Emma's Life With Me

[Guest twoskinnydogs]

Emma’s Life with Me

 

 

 

It all began in 2001, I had seen a greyhound at a meet and greet and had to bring one into my life. I started off by reading Cynthia Branigan’s Adopting a Racing Greyhound. I knew without a doubt that I wanted one of these elegant, sleek and noble animals as a pet after reading her book . At the time I owned a German Shepherd Dog who was begging to age. I contacted two adoption groups in my area, Greyhound Friends of NC in Oak Ridge, NC and Circle of Friends Greyhounds, which at the time was located in Walnut Cove,NC. I visited Circle of Friends first and at that time she was low on adoptable dogs and really didn’t have one to fit with me. The next weekend I visited GFNC and visited with several hounds. I didn’t have a color or sex preference and only had one child at the time so it was pretty easy to show me hounds. The hounds came out and a couple of them really didn’t show me much mind, doing their hounds things like sniff and pee. The last hound they brought out was a red brindle female named “Imposter”. I immediately noticed that she was paying attention to me and making eye contact wagging that long skinny tail. I knew that this was a match and hoped that she would get along with my GSD. I told the guy showing me the hounds that she was the one and I wanted to introduce her to my other dog. I returned the next day with Bandit (my GSD). She came out and they sniffed each other for a minute then both came to me for attention. That was it; Imposter had to be our match! We completed all the paperwork and they scheduled her vet appointment for that next week. A volunteer contacted me that week and let me know that Imposter had her surgery and was doing well. I was so excited knowing that she was coming home that next weekend!

 

 

 

Coming home!

 

October 20, 2001……The big day! I picked Imposter up that morning, finalizing the paperwork and going over some things with the volunteers at GFNC. She came out from the kennel and started wagging her tail as soon as she laid those deep brown eyes on me. She was so soft and shiny after having a bath. I bought her a coat and new collar (after reading up on them I knew she would get cold). I was told about greyhound-data and how to obtain her pet certificate from the NGA.

 

 

 

We went to the car, I opened the door and she hopped right in without any hesitation! I was a little surprised at that but she must have known! I decided to visit PetsMart before going home to get her an identification tag with my information. She loved that store, so many new smells and loose items to grab! As I was standing in front of that engraving machine I realized something, I just couldn’t call her Imposter. She was a petite, cute little brindle, not what you would expect a dog named Imposter to look like. I decided to get the tag with that name on it and bring her home. I didn’t want to rush naming her. I wanted her name to be something that we both would like for years to come.

 

 

 

We arrived home and I found out quickly that she did not know what stairs were or she flat out wouldn’t go up them. I picked up this 60 pound girl and carried her to the top of the four steps. I opened the door and let her explore. Within a few minutes she came zooming past me with a toy in her mouth, I remember that because she almost took me out coming around the corner at what I thought was top speed. She renewed the spirit in Bandit; he seemed to come to life again and was actually playing with her. I knew I had made the right decision!

 

 

 

After a couple days the name Emma came to my mind. She seemed like an Emma. She was laying in the floor one day and I decided to just say the name. I was utterly surprised at the reaction I got. After saying Emma, she raised her head up and looked at me, of course putting her head back down after. I had found her name, Emma it was going to be.

 

 

 

I decided to look at this greyhound-data website. I knew her racing name was Answertoimposter, with the letters all together like that. I found that she had quite a few brothers and sisters. I was also able to change her owner to me, which I thought was very cool! I looked at all her siblings and realized that none had the owner changed. I really was hoping to find a littermate close. I had noticed something there too, her birthday! I knew she was 2 years old when I adopted her, but didn’t realize she turned 2 on October 30th, just 10 days after I got her. By this time it was past her birthday and I felt bad. I decided to get her something, so I bought her a huge fluffy pet bed. She loved it! I had spent my first official holiday with my Emma girl!

 

 

 

Her first year in our home was pretty uneventful. We visited the kennel for play dates at least once a month and went on daily walks. I will admit that this pretty girl was spoiled rotten in her first year, although there was nothing wrong with that. Emma began sleeping in the bed with me and had taken over the couch by now. I was actually a little over protective of her for a while, I figured that she was fragile because she was so sleek. That all changed one Saturday at play group when I think I had my first heart attack. There was somewhere around 10 hounds running in a 5 or 6 acre fenced lot when the jumped a live rabbit. Now I saw two amazing things this day, one was really how fast a greyhound can run, and the other is what happens when a couple dogs come from a different direction. The result was a huge collision! We all went running but before I could even get to speed they were all up and running wide open again after the rabbit. I couldn’t believe my eyes; this little girl who I thought was fragile must be a tank! I could not believe that not one of the hounds involved was hurt, but nobody even had a scratch! And yes the bunny got away; he made it to the fence while the hounds were sorting out their dilemma.

 

 

 

The first Beach Bound Hounds trip

 

I had met several people and made friends with them by going to the kennel to play group. Sometime in 2003 I was told about an event at Myrtle Beach called Beach Bound Hounds. I was very interested, knowing that I could bring Emma to the beach and enjoy a vacation with her as awesome. I found all the information, signed up and made reservations at a place called the Mariner in N. Myrtle Beach. I had never been that far north before but was willing to give it a try.

 

 

 

September 2003 came along and the trip to BBH was made. I’m not going to lie, I thought I died and went to greyhound heaven. I attended a couple seminars and had a blast with the BBH folks. I knew then that I would be coming to this every year no matter what! I bought who knows how many collars that year. I was like a crackhead in a Colombian cocaine factory! That BBH trip was by far the best vacation I had been on in my life to that point. I met a lot of greyt new people and hounds. Emma did so well with the other hounds; it was like she already knew them. Seeing her with the hounds and the way she interacted with them set the second hound into motion.

 

 

 

Shaft

 

Sometime in 2003 I began helping out at the kennel, I took a class so I could become an adoption counselor. I truly enjoyed helping all the hounds at the kennel and knew that they appreciated what I was doing for them. One Saturday in the spring of 2004 a familiar face was back at the kennel, his name was Shaft. He was 10 years old and had been staying at the kennel on and off for several months due to his owner being sick. I had grown quite fond of Shaft; he was a dark brindle with a sweet white face. His ears were very unique, they bent towards the back and then folded and pointed straight forward. When he would have his ears at “full mast” the tips of his ears touched right in the middle of his head. I noticed Shaft was there for about 3 weeks when I finally had to ask, is he available? To my surprise he was, the lady who owned him had become too sick and couldn’t care for him anymore. I told the kennel director that I wanted to take him home. I left that day with him and Emma.

 

 

 

Emma found herself not being the only greyhound now, she started being more bossy and would low growl at Shaft from time to time. This settled down in no time and they became the best of friends. Emma loved Shaft. Shaft would dream, kick his legs and make noises when he slept. Emma would walk over to him and lick his head, as to check on him. They had bonded. During that time I had gotten married. Emma was funny; she liked my wife but wouldn’t let her sleep in the bed without growling at her. She acted like this for some time, as to say that I was hers. I knew this behavior was wrong and corrected it, Emma wasn’t happy but she slept in the crate if she growled.

 

 

 

We returned to BBH in 2005 with Emma and Shaft. This year the event was held at a different hotel due to the Mariner being demolished for condos. I also found a ceramic place that was in our agenda where I had tiles made with their paw prints. I remember thinking to myself; I am turning into a true greyhound owner like I’ve heard people talking about. I had purchased quite a few things with greyhounds over the 4 years I have had Emma. Again this year at BBH we met even more people and their hounds, I was part of the family now.

 

 

 

November 5, 2005 – The worst day of my adult life at this point

 

 

 

It started as a normal Saturday morning, but not for long. I woke up and went to let Emma and Shaft out. One thing was missing at the door, Shaft! I let Emma out and went to see where sleepy head was, it was not uncommon for him to be sleeping in the spare bedroom and not hear me and Emma get up. I checked that room and he was not there, I went to the bedroom and he was still on Emma’s fluffy dog bed. I noticed right away that his eyes were open but they appeared to be staring into space. I called him and he didn’t move at all. When I went over to him I knew something wasn’t right. He had urinated on himself, something he had never done and was breathing funny. I called our vet, which luckily is open on Saturdays. They told me to get him there as fast as I could. I scooped him up and got him there! His condition was getting worse as time went on. They did numerous tests and xrays. Doc came in and told me that he believes he has suffered a severe stroke. Doc consulted with a neurologist from the emergency clinic and they were in agreement. Shafts breathing had also gotten worse. I had to make the decision to make his suffering stop. That was by far the hardest decision I had ever had to make. My sweet old man was gone.

 

 

 

I returned home alone for the first time in 16 months, Emma was looking for Shaft. She wanted to go outside to look. I let her out and she ran all over the back yard looking. She came back to the door and had a strange look on her face. It amazes me what I can remember about these events, but this even hurt. I sat on the couch with Emma and cried. I had never had this happen so suddenly, Shaft was fine yesterday! It took Emma several weeks to start acting herself again.

 

 

 

My wife at the time had bought me a female white GSD to take place of Bandit, who died of old age at 13. During the time Emma was upset about Shaft the GSD, Jamin, was about 18 months old. I don’t really know what happened but sometime in November of 2005 Jamin attacked Emma. I was in another room and heard them start fighting. It was over by the time I made it to them and Emma had a horrible wound on her neck. I FREAKED out and had good reason to. We loaded Emma up and went to the E-Vet, of course it happened after regular vet hours. I was in amazement at the amount of damage done so quickly. At the E-Vet I was told that her skin was peeled away and that she had a puncture wound very close to her artery. The Dr. there said she would be ok and needed stitches and maybe a few staples. She fully recovered from that incident fairly quickly with only some scars to tell what happened.

 

 

 

Not too long after all that, spring of 2006 me and the wife separated. This was a rough time and it seemed that Emma always knew when I was down and would shower me with more love. She was attached to me like glue. Where I went Emma went for quite a long time. We moved and it ended up being just me, Emma and her skin sister Sierra for a while.

 

 

 

Me and Emma had to skip BBH in 2006 due to my job and some training that I was enrolled in. I really missed it and promised her that we would not miss anymore. In 2007 we returned to BBH and again had a great time!

 

 

 

 

 

Toby

 

 

 

August 16, 2008 we attended the Circle of Friends Open House. We heard that they had moved to a farm near Statesville,NC so we decided to go. I met some greyt people there, along with getting the 2nd hound bug again. Emma was now 9 years old, her face had turned mostly white and she was even more elegant than before. I just love the senior hounds! In September we brought Toby home. He is a wonderful light brindle large boy. He is a gentle giant. It was no time before Emma and Toby bonded! We went to BBH in 2008 together and had the best time ever there! Toby was an excellent addition to our family.

 

 

 

Me, Emma and Toby actually traveled to several places over the next few years. I would try to find places they could stay with me. I also began to volunteer weekly at Circle of Friends Greyhounds and became very close friends with the director, Julie. We started doing meet and greets at different locations and even a couple of the North Carolina Wine Festivals. Our family was getting along greyt! Toby is truly a perfect greyhound! They should mold all from him. He is a large, 82 pound boy but he knows how to handle all that body. He will gently crawl into my lap and go to sleep.

 

 

 

Emma has really enjoyed having Toby; he filled a place in her heart that Shaft left empty. She is a happier sometimes spunky girl again.

 

 

 

Emma’s 12th birthday party at the Farm

 

In October 2011 Emma, who over the last couple years had become Emma Doo Loo to me(just a little nickname), celebrated her twelfth birthday. Julie was having her fall open house the weekend before Emma’s birthday. I asked Julie if we could also celebrate Emma’s 12th and she wanted to! Now between getting Toby and now I have remarried and have another child, both of which Emma loves dearly. Emma’s birthday party was also shared with one of Julie’s dogs named BanSaw. My wife had a cake made in the shape of a bone for them. The open house and the birthday went off without a hitch. Emma’s actual birthday is October 30, so on that day I smothered her with love and thanked her for 10 years of unconditional love to me. I started getting emotional about this time because I knew that her years were getting fewer but she continued to show me her love and have a greyt life!

 

 

 

December 2011

 

During the first week of December 2011 I noticed that Emma seemed to be limping more than she ever had. She has had corns on both front feet for some time and I have learned over the years how to treat them. On around the 10th I saw her being lame on her right front leg, It was time to see Doc now. On the 12th she had an appointment. Doc checked her over really well and told me he wanted an x ray of her right upper leg because he felt something he didn’t like. I thought I was going to faint when I heard those words come out of his mouth. He knew that I was starting to panic and said that he wanted the x rays to see what it was, of course I agreed and they did the x ray. A Tech brought Emma Doo back to me and Doc followed about 5 minutes later. He told me that there was what appeared to be a lesion on her proximal humerus and that he wanted me to look at the x ray. When I saw that tumor on her bone I nearly fainted and was speechless. Here I was looking at a radiograph from my Emma Doo that contained something I have seen too many greys die from. There was a silent deadly killer on the loose inside of her. I felt sick and had to sit down. I remember going home and breaking down crying. I found myself in denial and sent OSU an email for a consult. I got an answer very quickly from them and it too contained the same grim news, it was cancer. I knew what our options were amputation and chemo or medicate and let it take its course. After several days of thinking and loving on Emma I realized that if I made her get an amputation and chemo it would be for my benefit, not hers. I had spent a little more than 10 years with her and could not stand the thought of putting her through that at her age. Believe me if she was 8 or 9, she would be a tripod, but I wanted her to have some dignity when she passed.

 

 

 

I waited on her hand and foot, keeping her medicine to a very strict schedule to ensure she was not in pain. Then one day shy of one month post diagnosis I knew she was in pain, she was limping pretty bad and panting. I made the decision that I did not want her to be in pain anymore. She gave me so much joy and happiness in my life I couldn’t let her feel the pain from this horrible disease. On January 11, 2012 was the day she would no longer have to suffer. I arrived at my vet and entered into their private room in the back of their facility. As I sat on the nice leather couch I began to second guess my decision, as I’m sure everyone does. Emma was standing in front of me getting her ears rubbed like she loved so much. She decided that she wanted on the couch with me. She got her front two legs up and for some reason changed her mind. When she hopped down with her front legs it happened. She screamed out and fell in the floor. I nearly broke my back I got off that couch so fast. It had happened; her right front leg broke at the cancer site. I was devastated; I got in the floor and lay down beside her. The Doc immediately gave her something to ease the pain. I had her head in my arms and looked her in the eyes, I swear I could feel that she was trying to tell me that I was doing the right thing. She went to the rainbow bridge in my arms and gave me one last kiss before she let go.

 

 

 

That was by far the worst day of my life to date. I thought losing Shaft was hard, me and Emma had a much deeper connection. I have thought long and hard about the events that afternoon and I am happy that her leg broke there instead of at home. She was able to receive pain meds very quickly and was not in pain when she left this world. I heart aches still today and I know that it will for many years to come. Emma showed me what unconditional love was and I in turn provided her with a posh and loving life. In the end I know without a doubt that she knew I loved her.

 

 

 

I wrote this as a reminder to me of all the greyt times we shared and some of the bad. I would not be who I am today without Emma having been in my life.

 

 

 

I love you Emma Doo Loo! Play and have fun with Shaft until I see you again beautiful!

 

 

 

Thank you to all my friends and family who have helped me through this time of sorrow. You have no idea how much better you make me feel. And to all the other hounds fighting the horrible Osteosarcoma and other types of cancer, be strong and fight! Ohio State University is also to be thanked, for their time and advice. A lot of people don't understand the bond, I'm sure someone has even said I was crazy about my dogs.......Well I am!

 

Emma (Answertoimposter) October 30, 1999 to January 11, 2012

 

You will be missed by many and loved by all! Godspeed my love!.

[Feisty49]

Love never ends but it's so sad that the object of your love is no longer with you. She was a wonderful girl and you were the best for her. You wrote wonderful, loving words and I hope they bring you some peace.

[greyhead]

What a love story, Jason. You two enriched one another's lives beyond measure. I'm so very, very sorry she had to leave now.

But what a ride, huh, Emma? Godspeed, sweetie.

[BatterseaBrindl]

Oh...I am so, so sorry for the loss of your Emma.

Love that captures the heart and touches the soul remains forever. Hold those special memories of Emma close to your heart.

[Guest madredhare]

What a lovely tribute. So many similarities to my own story of how I came to love these hounds. So sorry for your loss. There were many hounds there to greet her when she passed over.

[sabrina]

Sorry that the journey Emma & you started all those years ago has ended & she has crossed the bridge

 

[greytpups]

What a lovely tribute to Emma.

[Guest patgam]

What a wonderful life you and Emma shared. You brought me to tears. Hugs to you and your family. I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[Walliered]

Jason, so sorry about your Grey. Julie, at Circle of Friends, has a littermate to one of my hounds. His name is Blarney Boy and. I just love Julie.

[Houndtime]

Thank you for sharing Emma's story and your memories.

[LadyGrey]

Run free dear sweet wonderful Shaft - you wonderfu big boy!

 

Run free beautiful loving Emma - you are so missed and loved -dear girl!

 

God Bless you dear dad for not only loving these babies, but giving them such a premium time in life! They deserved it.

 

 

 

:f_red SHAFT - FREE AND STRONG AND HANDSOME

 

 

:f_pink EMMA - BEAUTIFUL AND SWEET AND SO INTUITIVE

[racindog]

What a moving tribute to a pair of remarkable hounds. It really reminds you to appreciate every moment you have with them. Thank you for sharing their amazing love.

"For love is as strong as death....

Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it.

If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised."-Song of Solomon 8:6-7

Edited January 19, 2012 by racindog

[robinw]

Thanks for letting us share your journey. Run free, Emma

[gracegirl]

What a touching memorial for such a beloved friend. RIP Emma.

[Maddiesmom]

Jason, what a wonderful tribute to your girl. I miss her too.

[Guest dragontearz]

What a tribute...I an so sorry for your loss.