Last picture taken of
Kelly |
MY FRIEND KELLY |
The sun continues to rise
and fall each day, but I don't see it. The weather is changing,
but I don't feel it. A part of my heart has died. I've lost
my best friend. Her name is Kelly.
Kelly
was born on April 8, 1985. It was a cold and snowy spring
day. She was special from the first. She picked me as well
as my picking her. She climbed out of the puppy pen twice
trying to convince me that she was the one.
Kelly
went to her first fun match at the age of nine weeks. She
ended up going Best of Breed Puppy and placing in the group
over older puppies. Then at her first show at six months of
age she won the puppy class and went Reserve Winners Bitch.
That was the first of her nineteen Reserves.
She finished her Canadian
Championship in seven shows. During this time she also was
winning in the U.S. She ended up with twelve points including
a major. We never did get the second major. It didn't
matter. In my eyes she was a champion and more.
She earned her CDs and CDXs in straight shows. Sometimes in
the obedience ring she acted pretty silly, but she did what
I asked of her. My favorite story recalls the show where she
was competing for her second leg in Open. During her heeling
pattern (Open is all off-leash), the judge called for a "slow".
I glanced down at Kelly and she's in perfect heel position,
but she's scooting her behind on the mat. As I started to
laugh, I quickly glanced at the judge who was also laughing.
She choked out a "halt" and I stopped walking. When I stopped,
Kelly had stopped, still in heel position with a beautiful
straight sit. She was looking up at me waiting for my next
command. I completely lost it there in the ring. I looked
at the judge and she's laughing so hard tears are running
down her face. One of my friends in the stands literally fell
out of her chair with laughter. Once we got it out of our
systems and wiped our eyes, the judge came over to me and
told me that she didn't know how to score Kelly's heeling
since Kelly was never out of heel position. That set us off
laughing again. Kelly was looking up at me and smiling the
whole time. How I miss that smile!
Kelly
became deathly ill just shy of her fifth birthday. She was
on Tri-meth Sulfa drugs for an infection. My veterinarian
feels that she had a reaction to the drugs which caused her
immune system to crash. Her platelet count went from a normal
350,000 to around 2000. I wasn't even able to cut her nails
for fear of her bleeding to death. It was touch and go for
six weeks. My life went on hold while I nursed her back to
health. She was so sick I had to feed her with a 60 c.c. syringe
to get food down her. Most of the time, the food didn't stay
down long. She was such a strong dog mentally and she really
put up a fight to live. Finally she was well again, but that
illness took a big toll on her. Her face turned gray almost
overnight. She was never quite the same dog as she was prior
to her illness. She seemed a little more frail. Before her
illness, she had earned ten titles and had one litter. When
the danger of her bleeding to death passed, I had her spayed
and retired her.
She enjoyed her retirement
playing the "queen" with the other dogs. She taught all her
grandkids and great-grandkids how to play with her toys. Sometimes
I'd find her standing over the whelping box, dropping tennis
balls to the puppies inside. She didn't understand that two
week old puppies weren't ready yet to play with her.
We were close before her illness,
but afterwards we were even closer. She went with me everywhere.
Her favorite trip was to the pet store to buy dog food. As
I pushed the cart down the aisle, she'd be behind me, trotting
merrily along, smiling and wagging her tail. She'd check every
bin, but was too well mannered to take anything. The employees
greeted her by name and always gave her small treats.
When
she turned eight I consulted with my vet about showing her
in Veterans. He gave us the go ahead and Kelly took it from
there. At her first show as a veteran, she won Best of Opposite
Sex in Veterans Sweeps, placed in the regular veterans class
and in Veterans Obedience. (no butt scooting this time) At
her second show she won the veterans class again and then
placed in obedience at another show. She had always loved
to show and she was no different as a veteran. She smiled
the whole time and her tail never stopped wagging.
In October of 1993, I noticed Kelly started
to pick at her food. This was very unusual for her. I took
her to the vet and after blood tests, discovered she was in
the beginning stages of kidney failure. I was devastated.
After fighting off her previous illness, I wasn't sure we
were ready for another. We changed her to a prescription food
and changed her lifestyle. I learned very quickly about chronic
kidney failure and how insidious it was. Remarkably, she seemed
to do very well considering the horrible disease. She stayed
happy and relatively healthy. Looking at her, you wouldn't
have known she was sick. She continued to rule the roost with
the other dogs. We stabilized her kidney function with the
help of the prescription food and she stayed stable for almost
eighteen months.
Her
kidney function tests started to elevate in early 1995. This
showed that her actual kidney function was starting to weaken.
I once again focused solely on Kelly and her health. I had
her blood checked monthly to determine her levels. She continued
to be happy and enjoyed her short walks each day.
Finally, just after Labor
Day, she quit eating again. She had been having skin problems
due to the kidney failure. Her kidney function tests showed
another drop and I asked my vet if maybe it was time. I didn't
want her to suffer. My vet felt that Kelly hadn't reached
the end yet. She was still smiling and showing interest in
everything around her. We changed her to another prescription
food and she seemed to perk up. My vet did tell me that his
prognosis wasn't very good. He felt that she had less than
a year to live. I tried to brace myself.
On September 28 I underwent
surgery to remove a screw in my foot that had been placed
there seven months before. I had broken my ankle and foot
fourteen months before and the foot hadn't healed. Since I
wasn't sure how long I would be gone that day, I had someone
come over to take care of the dogs. Kelly's kidney problems
caused her to have to urinate more often. When I got home
later that day and fed the dogs, Kelly refused to eat. She
just looked at her dish and walked away. She was pretty listless
the rest of the night. She would eat a little bread out of
my hand, but that was all.
The
next day, Kelly again refused to eat and hardly had anything
to drink. She basically laid in a corner most of the day and
kept to herself. I called my vet and made an appointment for
later that day when someone could help me bring her in. I
was on crutches and in a cast. I knew I couldn't handle her
by myself. I knew in my heart that the time had come. I spent
the day sitting on the floor with her. I held her most of
the day and cried. She licked the tears from my face. She
was only ten years old. It was too soon to say good-bye!!
The vet examined her and agreed
that her time had come. I held her and told her I loved her
and thanked her for being my dog. She died peacefully in my
arms. Too soon - much too soon. I sat on the floor with her
for awhile, my tears wetting her beautiful coat. I looked
up at my vet and he had tears in his eyes too. My vet said
that she was a good, brave dog. Most dogs wouldn't have lived
almost two years as sick as she was. It showed she had a lot
of courage.
Back home I look for her smiling
face, but it's not there. The other dogs help me to cope with
my grief, but I feel numb. I pet them and play with them and
I feel better. They are a part of her.
Three weeks later the gray,
blustery day, matches my mood. The pain in my foot tells me
my numbness is wearing off. Kelly made a lot of friends during
her lifetime. Their cards and letters help. I smile once in
awhile when I think of her. The tears don't come quite as
often. I catch myself still looking for her sometimes. A part
of my heart is missing. I'll miss her forever. Sleep well
my beloved Kelly. My friend.
Can Ch UCDX Woodhaven Amber
Silk CD WC CGC TDI Can CDX WC
April 8, 1985 - September 29, 1995
© 1995 - LRM