This is such a painful subject that it has taken me over a year to talk about a very special member of the family. This is about a wonderful friend who suffered from a needless injury. Here is her story....What is it about pet owners that make them special? Are they lonely?.....are they selfish?....or are they compassionate? I think the latter. Every pet owner will admit a bond develops between them and their pet. They become part of the family and share all of the household joys.
We had two Golden Retrievers, Kizzie and Rayne. On one of my previous posts, I talked about Rayne and why he is special. Kizzie has since left us but her memories are still fresh in our mind. Kizzie was an energetic female Golden with a heart of gold and an agenda to take over the household.
At 10 years old a terrible injury happened that put her in extreme pain. We hoped for the best but were prepared for the worst. As it turns out, she tore her ACL and needed surgery. She had a full recovery and returned to normal activities. The Vet told us that most dogs; "If they tear their ACL in one leg, it's not IF they will injure the other but WHEN". This concerned us because of Kizzie's activity level...she was such an energetic dog for her age.
Dial forward two years to 2015....the inevitable has happened.
It was an unseasonably warm sunny day in our favorite campsite just inside of Sawmill Canyon about an hour or so north of Howe, Idaho. It was our favorite place because of a stream that flowed through the campsite and the location gave us privacy from other campers. The dogs loved to play in the stream and chase chipmunks. On our second day there, a couple dogs from a campsite about a quarter mile away appeared out of nowhere. Luckily we had our dogs under control. There was a lot of barking and pulling on the lead but we were able to keep things under control until the owners eventually showed up and apologized. The rest of the day was uneventful and we settled in for the evening.
The very next day on the morning of June 25th, I let the dogs out to do their business. I was walking with them to make sure there were no hazards in the camp. They were doing the usual, sniffing everything and making sure there were no varmints in the area. Suddenly, the other dogs from the nearby campsite, again, appeared out of nowhere. Kizzie took off full speed after them, barking....warning them to leave the campsite. When I called her and she began running back, I noticed she was hobbling on three legs. What I feared would be confirmed the next day at the Emergency Clinic in Idaho Falls. She had torn her other ACL. Surgery was scheduled as soon as possible and on June 30th she had another TPLO procedure to repair the damage to her leg. The surgery was successful....but, her recovery seemed different this time. She was having serious problems and she would die 3 days later on July 3rd. During her recovery she ended up having seizures and would slip into a coma. To this day, we don't know exactly what happened but a blood clot was the probable cause as stated by the Vet. The only important thing was that she was gone and we were alone. My feisty little girl that we had raised from a small pup had quietly slipped away. I think of her each and every day that passes. I feel happy to have spent 13 years with her, miss her every day, and look forward to seeing her on the other side of the rainbow bridge.
At 10 years old a terrible injury happened that put her in extreme pain. We hoped for the best but were prepared for the worst. As it turns out, she tore her ACL and needed surgery. She had a full recovery and returned to normal activities. The Vet told us that most dogs; "If they tear their ACL in one leg, it's not IF they will injure the other but WHEN". This concerned us because of Kizzie's activity level...she was such an energetic dog for her age.
Dial forward two years to 2015....the inevitable has happened.
It was an unseasonably warm sunny day in our favorite campsite just inside of Sawmill Canyon about an hour or so north of Howe, Idaho. It was our favorite place because of a stream that flowed through the campsite and the location gave us privacy from other campers. The dogs loved to play in the stream and chase chipmunks. On our second day there, a couple dogs from a campsite about a quarter mile away appeared out of nowhere. Luckily we had our dogs under control. There was a lot of barking and pulling on the lead but we were able to keep things under control until the owners eventually showed up and apologized. The rest of the day was uneventful and we settled in for the evening.
The very next day on the morning of June 25th, I let the dogs out to do their business. I was walking with them to make sure there were no hazards in the camp. They were doing the usual, sniffing everything and making sure there were no varmints in the area. Suddenly, the other dogs from the nearby campsite, again, appeared out of nowhere. Kizzie took off full speed after them, barking....warning them to leave the campsite. When I called her and she began running back, I noticed she was hobbling on three legs. What I feared would be confirmed the next day at the Emergency Clinic in Idaho Falls. She had torn her other ACL. Surgery was scheduled as soon as possible and on June 30th she had another TPLO procedure to repair the damage to her leg. The surgery was successful....but, her recovery seemed different this time. She was having serious problems and she would die 3 days later on July 3rd. During her recovery she ended up having seizures and would slip into a coma. To this day, we don't know exactly what happened but a blood clot was the probable cause as stated by the Vet. The only important thing was that she was gone and we were alone. My feisty little girl that we had raised from a small pup had quietly slipped away. I think of her each and every day that passes. I feel happy to have spent 13 years with her, miss her every day, and look forward to seeing her on the other side of the rainbow bridge.
