before 6 months and he never even knew it!
Dogs mourn, I know this.
I couldn't work the next day, one of our treasured family members was gone. I cried, cried, cried and Lucky and Aly would not leave my side. We were a mess and little did I know it was my fault.
The very next week I told Dr. M I wanted the same test on Aly and another one on Lucky. He tried to tell me it wasn't needed (these are not part of the plan, you pay extra for these test). I asked him to humor me and if they were OK I would leave it at that. Well he was right, they were fine. Lucky was where is always was and Aly was fine. I felt relief but not better.
Three week later we're still all depressed. Back to the Dr. M we go. So I ask him, "how long do dogs mourn". I had a Golden that mourned a cat we had and loved. They use to sleep together. I knew dogs mourned. Well Dr. M looks at me and says, "they are going to mourn as long as you do." I perked up on the walk to the car because I do not want to be the reason my dogs feel any physical or emotional pain.
I always thought Koko would be with us at least 14 yrs. But she wasn't and just like with my son I had to focus and treasure the time we did have her. She was very special and the best doggy mommy ever.
This blog was about Lucky but without Koko there would have been no Lucky. When he was a very little puppy, Koko had a routine. She was in our bedroom all night and early morning, then around 9 Am she would want to move to her bed in the family room, she liked the sunshine. So she would come upstairs and get me so I could get Lucky and move him to the other bed and then we would repeae it in the afternoon when she was ready. One bark meant she was ready and two or more meant something was wrong. We have great memories.
The very next week I told Dr. M I wanted the same test on Aly and another one on Lucky. He tried to tell me it wasn't needed (these are not part of the plan, you pay extra for these test). I asked him to humor me and if they were OK I would leave it at that. Well he was right, they were fine. Lucky was where is always was and Aly was fine. I felt relief but not better.
Three week later we're still all depressed. Back to the Dr. M we go. So I ask him, "how long do dogs mourn". I had a Golden that mourned a cat we had and loved. They use to sleep together. I knew dogs mourned. Well Dr. M looks at me and says, "they are going to mourn as long as you do." I perked up on the walk to the car because I do not want to be the reason my dogs feel any physical or emotional pain.
I always thought Koko would be with us at least 14 yrs. But she wasn't and just like with my son I had to focus and treasure the time we did have her. She was very special and the best doggy mommy ever.
This blog was about Lucky but without Koko there would have been no Lucky. When he was a very little puppy, Koko had a routine. She was in our bedroom all night and early morning, then around 9 Am she would want to move to her bed in the family room, she liked the sunshine. So she would come upstairs and get me so I could get Lucky and move him to the other bed and then we would repeae it in the afternoon when she was ready. One bark meant she was ready and two or more meant something was wrong. We have great memories.
A lot of things have happened.....Koko
Before I get to the present let me tell you a very condensed version about all that has happened since I last posed. Ironically, almost exacty 3 yrs to the day.
We were always so worried about Lucky's weight.
Two months after my last post I got very sick and could not eat anything. I did some reseach on foods best tolerated by those that cannot seem to tolerate anything. I discovered plain old white rice. I looked at Lucky one day and thought if I can keep this plain rice down maybe you can to. It was a miracle food, no more vomiting, he got back to his normal weight of 32 lbs, no more Ascites. He was back to throwing his weight around, barking at dogs to stay way, we were his people. As much as that barking use to annoy me it was so joyful to hear again. He had done it before a little but now it was like old times. :-) He ate his white rice and canned dog food or the sausage looking stuff.
He started running more, not a lot but way more than before. He walked up and down the steps, I did not have to carry him.
Turns out people with liver issues tend to have the same stomach problems so I treated him like a person after checking with Dr. M.
Then in August, a few days after Koko's 10th birthday (Lucky's doggy Mom) She could not make it up to the chaise lounge in my office. It was a Monday and that was her spot. I put her up there and looked at her. She seemed weak so I put a blanket around her and called the vet. We went in and her blood test for the first time showed elevated liver enzymes. They weren't too worried because she seemed OK and everything else was normal. But being Lucky's nursemaid I had be come paranoid. I asked them to do the other test (can't recall the name but they don't eat then do the test then eat do another test). The results came in the next day. The numbers were so high the machine could not read it, she was in liver failure. That was the day I learned that Cockers can just have Liver failure without any history. I never knew that since Lucky's was caused by that Sago Palm.
That was Tuesday and I just went into shock, not Koko. Noooooooo! All this time I was hoping Lucky would be OK, doing whatever it took to ensure he survived and now out of the blue Koko was dying at age 10. I took a picture of her that day not knowing it would be the last one. Thursday evening I was sitting in my office typing on one of the Liver chats to see if anyone knew of anything (I had already tried the liver transplant rounte with Lucky and knew they don't do them anywhere in the country). Koko was in my lap in a blanket. All of a sudden she jerked her neck. I knew she was dying and in my shock I wrote it on the chat board. I felt so helpless. Everyone started writing back in shock telling me to run to the closest ER. Unlike with Lucky I knew there was no hope. I closed my computer and took her down to our bed. I told my husband and we laid there with her between us. We wanted to do something but we did not know what. Just like my son I did not want her to be poked and proded just because. She was comfortable. Then we worried that maybe she was in pain and just could not show it so we got dressed and went to the ER. We could not bare the thought of her being in any pain.
I let Lucky and Aly smell her before we left. I don't know why but I felt like they would know.
They vet saw us right away when we told them she was dying. They confirmed it and said they could put her on IV etc etc and I said, "for what, so she can suffer a few more hours or do you really think it will help?" They are nice vets, they understood what I was saying and told me it would only possibly prolong her life some hours. I would not do that to her. I asked if they could give her something for pain, if they thought she was in pain so we could take her home. The vet said yes, and they went to get something. Koko was on the exame table and she was having trouble breathing, I picked her up and held her close. The vet came back in and I put Koko back on the table. Then she said, "her heart rate is very low". I pulled Koko towards me and her heart rate went up. I had the funniest feeling she was holding on because of me. I put her back on the table and held her in a way she could not feel my heart beat, after I told her it was OK to leave. She took a last deep breath...
We had always intended to bury her in what we call the puppy garden in our yard but somehow in death she looked so much larger than she had in life. Even though by the time we got it together enough to leave the ER it was 1 AM, Koko's ordeal was thankfully very short. The vet told us we could have her cremated alone and get her ashes. My son had been cremated and somehow it just seemed like the right thing to do. I think in the end it happened just as Koko intended.
We were always so worried about Lucky's weight.
Two months after my last post I got very sick and could not eat anything. I did some reseach on foods best tolerated by those that cannot seem to tolerate anything. I discovered plain old white rice. I looked at Lucky one day and thought if I can keep this plain rice down maybe you can to. It was a miracle food, no more vomiting, he got back to his normal weight of 32 lbs, no more Ascites. He was back to throwing his weight around, barking at dogs to stay way, we were his people. As much as that barking use to annoy me it was so joyful to hear again. He had done it before a little but now it was like old times. :-) He ate his white rice and canned dog food or the sausage looking stuff.
He started running more, not a lot but way more than before. He walked up and down the steps, I did not have to carry him.
Turns out people with liver issues tend to have the same stomach problems so I treated him like a person after checking with Dr. M.
Then in August, a few days after Koko's 10th birthday (Lucky's doggy Mom) She could not make it up to the chaise lounge in my office. It was a Monday and that was her spot. I put her up there and looked at her. She seemed weak so I put a blanket around her and called the vet. We went in and her blood test for the first time showed elevated liver enzymes. They weren't too worried because she seemed OK and everything else was normal. But being Lucky's nursemaid I had be come paranoid. I asked them to do the other test (can't recall the name but they don't eat then do the test then eat do another test). The results came in the next day. The numbers were so high the machine could not read it, she was in liver failure. That was the day I learned that Cockers can just have Liver failure without any history. I never knew that since Lucky's was caused by that Sago Palm.
That was Tuesday and I just went into shock, not Koko. Noooooooo! All this time I was hoping Lucky would be OK, doing whatever it took to ensure he survived and now out of the blue Koko was dying at age 10. I took a picture of her that day not knowing it would be the last one. Thursday evening I was sitting in my office typing on one of the Liver chats to see if anyone knew of anything (I had already tried the liver transplant rounte with Lucky and knew they don't do them anywhere in the country). Koko was in my lap in a blanket. All of a sudden she jerked her neck. I knew she was dying and in my shock I wrote it on the chat board. I felt so helpless. Everyone started writing back in shock telling me to run to the closest ER. Unlike with Lucky I knew there was no hope. I closed my computer and took her down to our bed. I told my husband and we laid there with her between us. We wanted to do something but we did not know what. Just like my son I did not want her to be poked and proded just because. She was comfortable. Then we worried that maybe she was in pain and just could not show it so we got dressed and went to the ER. We could not bare the thought of her being in any pain.
I let Lucky and Aly smell her before we left. I don't know why but I felt like they would know.
They vet saw us right away when we told them she was dying. They confirmed it and said they could put her on IV etc etc and I said, "for what, so she can suffer a few more hours or do you really think it will help?" They are nice vets, they understood what I was saying and told me it would only possibly prolong her life some hours. I would not do that to her. I asked if they could give her something for pain, if they thought she was in pain so we could take her home. The vet said yes, and they went to get something. Koko was on the exame table and she was having trouble breathing, I picked her up and held her close. The vet came back in and I put Koko back on the table. Then she said, "her heart rate is very low". I pulled Koko towards me and her heart rate went up. I had the funniest feeling she was holding on because of me. I put her back on the table and held her in a way she could not feel my heart beat, after I told her it was OK to leave. She took a last deep breath...
We had always intended to bury her in what we call the puppy garden in our yard but somehow in death she looked so much larger than she had in life. Even though by the time we got it together enough to leave the ER it was 1 AM, Koko's ordeal was thankfully very short. The vet told us we could have her cremated alone and get her ashes. My son had been cremated and somehow it just seemed like the right thing to do. I think in the end it happened just as Koko intended.
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