You were our “Little Bit of Sunshine”, and there was none on that dreary, rainy Friday morning. Your were our first “baby” since Daddy and I have been together, our little golden girl. You had a big brother, Buddy, who needed some companionship and we found an add in the newspaper for Golden Retriever puppies. You were the smallest puppy in your litter and all your littermates left you behind as they scampered about, but your “littleness” was endearing and you smelled of that sweet puppy breath when I picked you up. Poor thing, you were so car sick going home with us. For a time you were so very quiet for a puppy. You slept through the entire time of your first vet examination and we were worried about you, but you were just fine.
You always maintained that quiet, laid back, sweet disposition that made you such a joy to have – and that made a future “sister” such a bully to you. You dug holes and ran around the neighborhood which made me call your Daddy in a panic and he would come racing home just to find you safe and sound on the couch when he arrived home. You loved our neighbors and would dig into their yard, walk into their dining room and pick up their dog’s toy. Oh, and you were such a shredder…there was no safe place for any kind of paper, including my junior college diploma! But you were so easy to forgive. I remember the time I went to work and Daddy was off – he had made me a plate of spaghetti to take to work for my dinner break and he had left a plate for himself on the kitchen counter. He called me later that evening to tell me that when he had gone back into the house, his plate of spaghetti had been very neatly halved – and he ate his half. You could be very sneaky at times if there was anything on the kitchen counter and oh so innocent looking when whatever had been there was missing.
You had a thyroid problem which lasted for years and then gradually dissipated. You had the craziest things happen to you – one time when your “grandparents” were visiting from West Virginia we found you had broken part of your canine tooth, and in a most unusual way. The root was exposed and the tooth looked like it had been cut in half the long way. We never could figure out how you did that. I still have that tooth in old pill bottle. Then your poor little tail developed a cyst which turned into a rather nasty looking tumor and you had to have half of it removed. But once the fur grew back it didn’t look like you were missing much. You certainly didn’t act like it was missed. Our biggest problem was keeping you fit and trim and we scored a record with the vet when you lost 40 pounds (that’s another dog!). You poor thing, you weighed 104 pounds and it was such an effort to move around, but you got down to a nice trim figure and you kept it for the rest of your life.
You and your “brother” and “sister” were there when Daddy had such a bad reaction to antibiotics and we almost lost him. The three of you were really a comfort, even if I didn’t pay very much attention to you just then.
My gentle little girl, we had pictures done on December 7th and everyone thought you were so sweet, so pretty. Everybody loved you and you loved everybody unconditionally – you even gave the vet kisses when you went to see them. You spent your last day at the vet’s office for just a routine treatment for your arthritis and your condition was so improved they didn’t even charge us – instead they recommended that you take a supplement to help your aging joints and bones. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect what happened
after I brought you home.
We went through our normal routine for the evening – I gave you, Chief and Nikki your dinners. About an hour later you wanted outside and shortly thereafter the rain started – in my heart it hasn’t stopped.
I opened the door to find you sitting outside and looking distressed. I thought you couldn’t get up and suddenly you were up and through the doggie door. I dried you off with a towel, but you were restless. You seemed to want to lay down, but could not get comfortable. Then you wanted out again. You were gagging and then I noticed you had not eaten your dinner. This alarmed me because if anything, you would eat whatever was available. I hoped your only problem was an upset tummy from some new supplements. I called the emergency vet for some advice. I watched you closely and as I petted you and tried to comfort you, you whimpered, something else so totally uncharacteristic of you. Then I felt your belly and it felt harder to touch than I thought it should. Now I am getting very alarmed and I call the emergency vet back. It is pouring down rain and we rush you to the emergency vet – x-rays are taken and you have GDV (basically a twisted stomach). While I am still alarmed, I know that if caught early enough this can be fixed. They have already placed a tube into you and released a lot of trapped air. You looked so much better and I could tell you felt better…you did not want to walk at all before they did that. I kissed you on your nose and told you we would be back.
Because of a problem with the credit company that we exclusively use for puppy emergencies, we had to go home and had planned to come back. The vet called us at home and I handed the phone to Daddy. I can tell there is something wrong when he is listening because he blinks continuously. Sounds goofy doesn’t it. The operation to correct the flipped tummy was going well and there was little or no damage to the stomach, but your liver and your spleen were covered in tumors. Your spleen could be removed but your liver was still affected, and now these tumors had been exposed to air. If the tumors were on your liver, they were more than likely everywhere else, so we were told.
We had pleaded with them to call your own vet, to at least let him know that you were there. Sunshine, I didn’t want you to be with strangers, I wanted you to be with people who loved you and cared about you. When we finally made the decision that you wouldn’t wake up to more pain, the emergency vet finally told us your prognosis was poor. We sat up all night and cried for you. My little Sunshiney dog, I didn’t want to leave you there, so Daddy and I came and picked you up from the emergency vet and took you to our vet. Bless their hearts, all of them, they told me that while you were there the day before, you seemed perfectly healthy and didn’t appear to be suffering. You were enjoying your day there and had plenty of attention, so it was more like a day at the spa than the doctor. It made us feel better to know that you were having fun in a doggy way and that you were giving and receiving lots of attention.
When your doctor read the report, he agreed we had done the right thing and had spared you a great deal of pain. Even if we had decided to fight, you might have had 2-3 decent months and with this type of cancer tremendous pain was always a factor. You spent 11-1/2 years with us and remained in good health during that time and we were fortunate to have you. Now I have a paw print of you and some of your golden hair, so much of it was white. We have some beautiful pictures to share with family and friends for Christmas. And although you are back home with us – we miss you baby girl.
“Sunshine, give Biggin a big kiss for us and then go play”.
Love with all our hearts,
| Sunshine |
| 13, Dec 2002 |
| Joan and Dave Altizer |