SonnyNCarmsMom

Just one more thing...a picture that says more than I ever could...

Sonny crossed the Rainbow Bridge last Saturday, July 28. He would have been 11 in November. Sonny survived a lot. After racing for quite a few years, he retired to his owners' home, where he had grown up as a puppy, only to be rehomed when the neighbors complained. (I think they had 13 greys). Sonny came to us in 2001, when he was 4 years old. He didn't really like to run in the backyard--unless there was competition! Nothing he liked better. He was about as loyal as a dog can get, if unchangeably determined to make sure no one but family was allowed in our house! I remember fondly the time we kept him and Carm gated in our tiled front hall, sleeping on their beds, where he would invariably scare the bejesus out of anyone who had the audacity to ring the doorbell--the front door was glass, so they would get quite a scare! May I say "thank you" Sonny that while you left some bruises, broken watches, and torn shirts on a handful of visitors, you never drew blood or increased our homeowner's premium. That by itself was a miracle. I don't know if God forgot to tell you that you were not a German Shephard, but we loved you anyway! I remember seeing someone on TV who described their bridge baby as: "Bad Dog. Good Friend." Well, buddy, let's not pull punches--that was you! Whether it was cat litter or baby diapers, you were eating it! Let's not forget the time you tore up my time card, after my first week of work as a temp. Or the numerous times you busted your tail and splattered blood all over our house. I still find tiny dots of it on picture frames. (Sorry for the graphic detail, but I've got to honor this dude for all he was, and I would like to think he was proud of his mischief). What else? Oh, the peeing in the house, just for fun, randomly. Your misadventures in obedience, where you would freeze up in public and not even eat a hot dog. But how nice you were on a leash! And we loved to take you to those Mardi Gras parades and show you off, and at Meet and Greets--as mean as you could be at home, you were a doll in public. And of course you put up with a ton of stuff from our dear skinkid Tommy. We know, he owes you a lot of cookies in heaven. (Tommy fed Sonny an entire bag of homemade cookies right before we took him to the vet one last time). Speaking of which--you made friends everywhere you went! You had a way of bonding with people at the vet. They told us what you did--shake and shake when we dropped you off, then turn into an affable lug once we left! Sonny survived being temporarily displaced to our in-laws while we lived in an apartment between homes--more than he should have had to endure, but he made friends there, and loved running with their grey as well. It took us a while to bond again when we were reunited, but it happened, and we love you. You were the most stoic creature I ever met, running around like a crazy dog, barking at the neighbors right up until the end--until last Saturday, when your lymph nodes grew dramatically over night, you didn't run in the back yard, and didn't bark. Up until then, you had defied the odds, and acted like a crazy dog even with huge chest lymph nodes to where the tech thought you wouldn't have been able to breathe! You survied a tail amputation, thanks to the i-dots at that boarding place in LA--I'm so sorry about that, buddy. And getting your spleen removed a year and a half ago, you survived that! I'm sorry the chemo didn't work, but I'm glad you were happy up until the end, and ate all those cookies that Tommy gave you--you deserved them! You certainly got your fair share of treats and meats in your last few months! What else can I say, buddy? I loved to watch you run, and compete. My lasting memory of you is that you just couldn't be anything but first out the door--you had this insatiable zest to compete and get out there first. But, you were just a big couch potato at heart. You were a bad dog, but about the best friend ever! Run free, banana boy! We love you so much.

It seems like there's no way it could have been almost four years since we first picked up CC from Ebro. We had adopted CC's littermate, Carmella, one year earlier, and when we realized her sister was still racing, we asked her owner if we could have her when she'd finished racing. She agreed, and CC's career ended shortly thereafter. DH and I drove out to Ebro to get her, and she was the spitting image of Carmella, so much that we had trouble reminding strangers on the way back not to pet her, as we woudl forget we didn't really know her, that she wasn't Carmella. We intended all along only to foster her, but it was still heartbreaking to let her go three weeks later. It was wonderful, however, to send her off with my father in law and his wife, who have loved and cherished her these brief four years. She brought joy to their lives and loved her home with Shadow the Siberian Husky and PITA the cat. CC and Carmella lived together again when my in-laws cared for Sonny & Carm while we were between homes, just last year. CC is not even seven years old, and she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma one month ago, and will cross the rainbow bridge tomorrow. Please think of her, and think of my father in law and his wife, Cindy. They are giving CC anything and everything she wants. My father-in-law said to his wife, okay, I think we should let her on the sofa now, whenever she wants. Only then did Cindy tell him that CC has been allowed on the sofa from day 1 (they work different shifts) and Cindy vacuumed the sofa every day so he wouldn't know. She was a well loved dog, and will be missed by all. Take care CC, you will be out of pain soon, and in peace with your greyhound friends... Above, CC is on the left, Carmella is on the right...

I am so sorry.

Chattanooga, TN, off I-75, 100 miles north of Atlanta. We could take people in temporarily or at least feed you on your way farther north. Fenced in back yard for doggies, but we have indoor cats so they'd have to be okay with that. Feel free to pm for more contact info.

I'm so sorry.

What a touching tribute

Sonny barks...at us when we come home, when the doorbell rings, when a doorbell rings on TV, when he sees/hears the mail truck, at squirrels, at Carmella, and just generally while he's in the backyard. Carmella barks if there is a squirrel on the power line in the backyard, that gets her excited...other than that she really doesn't bark. Sonny whines a lot too, and they both roo when they *think* we've left, whether or not we have.

No, not really. However we did switch where we were having our cats vaccinations done (long story) and I did find the new place pricier. Bill- a few questions. Do you think pet health insurance is going to push up costs? Also, how to vets set what their "office visit" price is, is there a lot of fluctuation in that? For instance, when I took Carm in for an infection, we saw the doctor for maybe 5 minutes, and we paid $12 for antibiotics, $34 for the "office visit". I'm not upset about the cost, I'm just wondering how they come up with that, and if it ever varies. I guess that's where a lot of the variation from vet to vet comes in? I went to one vet a few years ago, and I think she had a neat approach. She had you fill out a card about opinions about your pet. "I only want the very very best for my pet", or "I want to make sure my pet is doing well", etc. Hard to explain, but basically gave her an idea of what you were expecting (and probably how much to advertise to you).

I'm so sorry. It probably is good to talk through the emotions though.

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Wait, now I'm really confused! What is DMSO? His injury doesn't SEEM to involve his nail at all- its above that, in the knuckle. The vet didn't tell me it was a jammed toe (might have been what he meant)...he didn't think there was bone involvement, just swelling (maybe these two go together, I don't know). Anyway, day 2 and the swelling isn't really down...but we'll see...probably check how he moves outside later. Not too obvious of a limp except when he gets up from sleeping.

Thanks for the advice guys! Right now he is resting on his bed. We might try using a baby gate to keep him in his bed area, because even without the Rimadyl, he's still very active- we let him outside and he started to run around the yard- just after, he limped back over to us but we are going to have to watch him in the yard too, because he is definitly the type of dog who doesn't know when to stop. We'll probably keep giving it to him, and just keep an eye out for any of those symptoms. And also keep him as immobilized as possible!

Well we went ahead and went to the vet...we're only out $65 so I guess its not too bad. The vet said that it is definitly the joint, not the bone (no break) and that its really hard- but apparantly its fluid build up on top of the knuckle, he probably knocked it really hard. He also had some abrasions inside that toe. We think he probably did it trying to jump into DH's raised garden (which, unfortunately, he loves to do). So the vet said he should be on anti-inflammatories for a week. I saw the meds were carprofen and didn't think anything of it till we came home and I saw the big "R" on the pill and realized it was Rimadyl. Is it only long term use of Rimadyl that can be harmful, or short term too? I need to do some research, but it might be hard to convince DH not to use it, since the vet prescribed it and Sonny is still visibly limping...

I might try to take him to the vet today, if I can find one that is open soon... His paw is swollen on his front toe, one of the ones in the middle...where it is is hard to explain. Its the first bump, or knuckle, as you move up from the nail. He does walk on it, but he does limp a bit, and when we were doing a tick check last night (that's when we noticed) he was very protective of it, it looked like it hurt a lot. Any ideas as to what this might be? I'm going to the vet as soon as possible, I'm just curious. Its not grotesquely swollen, but it is obviously about twice as wide/tall as the other toes at that knuckle joint.

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry. Sympathies.

I noticed this the other day and it freaked me out, but then a few hours later I realized it was gone, so I chalked it up to Sonny being "excited", having to pee, etc.. Ew. :lol

Buddy was a handsome dog. I'm sure he's in peace now. I'm sorry for your loss.

Cindy- This looks easier than I thought it would be. How much does this cost you per week? (I am a vegetarian so I have no idea about the cost of meat). Thanks.