Dogster

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Sadly she is gone from earth, but forever in our hearts.

Oct 2005

Ginger wanted to play ball, running and chasing it, something she hadnt done in almost a year, yet on this cool fall day, she seemed energized... For a fleeting moment the thought went thru my head "dogs do this just before they die"... I tossed the thought out, even though she'd been in ill health for the last number of years, had gone deaf, and was losing her sight rather quickly... A few nights after her afternoon of romping in the yard, she woke me with a wild type bark, almost an 'i'm afraid bark'.... within seconds i was at her side, she was breathing very oddly, then had some sort of seizure and literally stopped breathing... I thought she'd died, but i kept talking to her and petting her and within a few minutes, her tail started wagging and she was back in the land of the living, though acting so oddly... We called the vet who met us at the Clinic within 15 minutes... During that time, Ginger had two more of those odd spells where she simply stopped breathing, then all of a sudden would come out of them... The vet told us Ginger was on her way to doggie heaven... Her seizures had left her unable to move, we had to hold her head so it would be help upright, her emphazemic lungs had simply stiffened/frozen to the point where they would not expand/retract and without Ginger getting oxygon 24/7, she would have died a horrid death... After trying medical interventions to help, realizing nothing was working and it was simply her time to go, we made the wisest decision to put her to sleep so she could go to Heaven and be healthy and romping and playing once again... It was the most difficult discision i've ever had to make... She couldnt hear, could barely see, but she knew i was there with her the entire time, her little nose kept turning to smell my hand/arm, so she felt safe knowing i was right there with her... When she left earth, it was as peaceful and calm, and easy of a death, as a little creature could ever have asked for. She was in my loving arms, and simply fell asleep.... I miss her, I miss her a great deal, but know that at 18 years of age, she lived a very long and happy life... She was spoiled, pampered, given most anything she ever needed or wanted and was a content and happy little pooch... I will miss her the rest of my life, but she is in a better place...