A Hard Decision

Lotte Baxter
Loving friend; Faithful companion
2006-2013
RIP

My darling, beautiful little girl was gently put to sleep late last night.  Her big, brave heart could no longer keep her alive; it was almost stopped.  And so I made the very hard decision to let her go.

I held her as the vet injected her, told her how much I loved her and those beautiful eyes looked at me one last time then she quietly slipped away.

Now through my tears, I console myself with the fact that though she had only a short life, she had a happy one.

So now my love using the same words I used on  my late husband’s memorial cards – “Soar High; Fly free; Breathe easy”

So goodbye and thank you for sharing your life with me.
You will be greatly missed my special friend.

Very Sick Dog, Very Scared Owner

Thursday was a normal day.  The sun was shining brightly and all was well with my world.  Just another Thursday, that is until about 2pm.  Lotte was lying contentedly in the sunshine, the painter across the road was listening to his quietly playing music and I had just sat down for a cup of tea after lunch.

Suddenly, the air was filled with an unholy screech coming from Lotte. my Tibetan Spaniel.  I rushed outside to see her and she was lying limply on the ground with her eyes way back in her head.  Once before she had suffered a seizure from being too hot and the vet I saw then said to sit with her for a while until she came out of it.  However, this time, she shrieked again and I knew she had to see our own vet Dr Michael.

Michael took one look at Lotte and rushed her into the consulting room.  There he agreed that I had a very sick little dog and when he checked her heart rate was 20 compared to the usual 136.  Very sick indeed, and when he looked in her mouth he declared that she was going blue and promptly rushed her off.  I was left to sit and wait for a verdict.

When he returned he asked several questions such as had there been any big changes to her diet, did I have problems with a neighbour who didn’t like dogs (apparently there have been a couple of poisonings in the neighbourhood);  had she wandered off and could she have eaten something poisonous; did I have any poisonous plants in the garden?  etc etc.  Well Lotte is confined to the premises and doesn’t go away unless it is with me, she rarely eats what I put down for her so she is unlikely to eat anything else, she doesn’t scavenge, my neighbours all make a fuss of Lotte and  so the answers to the questions were not at all helpful.

Dr Michael said he had given her adrenaline, oxygen and intravenous fluids as she was dehydrated.  He thought that she had suffered an anaphylactic shock caused by an insect sting, and said he would keep her in for the afternoon to monitor her.  As you can imagine it was a very subdued owner who went home without her dog.

Several hours later following a call from the surgery, I picked up a very docile, Lotte having been given the after-hours contact in case of an emergency and also was asked to bring her back the next day for a further raft of tests.  The evening and the night were spent with Lotte lying close to me, but thankfully there was no cause to call the emergency number.

Lotte sleeping after her visit to the Vets

The next day she went back for a series of tests including a”blood tests, fluid therapy, radiology, ultrasonography and histology”.  The outcome of all these tests was the verdict that she had suffered a heart attack and as we knew had been very close to dying when I brought her into the clinic.

So now I have a very quiet little dog, who is not allowed any exercise and is confined to “House rest for 10 days”.  We are just spending the next few days quietly with each other – two best friends looking out for each other.

“If you’re alone, I’ll be your shadow.
If you want to cry, I’ll be your shoulder.
If you want a hug, I’ll be your pillow.
If you need to be happy, I’ll be your smile.
But any time you need a friend, I’ll just be me. ” Author Unknown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

..And here’s a rainbow in case you need one today

My rainbow

`

Dog on the run!

“Don’t let minor obstacles dampen your enthusiasm
for your current project.
Your energetic approach and eager attitude
will ultimately see you succeed in this venture.”
From Dog Wisdom – to lift your spirits and brighten your day*

Please may I go out?

Lotte is an escapologist.  I think Harry Houdini was her grandfather.  She takes any and every opportunity to escape, although recently I thought she had decided against venturing out into the busy streets of the suburb.

After I bought her I looked on the internet to discover that one must never take a Tibetan Spaniel out for walks without a lead; they will take off and will not heed your call to come back.  This has been proven to me many times over the years during which she has owned me.  Once she gets free – she is off!

Today she was particularly well behaved while I ran the course on positive beliefs.  She sat outside the venue on a long lead for 2.5 hours.  We then went for a walk but when we returned home I had a problem with the front door keys.  One of the locks (that I never lock) had locked and I couldn’t get it open.  So I had to call on a neighbour.  He managed to turn the key and open the door.  Unfortunately, when he left, he didn’t close the door behind him.  My fault. I should have checked.

I didn’t realise she had gone until I called her for some food and she was nowhere to be found.  I decided that there was no point in my going to look for her; I have done so in the past and it is a futile exercise because I have no idea where to start.

About an hour after she left, I heard a very large dog barking and then heard her little bark and then suddenly she shot through the front door and greeted me.  I was very pleased to see her and she was equally pleased, I think, to be home.

I have no idea where she was for that hour and she has no way of telling me.  So I guess I shall just have to make up another story about that.

Wherever she had been she was now exhausted

“Heroes take journeys, confront dragons,
and discover the treasure of their true selves.”
Carol Pearson,American poet, author, screenwriter, and playwright. 1939 –

* Dog Wisdom – Published by Blue Angel Gallery, Australia-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related articles

• “Ghostbuster” Harry Houdini Died 85 Years Ago Today (geektyrant.com)
• Messages from beyond the veil (beyondthestarsastrology.wordpress.com)

Another Award – Thanks

Patricia at Today I Think recently posted a lovely comment on one of my posts and awarded me the Versatile Bloggers Award.  Thank you Patricia.

I am constantly amazed at my blogging friends and their generosity.  This is the fourth time I have received this award and each time it reminds me why I am so happy to be part of this community.

In accepting the Award from Patricia (and her beautiful cat friend) I am called upon to tell you 7 things about me.  If you have read my earlier posts you probably know about me and how boring I am, but here goes:

1. I am in my 70s and live alone with my small companion Lotte a
   Tibetan Spaniel.
2. I was married for 41 years until my husband’s untimely death 13 years ago.
3. I choose to live in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand.
4. I am passionate about this city and share as much as can with readers of my blog.
5. I have been part of the blogging community since March 1, 2011 and have to thank all those who follow me, and the 15000+ visitors to my site.
6. I love spending time with my four, gorgeous grandsons.  They are growing into fine young men – no bias here.
7. If I could choose, I would choose my daughter and son as my children over any others.  And I like love the two people with whom they have chosen to spend their lives,

Boring eh?  Did I warn you or not?

The second part of accepting this award is to pass it on to 15 others.  My blog roll lists 23 blogs that I follow and couldn’t begin to differentiate between them.  So may I cheat a little and ask you to go to the blogroll and check in on each and every one of these fantastic bloggers and their posts.

To all those bloggers thank you for brightening my days, for giving me food for thought and thank you for reading and commenting on my blog.

And here is the winner’s bouquet for each of you.

Related articles

• The Versatile Blogger Award nomination (ordinarygood.wordpress.com)
• Seriously!?! (jlee5879.wordpress.com)

While Walking the Dog

It’s quite amazing the different things I see when walking around the suburb with Lotte, the Tibetan Spaniel.

Photo - Pavel Lovesky

For instance today I saw a little boy, maybe 5 years old, giving his baby sister a lick of his ice-cream because she had dropped hers.

I didn’t hear any coaxing from the mother for him to do this but I heard her giving him lots of praise.  What a lovely thing for this child to do.

I walked further along and saw this elderly couple (older than me?) walking along holding hands.  I was somewhat envious that they are spending their final years together in harmony.  Well it looked like love and harmony to me.

Then I turned a corner and beheld an amazing sight.  Spray painted onto the pavement/sidewalk was the following:

“I could write you a letter or sing you a song or I could just tell you that I think of you all the time, you are the air that I breathe and I love you.  I would have said yes if you had asked me.”

I now wonder who wrote those words and what the outcome was.  Is there some desolate soul pining for his lost love, or is she pining for the lost opportunity.  I wonder whether we will see the next episode written on the pavement in the next week or so.  I do hope so and I hope it turns out well for them both whoever they are.

And this reminded me of something I saw a couple of days ago when walking on the beach –

How very romantic and I do hope he or she said yes please and they went off together to celebrate.

Yes, I am a romantic at heart.

And what else did I see today?  Children playing on the swings and slides at the local park and lots of budding ballerinas coming from dancing class dressed in pink tutus.  They all looked frozen as their mothers hurried them off to the waiting cars.

Dancing class

And this reminded me of the card my elder sister sent me for my birthday.  She remembered us as ballerinas when we were very small.  She gave up quite early but I kept going until I was too tall to be a ballerina any more.

She thought that this card was very appropriate and I agree.  Well done elder sister for finding it.

I saw two dogs fighting and their owners/handlers trying really hard to get them apart.  It was a little frightening as one of the handlers was a youngish boy.  But they managed to separate them and each go on his way.

I saw a girl delivering flyers into letter boxes.  More junk mail.

I saw a neighbor with her two young children bringing them home from kindergarten.  I always have to stop and speak to the elder of the two girls (she is almost 3) because as she told her mother and father today ‘We are friends”.  She often waves to me from behind the blind in her bedroom when she is put down for a nap or to go to sleep at night.

I saw my next door neighbor walking his dog.  A very young, strong Labrador who needs a lot of walking.

I saw a group of pensioners from a rest home going to the movies.  The van was parked at the door and they all disembarked laughing and thoroughly enjoying the outing.

I really love this suburb in which I now live.  It is like a village but only 10 minutes by car or bus to the center of town.

As a senior I can travel on the bus for free during the off-peak hours and so I take advantage of this and leave my car at home when I go to town.

So this is one perk for being older.

And today’s quote is on age or as Shirley MacLaine has it “Sage-ing While Age-ing”

The other day a man asked me what I thought was the best time of life.  “Why,” I answered without a thought, “now.”  ~David Grayson, 1870 – 1946  American journalist and author.