My Emmy
Well, lightening does strike twice I guess.
We lost our beloved Emmy Lou yesterday afternoon. It happened quickly. She was home with us and she went from starting to eat and wanting to be with me enough that she walked from her bed to the bathroom door one evening to complete lethargy and losing control of her bodily functions yesterday afternoon and passing in a matter of minutes.
She was a dog that my student, Emileigh found back in 2005 wandering/running on Highway 305 in Poulsbo. We don't know if she was lost, abandoned or what but she turned out to be the sweetest, smartest, kindest and most wonderful dog anyone could ever be lucky enough to call their own.
Emmy was a Pom/Sheltie mix with a guesstimated age around 5 when she was found. Anyone who saw her commented on her beauty and grace. She wasn't super friendly but she would wag her tail and let you pet her if you approached. I truly think she had the best of both breeds in her but ultimately she acted like a Sheltie 95% of the time. The vet commented on her grace and sweet disposition all the time.
She was our first dog as a couple. She made us a family. We loved her as dearly as we would love a child. Since we were unfortunately, past the age where I can even consider having a baby she became our little girl. We took her on long trips (she LOVED car rides), she loved to go for walks and loved to eat almost anything. She even ate fruit and vegetables! A dream dog to say the least!
She hated baths. She also hated having collars and leashes put on her even though she knew it meant she would go outside (her favorite thing to do). Going to the groomers, she would start shaking (eventually, we discovered that was an illness) but she'd come out looking like a little fox. She was truly a beautiful dog, inside and out.
We noticed early on she was very nervous and anxious after we were both gone 8-10 hours a day and when our little Maltese, Buddy came into the family she took him under her wing so to speak and watched over him like the Sheltie she is. She relaxed a lot more with a little brother to watch over. Still, Mark noticed her anxiety never seemed to go away so we took her to the vet and discovered she had low thyroid function as well as Cushing's Disease.
Cushing's is an adrenal gland disorder that creates too much cortisol. If you've seen a million infomercials in recent years I'm sure you noticed that word cortisol a lot. Unfortunately, Cushing's is incurable but manageable with a chemo drug called Lysodren. It helped Emmy calm down a lot but it also made her prone to kidney disease and infection. She managed about 3 years of being on her meds before it went downhill.
She'd been throwing up for a few days and getting more lethargic which was not like her. The vet discovered she had several infections and her poor little body was trying so hard to fight back. She managed 3 good days at home after about 36 hours at the vet. I honestly thought she was going to get through this. She was showing signs of being the happy little girl on Saturday night. Despite our hopes, our vet was worried because her phosphorus levels were high (inexplainable) and ultimately it looks like her kidneys just couldn't handle it. I was by her side for her last hour and was able to get Mark in the house with us in her final minutes.
She went quickly and hopefully without much pain. I had been petting her, telling her how much she was loved and that it was okay to 'go home' if she needed to. I said we would be okay and that we would never forget her. I swear she was waiting for permission from her mama to leave. I can count the minutes it took from that moment to when she left us.
Mark and I will miss this little girl so much. It hits us at a time that is so hard on us, especially since we just lost my mom's dog, Jessie 5 days earlier. We've gone from 4 dogs to two in less than a week and we're just beside ourselves buried in sadness and grief.
They say 'that which does not kill us makes us stronger.' Mark said we were lucky to have this little angel come into our lives and it's a good thing we're grieving like this because it means we loved her enough to grieve this hard.
Mama loves you, Emmy Lou. I will miss you so much. I know you will always be with me in my heart.
We lost our beloved Emmy Lou yesterday afternoon. It happened quickly. She was home with us and she went from starting to eat and wanting to be with me enough that she walked from her bed to the bathroom door one evening to complete lethargy and losing control of her bodily functions yesterday afternoon and passing in a matter of minutes.
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| Emmy 2009 |
Emmy was a Pom/Sheltie mix with a guesstimated age around 5 when she was found. Anyone who saw her commented on her beauty and grace. She wasn't super friendly but she would wag her tail and let you pet her if you approached. I truly think she had the best of both breeds in her but ultimately she acted like a Sheltie 95% of the time. The vet commented on her grace and sweet disposition all the time.
She was our first dog as a couple. She made us a family. We loved her as dearly as we would love a child. Since we were unfortunately, past the age where I can even consider having a baby she became our little girl. We took her on long trips (she LOVED car rides), she loved to go for walks and loved to eat almost anything. She even ate fruit and vegetables! A dream dog to say the least!
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| Emmy after the Groomers 2010 |
We noticed early on she was very nervous and anxious after we were both gone 8-10 hours a day and when our little Maltese, Buddy came into the family she took him under her wing so to speak and watched over him like the Sheltie she is. She relaxed a lot more with a little brother to watch over. Still, Mark noticed her anxiety never seemed to go away so we took her to the vet and discovered she had low thyroid function as well as Cushing's Disease.
Cushing's is an adrenal gland disorder that creates too much cortisol. If you've seen a million infomercials in recent years I'm sure you noticed that word cortisol a lot. Unfortunately, Cushing's is incurable but manageable with a chemo drug called Lysodren. It helped Emmy calm down a lot but it also made her prone to kidney disease and infection. She managed about 3 years of being on her meds before it went downhill.
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| Last pic of Emmy - just home from the vet |
She went quickly and hopefully without much pain. I had been petting her, telling her how much she was loved and that it was okay to 'go home' if she needed to. I said we would be okay and that we would never forget her. I swear she was waiting for permission from her mama to leave. I can count the minutes it took from that moment to when she left us.
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| Emmy - 2007 |
They say 'that which does not kill us makes us stronger.' Mark said we were lucky to have this little angel come into our lives and it's a good thing we're grieving like this because it means we loved her enough to grieve this hard.
Mama loves you, Emmy Lou. I will miss you so much. I know you will always be with me in my heart.
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