I have wrote about alot of my pets on here but none has touched me like my Kayla did. Kayla was a long hair chia mix who I got for my son in 1994 to help him with his ADD and ADH. I ended up with her being mine when he decided to use her as his wrestling buddie. If I had told him once I had told him a million times that what he saw on TV was fake. Even after my son tried to body slam her across the coffee table Kayla still loved him. She became our little escape clown. she loved to get lose and take the family on a wild chase. At the age of 8 weeks she crawled into the dog house of a very large mean dog. This dog was so huge that we were never really sure if it was a dog or a horse that looked like a dog. Everyone was scared of it. So there I was on all four trying not to upset the huge beast while trying to get Kayla out. To my shock this large animal seemed to like Kayla and gave her room in the dog house.
I am still not sure if he liked her or wanted to eat her. Anyway I told Kayla to come out before she became a Kayla Burger. The name stuck, and for the next 15 years she would be called Kayla Burger.
We went through alot together me and Kayla. I was born a rare muscle disorder, which makes me weak at times. Kayla was always there to keep me company when I did not feel good. I have seizures and Kayla always seemed to know when they were coming. She would run through the house looking for someone to help barking the whole time. If we were alone she would sit on my chest till the seizure was over. I met my partner Carl in 1997 and he and Kayla became fast friends. She loved to ride on his crab boat. Carl got her a fish float and she would float on it in the bayou while we swam.
At times she loved to ride on your back while you swam. We started going to flea markets and Kayla went to. One day I saw a lady pushing a dog in a baby stroller. I thought that was the cutest thing. I decided to see if Kayla would sit in one. So I found a used one and bought it. Kayla took to that stroller like she was born in it. I went to a thrift store and found a big nice one that lay down. I bought it and put her blankie in it and she was so happy to ride in it. My family thought I had lost my mind but I did not care.
The years passed all to quickly. She began to slow down. Then a little over a year ago she woke me up having her own seizure. She started to go deaf, her heart became surrounded by fluid and she began to have trouble breathing. Her teeth were a mess. But she loved her food. In fact she would often stand in the food bowl until I mixed up her soft food. We have 3 other dogs and they loved it when Kayla got soft food because they got to lick the bowl.
The seizures came and went. Then about 3 weeks ago they got really bad. I would hold her and tell her that if it was time to go that I would be ok and for her to go. Each time she came out of one it seemed to take more and more out of her. Then on Monday August the 3rd she had a seizure at about 4:30 in the morning. It was not as bad as some she has had so I felt she would be ok. By late Monday I noticed she was walking backward. Something she had never done before. On Tuesday she was still walking backward, I came to realize she was trying to walk away from the pain she in. She had started to cry out in pain when she tried to eat. By Wednesday August 5T she could no longer lay still.
Our vet is closed on Wednesdays so I told Carl come Thursday I would be the first one there. Now God works n many ways. While on the phone with my mom I heard a voice say ‘CALL THE VET’. I did and to my surprise they were open till 11:30 Wednesday morning so I grabbed Kayla and took of. Carl had to wait on
a very important call so I went alone.
When I got to the vets I was the only one there which is unusual because it is always standing room only. They called us back and I carried Kayla’s carrier into the exam room. We had to take it apart to get her out. When the vet tech picked her up she cried out in pain. They loved on her a moment. The vet took Kayla into another room to look in her mouth. Her teeth had abscessed and it was all the way down her throat. I watched the vet get out some bottles of meds for me to give her at home. Then I looked at Kayla she looked so tired. My Little girl’s candle was slowly going out. My heart was breaking as I asked the vet if he thought it was time to say goodbye. I told him that I had promised her that when she let me know she was in pain that I would let her go.
He told me she was really suffering and that it would be the kindest thing I could do for her. She was in the vet tech’s arms I took her in my arms and cried she seemed to understand I told her how much I loved her and I asked her to forgive me. I gave her back to the vet tech because if I had stayed with her I could not have went through with it. As I walked out the room I kissed her on the head and told her I would see her in heaven.
I can not believe my little girl is gone. Her doggie sisters miss her to.
She truly was my candle in the wind. She lit my way when I was down. She gave me all she had to give. LOVE.
With Kayla’s loss my tears fall like the morning rain.
But my loss surely must be Heavens gain.
REST IN PEACE MY BEAUTIFUL KAYLA, TILL WE MEET AGAIN
FOREVER APART OF OUR HEART,
| Kayla |
| Suzanne Schultz |