Sometimes things are meant to be. That is the case with us giving Louie his forever home. In October of 2006, we lost our sweet little Jack Frost. Jack was a rescue dog that had been abused and had bleach poured all of his body. He came to our home and from the first day he fit in here with all the others. For a year and a half Jack thrived and gained weight and got his beautiful coat of hair back. Then the unthinkable happened and Jack was diagnosed with kidney failure. After almost 4 months of doing fluids here at home for Jack we lost him to kidney failure.
At that time I decided that I might like to get a puppy to add to our family. That did not work out and so I decided it was not meant to be. Then a few weeks later George from the Maltese Rescue called me and said he had a little blind and deaf Maltese that needed a new home. He was not in very good health and was much older. I love the little senior dogs and my husband and I decided it would be good to do this. His present owner was unable to keep him due to long work hours and Louie needed care for a good part of the day. Joe drove from Delaware bringing Louie to New Freedom, PA. I was thinking that Louie would be very quiet and not move around much due to his deafness and blindness. Instead he was bubbly and walked in circles to try and figure out where he was and be sure he would not hit his head too often. Louie was funny and sweet. He learned the house pretty well but when he would get stuck somewhere he would yelp and bark for us to come and get him. He ate well and seemed to be quite happy here. The first few nights he was up most of the night as with being blind and deaf he didn’t know when it was sleep time. He got into a good routine and just roamed about 3 rooms where he was confined so he would not hurt himself. We had a nice playpen for him to use when I went to work or when we went out. It had room for his little bed and his food and water and a pad. He usually always had one of his blue blankets with him. When he was rescued by Mary Lou in North Caroline she gave him a very soft blue bed blanket. At his next home Joe cut it into pieces so he would always have a clean one. A couple weeks ago my friend repaired those blankets and bound them so they would last longer.
Louie began to have trouble standing about 3 weeks ago and a trip to the vet showed that he needed some steroids for inflammation. We were thinking that he was doing better and then last week he started to slip backwards. He bit his tongue or lip and bled from his mouth a few times. Last Friday night during an ice storm Louie had a seizure and bit his tongue quite badly. I was here alone and quite upset. After getting him cleaned up and getting the bleeding stopped I held him and cuddled him. My husband and son did the same when they got home. He was wrapped in his little blue blanket and seemed content to be held which was not what Louie usually allowed. He would let you hold him a minute or two and then was on his way. Saturday morning my son and I took Louie to the vet where he made his journey to the Rainbow Bridge wrapped in his blue blanket. This was all so hard as in the last few months we have lost 4 of our wonderful dogs, 3 Yorkies and now Louie the Maltese. I was so sad and cried so hard at this great loss.
Sometimes things happen for a reason just like Louie coming into our lives after the loss of Jack and looking and walking so much like Jack. Also, I think that it was Louie’s time to move to a better place and be able to hear and see maybe for the first time? We know he suffered such abuse before rescue and when the rescue found him in the shelter, he was starving as they put him in with several other dogs and he could not find his food and water. His little pads on his feet were raw from walking and infection, his eyes and face were so infected that he had maggots. This little shell of a boy was almost gone and yet there was still something left in him to help him fight. I think that Louie knew there was a good home for him somewhere and he wanted to get there.
We have been very blessed to have Louie in our home and he became a big part of our family. His passing is just so hard for all of us. Sometimes things happen for a special reason and the fact that we found sweet Louie is proof of that. He was able to enjoy his last year and a half in our home and we were so fortunate to have had the opportunity to be Louie’s Mom and Dad.
Louie is buried in his blue blanket in the backyard beside Jack Frost. They never met before but they were so much alike. I think that God sent me Louie to help me recover from the loss of Jack. I also think that sometimes we know in our heart what we need to do and that feeling gave me the decision to give Louie his forever home. Sometimes we just know the right thing to do. I will forever miss Louie and I know that he was happy here and we were so grateful to have him. The little boy with the horrible past lived in a safe and comfortable home at the end of his days. I pray that he forgot the bad times before rescue and that he remembered his time with us and Joe and Mary Lou.
I know Louie, that you are seeing and hearing things now and that you have a sense of being free and happy. I know you will know me when I get there to meet up with you and the other pets we have lost. I know I made the right decision and that you are running and free and don’t have to worry about bumping into things anymore and jumping when you were petted because you did not hear or see us coming. Life is sometimes very hard but I have a feeling of peace that my little man Louie was here for the last part of his little life. I know that you are having a wonderful time and being able to do all the things that you could not do here on earth. Bless your little heart, I know you are probably amazed at all the sights and sounds that you are now able to experience.
Love went with you Louie and some of your love stayed here with us,
| Louie |
| Vicki Manker |