Passings

It is with Sadness that I have to deliver the message of a passing at RNS Blogstation Tacoma. Actually two of them. It has been rather a bad month.

The Monday before Boomershoot we had to take Ms. Buttersworth, our nearly 17 year old Dachshund, to the veterinarian for her last car ride. She seemed happy to have arrived and even gave the doc a lick as they wiped her arm with the alcohol pad, which was not something in her normal behavior range.

I was apprehensive about writing here about her passing because I felt like an ass. You may remember that we had to take Russell on his last car ride last September, and I wrongfully predicted her passing shortly thereafter. Thankfully though, her condition improved drastically and she was happy and content for the following six months.

However, after Russell’s passing our Rottie/Dobie mix, Ellie, never really was herself. You see, The Wife and I adopted Russell to be a playmate for Ellie. They got along wonderfully because he was a “dude” and she was just plain goofy. Watching them play was like watching a toddler play with a lit flashlight for the first time. They had no idea what they were doing but they were having a good time at it because every so often there was a “whaaaa” moment.

Last Thursday Ellie got sick a couple of times so we took her to the veterinarian and she was diagnosed with Pancreatitis. She stayed for the day and got rehydrated and we were given meds and a new diet for her. However, she did not appreciate the new diet and we had to grind the pills to powder in order to get her to take them.

But by Sunday night she could not even keep water down. We called the vet’s before their actual office hours and told them the problem and the 1000AM follow-up appointment became an 830 “get her in here now” appointment.

Sadly though, in the 10 minute span of getting up to help The Wife answer some of the doc’s questions and getting back to where Ellie was laying, she had begun to go into what looked like a stroke. I yelled to The Wife and she grabbed the car keys while I picked Ellie up in both arms and ran to the car.

It was 800AM on Memorial Day morning so traffic was light enough for me to attempt a new land speed record on our way to the doc.

As I carried Ellie into the vet’s examination room, however, it was clear that she was mostly gone. On the way home The Wife told me that the receptionist has started gushing tears at the sight of me carrying Ellie through the area.

As you can tell it has been a bad few months for our home, and frankly, this last one has been a right bitch to deal with.

We had been halfheartedly looking for a new friend for Ellie during the last couple months, but we had not seen any candidates that stood out. A couple weeks ago we made an appointment for this Saturday to meet with a rescue agency and the reason we’re still debating on whether or not we’re going to keep it is because there is a twist to this tale.

Last summer, the mother of one of The Wife’s co-workers passed away. She left behind a small Miniature Pinscher/Dachshund mix girl. Being the resident “dog person” at her workplace, Wifie was drafted to foster the little girl. A few weeks went by and we ended up keeping her. This is Gigi.

She was the fourth of four and the twist is that these days she gets very unhappy when we leave her alone in the house. Her and Buttersworth were fast friends and since Ms. B’s passing it has gotten to the point where she has had to relearn her crate training.

I am not a fan of crates, so it is either that I have to get over it or we get her a friend. I will post the verdict on Monday.

In the meantime, if you’re of the praying persuasion, send one up to the Doggie Division for Buttersworth and Ellie. They earned it.

Thank you.