This is a somber weekend around here. August 14th marked one year since we made the trip to pick up the three old gals. One year later and all three have come, left their paw prints on our hearts and crossed the rainbow bridge. There will never be another trio like them and I will never forget them and the joy they brought us. I received an email from a lady who had found a senior yellow lab and turned her in to a shelter thinking her owner would be looking for her. I was sure the owner would not come for her so I contacted the shelter and tagged the ole' gal. The shelter was quick to ask me if I would take two overweight senior Beagles whose owner had passed away and the family turned them in. I said sure. I felt like if I was making the trip to haul one, I might as well fill the van and it was full by the time we got those three big gals loaded. Grace the yellow lab appeared to be in the worst shape. She was overweight, old, arthritic and needed to urinate a lot. She also was very loving and I could see her sweet gentle soul through her eyes. MoJo the smaller Beagle was the life of the party. Boy, she was something else. Full of life. I swear she was always smiling. There she stood covered in her own waste, smelling to high heaven with a gleam in her eye and looking forward to her next adventure and then there was sweet dear Opal. Opal was the perfect house guest. Never intrusive - never one to put anyone out - and this was apparent from day one.We had to ride with the air conditioner on high and the windows down and still our eyes were burning from the amonia. The Beagles inspected every inch of the van while Grace settled in for a nice long nap.
We got everyone home and settled into their run. Their houses were equipped with egg shell mats to provide cushion and a nice clean sheets. They enjoyed their first dinner which was homemade gravy over kibble and clean fresh water. Grace chose her house and settled in while the Beagles inspected everything. Mo moved much faster than Opal - she would run ahead and then circle back to check on her sister - kissing her on the cheek each time. Mo took a shine to Lilly who would be their new neighbor and she and Lilly ran up and down the fence playing in sheer delight. Then Mo led Opal into the second house and got her all settled in before engaging in another game with Lilly. The Beagles always stayed in their house - never entering Grace's. Grace was always served dinner in her house and the Beagles shared one bowl in their house - no fights, no arguments, no squabbles. Grace didn't hear well and she slept hard as a result, Mo was constantly checking on her and sometimes Opal would check too. This routine went on everyday for two and a half months. Until one day Mo failed to meet us at the gate and I knew something was terribly wrong.
On October 27th, 2008, our vet took Mo to the back and drew blood. He reviewed the test results and came back to the exam room without Mo. He told me that Mo was a very sick girl. I asked if she was going to die and he said yes. I asked if there were any treatment options and he said that her kidney values were so high he did not want to give me false hope. I told him that I had to do everything I could for Mo and that she had a sister waiting at home who wouldn't understand if I didn't take Mo back to her. Mo was hospitalized and treatment began. Every day that Mo was in the hospital, Opal spent at the gate awaiting her return. She would bay loudly for her sister's return.... she would call out and cry. It was heartbreaking. Opal waited faithfully at that gate. I would find her every morning laying at the gate. She barely ate and I could see the worry in her gentle eyes.
Friday, October 31st my heart was heavy all day. I knew the new blood test was to be run today. At 8:30pm, the call finally came and I felt my heartbreak. I had been praying for a miracle - that Mo would be healthy again. I didn't get the news I had hoped for. I cried my eyes out that night. I sat up all night researching kidney failure, canine kidney transplants, specialized vets......Billy found me draped over the keyboard exhausted and balling. I picked Mo up Saturday and took her home to see Opal.
Monday, I was determined. I started contacting vets - one in Canada and one in France - hoping they had treatment options that were not available to us in the US. What Mo needed was a kidney transplant. Her levels were well over 200 a normal level is about 40. By all accounts Mo should have been dead but she was a trooper - a trooper with a strong will to live. Time was running out and hope was fading.
I found one vet I thought might be able to help. I checked Mo in and left her for the night. I went back the next day to check on her and went back into the kennel area. She was laying in a bottom kennel with an IV. So, I climbed in the kennel with her and pet her and talked to her. Then I looked up and I saw what she saw - kennels and I flashed back to the shelter. At least she had her sister then. I decided right then and there that we were going home and she was going to be with her sister when she passed. I asked the vet if he was doing anything I couldn't do at home and he said no. They sent Mo home with her IV and meds. I got Mo home and situated on the sofa. She looked up at me and wagged her tail and I knew I had made the right decision for Mo and for myself. Hospice care began and Mo and Opal enjoyed each others company. Mo stayed on the sofa and Opal on a pallet on the floor just beneath her. Two nights before Mo's passing, she managed to climb down off the sofa. I found her fast asleep by Opal side - as they had slept every night for the last 10 years.
On October 27th, 2008, our vet took Mo to the back and drew blood. He reviewed the test results and came back to the exam room without Mo. He told me that Mo was a very sick girl. I asked if she was going to die and he said yes. I asked if there were any treatment options and he said that her kidney values were so high he did not want to give me false hope. I told him that I had to do everything I could for Mo and that she had a sister waiting at home who wouldn't understand if I didn't take Mo back to her. Mo was hospitalized and treatment began. Every day that Mo was in the hospital, Opal spent at the gate awaiting her return. She would bay loudly for her sister's return.... she would call out and cry. It was heartbreaking. Opal waited faithfully at that gate. I would find her every morning laying at the gate. She barely ate and I could see the worry in her gentle eyes.
Friday, October 31st my heart was heavy all day. I knew the new blood test was to be run today. At 8:30pm, the call finally came and I felt my heartbreak. I had been praying for a miracle - that Mo would be healthy again. I didn't get the news I had hoped for. I cried my eyes out that night. I sat up all night researching kidney failure, canine kidney transplants, specialized vets......Billy found me draped over the keyboard exhausted and balling. I picked Mo up Saturday and took her home to see Opal.
Monday, I was determined. I started contacting vets - one in Canada and one in France - hoping they had treatment options that were not available to us in the US. What Mo needed was a kidney transplant. Her levels were well over 200 a normal level is about 40. By all accounts Mo should have been dead but she was a trooper - a trooper with a strong will to live. Time was running out and hope was fading.
I found one vet I thought might be able to help. I checked Mo in and left her for the night. I went back the next day to check on her and went back into the kennel area. She was laying in a bottom kennel with an IV. So, I climbed in the kennel with her and pet her and talked to her. Then I looked up and I saw what she saw - kennels and I flashed back to the shelter. At least she had her sister then. I decided right then and there that we were going home and she was going to be with her sister when she passed. I asked the vet if he was doing anything I couldn't do at home and he said no. They sent Mo home with her IV and meds. I got Mo home and situated on the sofa. She looked up at me and wagged her tail and I knew I had made the right decision for Mo and for myself. Hospice care began and Mo and Opal enjoyed each others company. Mo stayed on the sofa and Opal on a pallet on the floor just beneath her. Two nights before Mo's passing, she managed to climb down off the sofa. I found her fast asleep by Opal side - as they had slept every night for the last 10 years.
Monday, Novemeber 13th - my prayers had changed over the passed two weeks. Where I once asked for a miracle I now asked for grace and mercy for Mo - for an easy passing and for strength for myself. Somehow I knew this would be Mo's last day. Her eyes had a tiredness that I had never seen before. Opal knew it too. When Opal went outside that Morning to potty - she wanted to go with Grace instead of going back with me. Mo passed away that evening just after 9pm. She just kind of flittered away with me at her side. My "back up" prayer was answered....a peaceful passing. Opal must have known. She never bayed or waited at the gate anymore.
Burying Mo was another heartwrenching challenge. I guess my prayer for strength was granted because somehow we got her buried. Opal was lonely. She tried to share her bowl with Grace but Grace would have none of that. Opal missed Mo every day for the rest of her life. At one oint I asked Dr. Bradshaw if I should bring in another senior Beagle - he suggested a puppy. About this time Spring arrived and the temperature was warmer. We relocated Opal and Grace to the shop area. They enjoyed cushioned beds of hay covered with blankies and cooler air. Billy was in and out of the shop all day every day and Opal's spirit improved. She and Grace always rose to meet us and have their head pet before returning to their spot- we were always warmly greeted - whether we entered the shop ten or twenty times. The shop was the coolest place on the lot at that time and the gals seemed to really enjoy their new spot.
June 2, 2008 Billy came in during the morning check round and asked me if I was busy. I knew something was wrong and I blurted out "who died". He said "you are not going to like this" and I said "Opal?" My dear sweet Opal had passed away during the night - laying in her favorite spot.
Dr. Bradshaw thinks Opal died of a sudden heart attack. There was no miss in Opal's step the day before her passing was like every other day. She never let on she felt bad - she rose and greeted us - had her head pet and returned to her spot. She was served dinner as usual.......it didn't make any sense and I felt guilty for not being there by her side. Looking back, it makes sense now. Mo came for her and they knew what a fuss I had made over Mo's illness and how I had struggled. Opal being the perfect house guest would not have wanted all that fuss over her - so she departed the same way she had arrived - with a well mannered quietness and my heart was broken once again. I had promised Mo that I would look after Opal. I guess I fulfilled that promise the day we laid Opal to rest - once again by her sister's side.
Grace was now left alone. I always thought that Grace simply tolerated the Beagles - I was about to discover their relationship was one of true friendship. Grace started sleeping in Opal's spot and eating from Opal's bowl. She started going down hill and by the end of June Grace was hospitalized and diagnoised with Addisons. Grace came home for a few days before crossing the rainbow bridge (with me by her side) at 5:30am on July 8th to meet up with her beagle buddies. Naturally, Grace's body took the spot next to Opal's in the cemetery and the trio was once again reunited.
I often reflect on those three ole' gals...everyday in fact. They may have come into my life as shelter dogs but they didn't die that way. I loved each and every one of them. I miss that trio dearly. I often smile thinking about Mo running up and down that fence line keeping pace with Lilly. I remember the soft eyes and quietness of Opal and Grace's loyalty. Even on her last day - she struggled to her feet to greet me. What an honor, a privledge and a joy it was to have been able to share the final chapters of their lives.
