Yup.. that is what my Maggie has…………….
Maggie is not a Tripawd.. but you all know Maggie. She was the Ying to Franklin’s Yang. When our sweet Frank’n’farter ran for the bridge last year on May 15….. Maggie was alone.. and she cried… so, along came Wilson. Maggie is Wilson’s big sister, mother figure, Nanny, teacher and all around best bud. Maggie is one of the sweetest dogs I have ever had the pleasure of wanting to be with me.
When she was younger, she was fast… man oh man, she was fast… Faster than Wilson! She was agile, she was quick, and she could jump from the floor up into your arms!! You could take Maggie in your arms and basically turn her upside down and she would not struggle. She was, and still is, so trusting and passive… she’s my Maggie Girl! I remember when I brought her home, I bought her from a family in Brantford. She had the mother, a liver and white Springer that she had bred with her friends Springer who was black and white. There were two pups left.. one black and white and one liver and white. The liver pup was running around like a goof ball…. and the black one was just calm and toddling along. I picked up the black one and she just leaned into my arms. Yup.. she was the one. She was 10 weeks old.
She stayed in the kitchen the first night for approximately 3 hours till her howling and whining made me snap. Ok, I said to her.. you can come into the bedroom and sleep beside the bed. Well.. after 20 minutes of her whining beside the bed, I scooped her up… placed her beside me on the bed.. she snuggled into my shoulder and immediately went to sleep. No messes on the bed… or the floor… and up in the morning and outside to do business. That was it.. she was a snuggler… and she has lived up to her name…
My Maggie has been limping for a while.. and I know that her joints are not as smooth as they used to be. You can see the swelling in her elbows, etc. After all.. she is 12 ½… She is on Tri-Acta as well as Rymadil for her joint pain. We know they day is coming… I have said that many times before and posted a few things about it. But now it is confirmed….and the x-rays showed it.
Maggie has been limping and favoring her left shoulder for the past week. We have done the restricted ball throwing, and small walks and rest to help it get better. Well.. it hasn’t really gotten better so we went to the vet yesterday for some x-rays. When we picked her up, the vet showed us the pictures and it’s actually not her shoulder.. it’s her elbow. She has osteoarthritis… degenerating bone disease…..DGD… *sigh*
I just about cracked up when the vet said Osteo…. Because I immediately thought.. here we go again.. osteosarcoma, here we come. And how ironic is that .. left leg.. Franklin was left leg.. de-ja-vu!!! But.. he cannot confirm if it is a tumor at this time.. the x-rays show the bones and cartilage that is very weak, and she actually shows a space above her elbow that shouldn’t be there.. it should be solid bone.. So, he said that if it started to get bigger, then there could be a tumor in there, but if it doesn’t, there is the possibility that one day she will break her leg from the weakness of the bone…
Options? Amputation? She could not do it. Her other three legs are not strong. As well, with DBD, it doesn’t hit just one joint.. she obviously has it in her other three as well . Elbow replacement? That would be the same outcome as an amputation, her other joints are not strong. Last option? Enjoy day by day and when the day comes, I’ll let go of the leash one last time.
So.. if there is one thing I have learned from this group… and Franklin.. is to be more dog!! Maggie doesn’t know what is happening.. all she knows is that “man, my shoulder is a bit stiff at this time… maybe I will just walk instead of running back with my ball”
I hate finding out… I hate confirming what you already know in the back of your mind. Because once you know.. 100% for sure…. then your whole world changes. Even for Maggie.. it seems that since we have brought her back from the vets, her sparkle in her eyes is gone. And she just looks at you as if to say.. “ok, now you know” I think it just might be the effects of lettering the anesthetic wearing off that’s making her look a bit off too.. it takes a day or so for them to get it out of their system… Jordan did say her tail was waggin more today than yesterday….
All I can say is… here we go again….. and I wouldn’t change it for the world… Wilson will be lost….. She’s his buddy…. his pal… his teacher…. she’s my Maggie Girlie.. My Maggie Mae Penny Licorice… My Girlie Girl… My Beautiful Girlie….. My Ball-a-Holic… My Baby Girl….
Fuck….. :O(
Christine.. with Franklin in her heart♥
Oh Christine
Your last statement echoed my sentiments exactly.
As two tripawd members from Ontario perhaps we should get together…..Tuck has arthritis in his one hip….hence the rehab now!
Many hugs to all of you.
Linda and Tucker
Oh. My. Dog. So sorry…please keep us posted and consider asking your vet about bisphosphonates or an Orthopets brace to help.
Here I go again. I cried when you posted it on Fb now I am crying again here. You just can’t catch a break. I just feel so crappy about this. I know Maggie has lived a long and enjoyable life and you are practicing being more dog but damnit its not fair.
This just is crappy and I hate it. I hate that our babies get old and things happen and that we know what happens and we just try to make things more bearable for them.
You know Wilson will be lost but you also know just like when Mr Wilson came along for Maggie there might be a Ms in that future down the road. You are like me never enough and always will chose the more until your heart is all dog one day piece by piece.
I know you posted that poem and I am going to find it because I know I saved it. Yep it was you that posted this June 20 2013. When you were looking for comfort for when Franklin crossed so here you go:
YOU HAVE CHOSEN TEARS
The little girl stopped. Behind her, puppies were playing, chasing each other and wrestling in the warm sunshine. It looked like so much fun, but in front of her, through the clear stillness of the pond water, she could see her mummy. She was crying.
She pawed at the water, trying to get to her. When that didn’t work, she jumped into the shallow water. That just got her wet and Mummy’s image danced away in the ripples.
“Mummy!…come back” she cried. “Something’s wrong!”
The little girl turned around. A lady was standing at the edge of the pond. Her gentle eyes were filled with love and kindness. The little girl sighed, padded out of the water and walked up to her. There’s been a mistake,” she said. “I’m not supposed to be here.” She looked back at the water. It was becoming still again and her mummy’s image was coming back.
“Mummy said it has to be a mistake. She said I wasn’t supposed to come here yet,” she howled.
The kind lady sighed and sat down in the grass. With some gentle coaxing, the little girl climbed into her lap. It wasn’t Mummy’s lap, but, it was almost as good.
When she started to pet her and scratch behind her ear, the way she liked, she started to whine softly. She hadn’t wanted to, but she couldn’t help it. She missed her mummy’s touch.
“I’m afraid, there is no mistake. You are supposed to be here and your mummy knows it…deep down in her heart,” the lady said. “She knew this would happen…it always does”.
The little girl sighed and laid her head on the lady’s leg.
“But she’s so sad. It hurts me to see her cry and her human children too.”
“But they knew right from the beginning this would happen.”
“Why? Because I was so sick?” she whimpered. This surprised the little girl. No one had said anything like that and she had listened when they thought she was sleeping. All she had heard them talk about was how cute she was or how smart she was or how big she was getting.
“No, not because you were sick,” the lady said. “But, you see, they chose Tears.”
“No, they didn’t,” the little girl argued. “Who would choose to cry?”
The lady gently brushed the top of her head with a kiss. It made her feel safe and loved and warm – but she still worried about her mummy.
“Let me tell you a story,” the lady said.
The little girl looked up and saw other animals gathering around. Cats, kittens, hamsters, birds, a lizard, several dogs, puppies and some animals she didn’t even recognize, all came to be nearer, so they could hear too. They all lay down near the kind lady and looked up at her, waiting. She smiled at them and began:
A long, long, time ago, the Loving Ones went to the Angel in Charge.
They were lonesome and asked the Angel to help them.
The Angel took them to a wall of windows. They peered out the first window at all sorts of things; dolls, toys, clothes and many other things to hold or use.
“Here are things you can love,” the Angel said.
“They will keep you from being lonesome.”
“Oh, thank you,” the Loving Ones said. “These are just what we need.”
“You have chosen Pleasure,” the Angel told them.
But, after a time, the Loving Ones came back to the Angel in Charge.
“Things are okay to love,” they said. “But, they don’t care that we love them.”
The Angel in Charge led them over to the second window.
It looked out at all sorts of wild animals.
“Here are animals to love,” he said. “They will know you love them.”
So, the Loving Ones nodded, hurrying out to care for the wild
animals. “You have chosen Satisfaction,” the Angel said.
The Loving Ones worked at taming some of the wild animals.
Many learned to serve the Loving Ones in their daily tasks. Some were just enjoyed and watched, like the birds that came into their yards to be fed. But, after a time, they all came back to the Angel in Charge.
“They know we love them,” they told the Angel. “But they don’t love us back. We would like to be loved in return.”
So the Angel took them to the third window and showed
them lots of people walking around or hurrying to places.
“Here are people for you to love,” the Angel told them.
So, the Loving Ones hurried off to find other people to love.
“You have chosen Commitment,” the Angel said.
But, after a time, many of Loving Ones came back to the
Angel in Charge. “People are okay to love,” they said. “But sometimes they stopped loving us or left us. They broke our hearts.”
The Angel just shook his head. “I cannot help you,” he said.
“You will have to be satisfied with the choices I gave you.”
As the Loving Ones turned to leave one saw the last window
far off to the side and slowly walked up to look out of it.
Through it she could see puppies, kittens and dogs, cats and lizards, hamsters and well, some she didn’t recognize.
The other Loving Ones hurried over to see. “What about these?” they asked.
But the Angel just tried to shoo them away.
“Those are Personal Empathy Trainers,” he said.
“But, there’s a problem with their system operations.”
“Would they know that we love them?” someone asked.
“Yes,” the Angel said.
“Would they love us back?” another asked.
“Yes,” the Angel said.
“Will they ever stop loving us?” someone else asked.
“No,” the Angel admitted. “They will love you forever.”
“Then THESE are what we want,” the Loving Ones said.
But the Angel seemed upset.
“You don’t understand,” he told them. “You will have to
feed these animals.”
“That’s all right,” the Loving Ones said.
“You will have to clean up after them and take care of them forever. You will have to love them unconditionally, as you would want them to love you.”
“We don’t mind,” they protested.
The Loving Ones did not listen. They went down to where
the Pets were and picked them up. They could see the love in their own hearts reflected in the animals’ eyes.
“They were not programmed right,” the Angel said. “We can’t offer a warranty. We don’t know how durable they are. Some of their systems malfunction very quickly while others last a long time.”
But the Loving Ones did not seem to care or want to listen.
They were holding the warm little bodies and finding
their hearts so filled with love that they thought they would burst.
“We will take our chances,” they said.
“You do not understand.” The Angel tried one more time.
“They are so dependent on you and even the most well-made of them is not designed to out-live you. You are destined to suffer their loss.”
The Loving Ones looked at the sweetness in their arms, and nodded to one another.
“That is how it should be. It is a fair trade for the
love they will offer. We’ll worry about the rest later,” as they each walked away with a new little pet in their arms.
The Angel just watched them all go, shaking his head.
“You have chosen Tears,” he whispered.
“So it is,” the kind lady told the little girl. ” Each mummy and daddy knows when they take a new pet into their heart… that one day it will leave them and they will cry.”
The little girl sat up. “So why do they take us then!?!” she asked. “Why would they do it…if they know?”
“Because even a moment of your love is worth years of pain later,” she quietly replied.
“Oh…..” the animals all agreed in unison, including the little girl and quietly nodded to each other.
The little girl got off the lady’s lap and went back to the edge of the pond.
Her mummy was still there… and still crying.
“Will she ever stop crying?” she asked the kind lady.
She nodded. “You see, the Angel felt sorry for the
Loving Ones, knowing how much they would suffer. He couldn’t take their tears away, but he did make them special.”
She dipped her hand into the pond and let the water trickle off her fingers.
“He made them healing tears, formed by the special water here. Each tear holds a bit of all the happy times of barking, purring, petting, playing…and shared love. All flowing together with the promise to love once again.
As your mummy cries, she is healing. It may take a long while, but the tears will help her feel better. In time she will be less sad and she will begin to smile when she thinks of you. Then, she may open her heart again, to another little baby.”
“But then she will cry again one day,” the little girl said, sadly.
The lady just smiled at her as she got to her feet.
“No. She will love again. That is all she will think about. She will worry about the rest later…as so many already have before her.”
She bent down and gave the little girl a pat on her head and smiled up at the others who had been listening. They all lowered their heads and nodded silently back.
“Look,” she said. “The butterflies have come. Shall we all
go over to play?”
The other animals all ran ahead, but the little girl wasn’t ready to leave the sight of her mummy.
“Will I ever get to be with her again?” she asked solemnly.
The kind lady nodded. “You’ll be in the eyes of every puppy she looks at. You’ll be in the bark of every dog she pets. Late at night, when she’s fast asleep, the spirit of your memory will snuggle up close to her and you both will feel at peace.
One day soon you can even send her a rainbow, to let her know you’re safe and waiting here…for when it’s time for her to come.”
“I would like that,” as the little girl took one last, long look at her mummy.
She saw her smile slightly through her tears and she knew she had just recalled a happy memory of her.
“I love you, Mummy,” she whispered. “It’s okay if you cry, I understand now.”
She glanced over at the other pets, all running, playing and laughing, chasing the butterflies.
“Mummy? I’ve got to go and play now,…okay? But I’ll be around, I promise. Remember me and I’ll always be with you.
Hey!…You lot, wait for me!!!…..”
Then she turned and raced happily after the others.
Author Unknown
–
Ok, I know you have Chosen Tears just like us.
I don’t want to offer any false hope but having been where you are now, I’d like to share with you some options that not everyone is aware of.
If it is not cancer, you might want to look at stem cell therapy. The cost is equal to one year of Rimadyl if the cells are gathered in house. You cannot give stem cells to a dog with cancer though because it just makes the cancer take off. 🙁
http://www.townandcountryanimalhospital.com/ has Dr. Radcliffe who is a leading researcher in this.
Another joint supplement that sometimes provides dramatic results is cetyl myristoleate (CMO). It is often known as the joint supplement of last resort. I have done the human treatment for a 10 year old 65 lb dog who had severe arthritis in her toes and could not lift her right hind leg off the ground. After 3 weeks, the dragging stopped. After 6 weeks, she was a new dog and we never had to do the treatment again.
http://www.cetylmyristoleate.com/
I currently am using this:
Response 360 Count Cetyl M Joint Health Formula for Dogs
by Response
Link: http://amzn.com/B0013LVK2W
Michelle, so very kind of you to post this. Christine always posts the most beautiful little poems and.stories. Thanks for returning that gift back to her.I knew better than to read it now so I could keep myself together long enough to respond to Christine…or TRY at least!
As usual Christine, the photos always bring us smiles no matter.wha t! You have such cute dogs!
Oops…hit reply too soon..
I saw the responses on your other post…the responses of love AND a lot of good suggestions. I know you’ll leave no stone unturned and you still have some options to keep her comfy. I can ssure you, getting old is not for sissys!
She’ll perk up once that stuff is out of her system. Maggie Girl has a lot more tail wags in her yet!!
You tell the best stories on your pups! I.love reading y o ur posts.and learning more about.them! One must always have a dog sleeping with them and Maggie wanted to make sure you knew that from the get go!!!!!
WE LOVE Y OU CHRISTINE! Franklin’s watching.over everybody……he is.
Sally.and.Happy.Hannah and Myrtle
Christine,
I’m so sorry to hear about Maggie. I pray that you still have a good long while left together. Their passing is so hard.
The “You Have Chosen Tears” story that Michelle posted is beautiful and had me sobbing. Because our hearts are so big and full of love we will always choose tears.
Sending you a BIG HUG!
Sahana and her Angel Leland
Chris, I’m really sorry to hear this. You’ve learned so much on this journey thanks to Franklin, I know whatever happens next you will live a life filled with love and compassion for Maggie’s best interests and quality of life. We will be here for you. For now, yes, she IS more dog and she just wants to have a good life with you and the pack. No dog could ask for more, you are a pawesome pawrent. Hang in there.