CKC/IABC/Ch Southpoint Paradise Pizazz CGC “Leixe” aka The Queen
Lexie was my very first show dog
that LOVED to show! As a puppy she won
many Best in Matches.
She was a dream come true.
She had that show attitude
and movement and was very eager to please.
She was an all around true
Sporting dog.
She loved Agility and
playing Frisbee and catch.
She finished her championship
one day before her 3rd Birthday
and the next three days she won the breed.
She never met a person she didn’t love.
She would wait for them to look at
her and that wasn’t hard to do
since she would stare them down until they
looked at her and then she would get
up on her hind legs and wave at them.
People LOVED it so they would come
over to pet her or give her a treat.
She had everyone trained. 🙂
To this day after years
of her retirement and
several kids and grand kids people
always ask about her and
if the new puppy
can wave. She touched so many lives
and made so many people laugh and love
her especially my husband and I.
We called her the Queen because
she was allowed to do whatever she wanted
but she never did anything bad.
We would leave her run of the house
and she taught her kids to behave
and to be clam while we were gone.
Nobody wrecked anything.
When she was young she wouldn’t
even take a toy out of HER own
toy box with out us saying it was ok.
I had such a close bond with her that
I could read her mind and she mine.
She was incredible.
She gave us 7 champions which
made 3 champions with more to come.
We are very fortunate to have her
in her kids and grand kids.
This past Aug. she was showing
subtle signs of things she has never done
before. She started to trip a bit
going up the stairs and one time
she was coming in through
the doggie door and
she got stuck for a min. I thought that
was strange but didn’t take it serious.
She also got picky with her food
but she has always done that
so that wasn’t so unusual for her.
Another sign was,
she seemed depressed but
then I thought it was because my husband
traveled a lot and she hated
it when he was gone.
Another sign I should have
jumped on but it wasn’t big
enough for me to act.
Another sign was she
seemed to have aged
in the last couple of months.
She started to get gray hair
and she was loosing her hearing.
It was like over night.
Then in Aug she
started to drink a lot of water and
she lost control of her bladder
so I took her to the vet thinking
she must have a UTI or bladder infection.
My vet put her on Baytril
which made her lethargic and
her appetite and energy level
got worse but the water drinking
and urinating slowed way down.
We started her on Satin balls
at night and Bil Jac frozen
in the morning and then she
didn’t want the Bil Jac.
She has never refused that
so that made me very
concerned but she was coming
into season and she would get
like that about
food. We thought since she had
the UTI and being in season
on top of that it
may be what was causing
her loss of appetite.
We went to the National and
left her with my Mother
at my house and my
mother said she was doing well.
When we got back her appetitive
got worse and then
I noticed her side skirt hair
was sticking out which did that when she
was pregnant. I felt her tummy and
it was hard and large and is why the
hair was sticking out. Her mussels
were wasting away too. This was not a UTI!
I took her back to the vet on Sept 25 and I asked for an x-ray to see what
was going on inside.
The horrible and shocking news was
she had a large mass on her liver
so my vet sent me to a cancer specialist.
We got a biopsy
done and it was confirmed
to be a very aggressive form
of liver cancer and
there was nothing we could do.
Our hearts sank and I cried and couldn’t
function knowing our beloved heart dog was terminally ill. I had to start
research so I could get through each day.
We were going to keep her around as
long as possible as long as
she wasn’t in any pain.
I changed her diet and bought
very expensive cancer drugs
online and tons
of supplements. I had to process
her kibble down to a liquid
so I could
slide it down her throat using
a shot glass. She turned
into a different dog.
She started to eat treats and
some chicken which before she wasn’t eating
anything unless I poured it
down her throat.
She got her energy back and
played with me too.
Last Friday she seemedto be fighting it
and she was in
great health until
I gave her raw Venison.
She got really sick and was sick
until the next day. She never came
back to that dog again. She slowly
started to eat less treats
this past week and her son
came up to her while she
was on my lap and smelled her nose.
It got a strange look on his face
and came back two more times.
I think the cancer was moving
to the lungs and nasal
passage and he could smell it.
She started to breathe different.
The fast breathing returned yesterday
while we had her with us
at my Mother’s house.
She was happy to be there
but later became ill.
She vomited water and when
we got home she got really ill.
We thought it may be
from the stress of the
car ride but I was very concerned.
She laid on the couch and
I sat next to her and
I could feel cold air coming from her nose.
I knew she was dying
at that point.
This morning her breathing
was very hard and deep with puffs
of air coming through her mouth.
Her gums turned white and she was very
cold. There was no question
we had to take her in today.
She was so sweet that
when I had her outside
this morning she looked up at me and
wagged her tail. I will never forget that!!
Even with how bad she felt and all the pain
she still thought of me.
I am so glad we stood outside
in the nice breeze on Christmas eve
together. It’s like she knew
her time was coming and
wanted to enjoy our time
outside one more time.
Usually she would go potty and
go right back in.
Lexie went to a better place and
is waiting for us. I can never thank Neil
Mesa and Sandy Logan enough for this very special gift! We were so lucky to
be the ones to have taken care
of her for the last 11 1/2 years.
She was always a puppy and just
a few months ago was playing
with her four year old
son Gavin. These are the memories
that will have to keep us going.
Right now we are in deep pain and
so heart broken.
Thank God we have a list like
this to write to people
that understand the pain
a loss of a pet can be.
She was not a pet to us,
she was the child we never had.
Rest well Lexie my love and best dog
I ever owned or will ever own.
Love, Roxana and Jeff and
all your kids and grand kids.
You will always be the Queen,
| Lexie |
| Roxana Bowman-McKinnie and Jeff McKinnie |