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Marissa - Diesel Only (Long)


Guest Snazzy_Chloe

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Guest Snazzy_Chloe

We decided to send Marissa to the Bridge tonight. She had had a sarcoma tumor removed from her upper left ribcage in Sept 2010, and we had follow up X-Rays taken at monthly intervals after that until this spring and then stopped when there was no new growth shown. This fall we had the yearly dental done when she had 7 teeth extracted and the sutures did not hold thru the night so she lost some blood. The next morning, back to the vet, they added packing in the gums and re-sutured and she was good after that. She lost 6-7 lbs during that time as she went without food and water for 3 days but we nursed her back to eating again and fed her a lot of broth and Ensure plus which brought her weight back up to almost normal again in 2-3 weeks. Then we noticed a new tumor starting to appear in her left ribcage again which the vet said was inoperable as it was into the muscles as well as the soft tissue. This was October so we have watched the timor grow and then a mass appear in her belly area that spread her rib cage so that her bones stuck out of her sides. her belly grew so large that it interferred with her rear legs when walking, she had pain pills because of the back and rib pain which helped but she no longer liked walking very far. Her balance was going, her eyesight was going, and her ears were somewhat selective hearing. I think her nose still worked pretty well as she was still perky eared around pee spots. Anyway - she was 13+ years old, and really I felt that after the first operation we hoped that we would have another year with her that we did get to enjoy with her, which was a blessing. Her passing was swift and easy to watch - we were lucky because we had lots of time to prepare ourselves for this, its never easy. We could have waited another week or two or maybe three - it is hard to know - as she still had some spirit left in her and she was very stoic. I just figured she had had enough, watching her struggle to stand up, and then stagger around while trying to get to the water bowl, and her breathing was becomming more labored. The vet said that mass on her diaphram and stomach would grow larger until she would basically starve herself to death. I didn't want to get to that point, but her muscle mass had started shrinking away and we thought it was time to end her future suffering if nothing else.

 

Anyway, we adopted her as a 7 year old broodie gal in 2005 - she had a slightly lame rear hock that had previously been broken and not mended properly so although she could run she didn't run a lot. She had had two litters of pups we found out later and I think because of this she was very gentle and she would let anyone that wanted to - handle her, rub her, give her shots, etc. She only barked on 3 occasions, when we first got her and she saw some spooky bushes moving and was afraid - and they was very loud, very low frequency, very deep throaty, scary woof that came out of her (Hell it scared me-at first - till I found out what she was woofing at). And that was that, she never barked again- maybe she wasn't frightened again. Well, she was Thunderphobic, but we never did get her cured of thunder and lightning although we tried just about everything. I will tell you her main love of her new life was freedom, the freedom to go anywhere in the house that she wanted and when she wanted. She was very independent and would sleep in any room in the house, even if there was no dog bed, or no one was in the room - often she would go and plop down and stretch out to be as at long as she could get and then go to sleep. We thought she was anti-social at first, but pretty soon she was sleeping in another room where she could keep one eye on our goings; after awhile she would follow us around and sleep where we were. Couldn't stand to be caged up, or barracaded with baby gates in a room so we gave her the run of the house and she was good - with no damage to our belongings. In the middle of the night, she would often get up, walk to another room and then we would hear her plop down on either a dog bed or the floor. She loved our walks, especially when we would take walks in the woods so she could explore some new sights and scents, and she loved to ride in the car - I think just to be included as a part of the family, because she normally just stretched out and went to sleep in the back seat. She loved to stretch out on the chaise lounge, in the shade by the lake and take a snooze where she could keep track of new scents blowing off of the water. Lastly, she was great with my grandkids and other peoples kids who sometimes hugged her before we could stop them. She never snarled, snapped or bit anyone; although I did see her lip raise once or twice when she was interacting with other dogs. She stayed with several grey sitters when we were on vacation or had other obligations when we couldn't be at home with her and she blended in well with their families as well. She was just a great, gentle creature that had a long life, a lot of heart that we had the privilige of being adopted into our family for 6 over years.

Now she can run fast and pain free with all the other angels. (Inc. our Angels: Skippy-IG, Lancer-Afgan, Skippy-whippit, and Chloe the black grey)

 

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Edited by Snazzy_Chloe
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I am so very sorry for your loss.

 

Take comfort in knowing that your sweet dog is at peace, pain free and running once again with the wind.

 

I do hate cancer. It is the thief who robs us, everyday, of those we love.

Irene Ullmann w/Flying Odin and Mama Mia in Lower Delaware
Angels Brandy, John E, American Idol, Paul, Fuzzy and Shine
Handcrafted Greyhound and Custom Clocks http://www.houndtime.com
Zoom Doggies-Racing Coats for Racing Greyhounds

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What a lovely silver face!

I'm so sorry you lost your precious Marissa.

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Nancy, Mom to Kiva
Missing Lacey, Patsy, Buster, my heart dog Nick, Winnie, Pollyanna, Tess, my precious Lydia, Calvin Lee, my angel butterfly Laila, Evangelina, and kitties Lily, Sam and Simon
My Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Catsburgandhoundtown

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Wow. That was one touching tribute. Thank you for sharing Marissa's story and photos with us, for giving her a wonderful life suited to her nature, and for supporting her health status at every stage. I am so very sorry for your loss. :(

:grouphug:f_pink:grouphug

Mary with Jumper Jack (2/17/11) and angels Shane (PA's Busta Rime, 12/10/02 - 10/14/16) and Spencer (Dutch Laser, 11/25/00 - 3/29/13).

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Guest cficare

sounds like you and Marissa were a match that was good for you both. A wonderful tribute to a wonderful dog . Thank you for sharing....I dread the days when I may have to make the (right) decision as you did.

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Beautiful tribute to your beautiful friend. I'm so sorry for your loss. :grouphug

 

Godspeed Marissa :gh_run

Old Dogs are the Best Dogs. :heartThank you, campers. Current enrollees:  Punkin. AnnIE Oooh M, Ebbie, HollyBeeBop (Betty Crocker).

Angels: Pal :heart. Segugio. Sorella (TPGIT). LadyBug. Zeke-aroni. MiMi Sizzle Pants. Gracie. Seamie :heart:brokenheart. (Foster)Sweet. Andy. PaddyALVIN!Mayhem. Bosco. Bruno. Dottie B. Trevor Double-Heart. Bea. Cletus, KLTO. Aiden 1-4.

:paw Upon reflection, our lives are often referenced in parts defined by the all-too-short lives of our dogs.

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I'm so sorry she had to leave you.

 

Godspeed, lovely girl.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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Your words were so well written about sweet Marissa that I could feel her joy at being loved and free in your home. Marissa and your family were both so lucky in having found one another. She will be missed, but I hope it brings you comfort when you remember how much she loved being your girl.

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A very moving tribute...she had such a wonderful life with you. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Jan with precious pups Emmy (Stormin J Flag) and Simon (Nitro Si) and Abbey Field.  Missing my angels: Bailey Buffetbobleclair 11/11/98-17/12/09; Ben Task Rapid Wave 5/5/02-2/11/15; Brooke Glo's Destroyer 7/09/06-21/06/16 and Katie Crazykatiebug 12/11/06 -21/08/21. My blog about grief The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not get over the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same, nor would you want to. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

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What a sweet face. My condolences on her passing.

Mary, mom to kitty Rebel.
Always missing Sherri (SO DELICIOUS) (12/6/2005-8/29/2018) kitties Marley (4/2000-12/3/2015) and Beady (4/1998-2/24/2006) and Dalmatian Daisy (7/25/1984-5/13/1999).

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work

and give to those who would not - Thomas Jefferson

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