All Dogs Go To Heaven....

Or that's at least our belief...

We had another rough start to our Thanksgiving travels.  This past week Maggie wasn't doing very well!  So, we took her to the doc on Friday!  While in there, B reminded me that we were in the same room that we were in when Hankie took his last breath last year before we left for Thanksgiving!!  Her liver enzymes were a tad elevated and so they gave us some meds and sent us on our way.

You might remember that last year, when I got out of the hospital, she was diagnosed with cancer.

Pre-diagnosis pics

We were told that if we did chemo, she might live for two months.  However, my incredible hubby did the research, and she lived much longer.  We put the pups on the ketogenic diet, the same one that I was on so that we could get pregnant with Miss P, without any seizure meds in my system!

This is a pic of her just a few weeks after diagnosis and us beginning treatment!!  Thus, it was working.  Each follow up visit showed great results!!  Nothing to be concerned about...

Part of the diet changes allowed for much more raw food.  So, the two rascals got to have a real bone

They might have enjoyed it!!!

This is the day that we brought her home!!

Her sweet snuggles with her big brother, who is now much smaller than her!!!

You can see her love of snuggles!!

She even has her own fox to snuggle with....

You might also remember her Aggie connection!!

She's Miss Rev's half-sister!!!

She's had the opportunity to play with Miss Rev and just have fun!!!

Miss P got to say hi to Sis this past weekend in Aggieland!!

Anyway, we were thrilled with her progress & how well she was doing!!  She had a ton of energy and life and was running all over the place.  Then, she just kind of stopped.  Thus, we got her in to the vet because that wasn't like her.  Again, liver enzymes elevated, here's some meds, bring her back in the Monday after Thanksgiving and we'll see how she's improved!

B reminded me as we went to bed Friday evening that Hank woke up at 3am the morning we were leaving to go out of town and Hank didn't survive the next day!

So, when I woke at 3am to Maggie hacking and struggling to breathe, it was a tad too surreal.  It wasn't too long after that when B voted that she needed to get to the emergency vet.  We called the closest one open and B got in the truck and moved as quickly as his truck would allow him to go...about 2-3 miles from the vet clinic, her labored breathing stopped and he felt his pants get very wet.  When he looked down, he was covered in blood and she had passed!!  He did everything he could to make sure she knew she was loved & to make sure she was cared for...as soon as he got to the vet, they confirmed her passing.  It was a tough week to begin because I went 21 days before without a seizure and then had 36 seizures in five days.  Thus, I didn't have the energy to cry when he called to tell me, despite the pain that I felt in my heart!!

When Miss P woke up & I was awake (she's an early bird, like her Daddy, not a night owl, like me), she had a questioned look on her face!  Once I got her in my arms and told her that Maggie had gone to puppy Heaven, she shed some extra tears for me, too.  As we were eating breakfast and B noticed that Rudder needed to go outside (Maggie usually rings a little bell that we keep on the back door, to let us know), it hit.  The pain and the tears.  First, I love my husband's heart.  The fact that he sees the need and addresses it because he cares about the heart.  I often times need to hear the bell ring to know there is a need.  Not my amazing gift from the Lord, He sees a need and addresses it with all of his heart!!!  Second, I love the four-legged creatures the Lord has allowed us to love and care for...we don't feel like we had Maggie long enough...less than three years.  We had Hank for 13+ and we've had Rudder for 13+ years!  So, it doesn't make sense why we lost her so young.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding. 
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

So, as we were sad as we got on an airplane for Thanksgiving travel in 2017, we experienced the same pain in 2018.  If you are looking for something to be thankful for on Thursday and you still have your fur babies, be thankful for them and their love!  If you have lost them and you are sad, be thankful that you got to experience such love that you would be sad and grieving!  Now, I will be selfish and ask you to please pray for us.  It hurts to lose her and it will hurt even more when we get home and reality sets in...It also hurts to have lost two of our three fur babies in the last year!!

Miss P is sad and acting out a bit.  We shared the importance of just sharing your heart, don't box up your feelings.  People around you love you and want to hold you and comfort you.  So, it was sweet tonight when in the shower, she "wrote" a song for Maggie!!!  She's been singing it to us ever since...on the way, she told us that she doesn't like Thanksgiving.  We've talked about the difference and that it's not a Thanksgiving thing, it's a death thing.  None of us like death...so, again, if you will pray for us & our grieving and mine & B's parenting through this pain and grief.

Thank you for loving our family enough to check in...

One more look at our pretty girl!!!!