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Scarlett (10/10/02 - 08/31/13)


dmswartzfager

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As soon as I saw Scarlett's picture posted here on GreyTalk a little over a month ago, I fell in love. Who wouldn't? She's so stinking adorable.

 

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SHUG was kind enough to approve us to adopt very quickly, much to her cat-owning foster mom's relief, since it turned out Scarlett was VERY interested in cats. So, Miss Scarlett came home to us on July 29, 2013, two weeks after we had lost Symbra to bone cancer.

 

She seemed a bit shell-shocked when she moved in, but she had been through a lot this year - her former adoptive dad had died in February, and she fell into a depression, then she was dropped off at the Mobile adoption kennel, where she was being fed hamburgers to try to keep some weight on her, and then moved up to Maryland to a foster home and then to us.

 

But when we let her out in the "big yard" as we call it, she flew... no hesitation, she just took off and ran huge laps.

 

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She spent a lot of the first week on the floor, but eventually started using the beds about half the time.

 

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We found out that first week that she had kidney issues and was losing protein in her urine; we put her on benazapril to try to reduce that protein loss. We also learned that she would come up lame after 10-15 minutes of walking, or about 2 minutes of running, and decided we would take some radiographs while she was under for her dental and see what was going on. But two weeks after she joined us, she took only a very short romp in the small yard and came up very lame. I took her for radiographs the next day, and still not sure what happened, but upon having her very mild sedation reversed, she was very painful and didn't want to stand. I thought we were going to have to euthanize her that night, because there didn't appear to be anything really wrong on the rads, but we took her to the ER and they put her on a fentanyl drip and we scheduled a neurology consult for the next day.

 

The neurologist was able to quickly diagnose her as having aortic thromboembolism, secondary to her protein losing nephropathy. One of the first proteins lost in the urine and not retained by the body is antithrombin III, which functions to prevent clots from forming where they should not. So her body had clots in the distal aorta, which they ultrasounded to verify. She had a lot of clots, but the doctors were hopeful that by getting her on an anticoagulant therapy, she'd eventually get rid of her current clots and not form any new ones.

 

We were cautioned not to let her exercise too much, but it was clear she wanted to be outside and enjoying the sights and smells. So the cart came out of retirement, and she very quickly learned that riding was not a bad thing at all.

 

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I also worked to show her that being on the couch is not a bad thing.

 

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Otherwise, she was doing well and getting used to us. She was starting to come and greet us at the door when we got home, and was very waggy, and did some prancing around. We weren't allowed to have a door between her and us, otherwise she would stake out the door and whine. I was feeling good that she was learning that we were her forever home and she wasn't going anywhere else.

 

Then yesterday, we loaded the girls up in the van to get some more food for them. While on the way there, Scarlett was getting more and more restless and not wanting to use her left leg. We stopped in front of the store, and I climbed into the back to look at her, and could not detect a femoral pulse. So we went straight to the ER that had seen her almost two weeks ago, and they gave her some pain medicine, and said they'd get in touch with the cardiologist with whom we had been working (same ER hospital is also the referral practice we'd been using for Scarlett). The ER doc called around 7 and gave us the option to bring her home and I could do the heparin therapy the cardiologist recommended, but we opted to leave her there on a fentanyl drip and set up a time to visit at 9 pm.

 

Instead of taking us back to her when we got there, the ER doc came up to us and told us there was nothing further to be done for Scarlett - her rear legs were cold and it looked like the linings of her intestines had died and were sloughing off, from the lack of blood to the rear half of her body. So they moved us into a room with her and we loved on her and let her be released from her failing body.

 

We wish we could have seen her run just one more time - she was so happy then. Run fast and free at the Bridge, baby girl. We love you.

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Edited by dmswartzfager

Deanna with galgo Willow, greyhound Finn, and DH Brian
Remembering Marcus (11/16/93 - 11/16/05), Tyler (2/3/01 - 11/6/06), Frazzle (7/2/94 - 7/23/07), Carrie (5/8/96 - 2/24/09), Blitz (3/28/97 - 6/10/11), Symbra (12/30/02 - 7/16/13), Scarlett (10/10/02 - 08/31/13), Wren (5/25/01 - 5/19/14),  Rooster (3/7/07 - 8/28/18), Q (2008 - 8/31/19), and Momma Mia (2002 - 12/9/19).

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My heart is broken for you. I am so very sorry. :grouphug

Godspeed Scarlett, run fast and free again sweet girl.

Old Dogs are the Best Dogs. :heartThank you, campers. Current enrollees:  Punkin. AnnIE Oooh M

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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:cry1 So heartbreaking. You were wonderful to her, and she was so happy to be in your home! I'm so very sorry it couldn't have been for longer. :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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What a clever girl to find her way to her PERFECT second forever home. I'm so sorry you didn't have more time together.

Valerie w/ Cash (CashforClunkers) & Lucy (Racing School Dropout)
Missing our gorgeous Miss
Diamond (Shorty's Diamond), sweet boy Gabe (Zared) and Holly (ByGollyItsHolly), who never made it home.

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I'm so very sorry. You gave her a wonderful last few weeks of her life.

Donna
Molly the Border Collie & Poquita the American-born Podenga

Bridge Babies: Daisy (Positive Delta) 8/7/2000 - 4/6/2115, Agnes--angel Sage's baby (Regall Rosario) 11/12/01 - 12/18/13, Lucky the mix (Found, w 10 puppies 8/96-Bridge 7/28/11, app. age 16) & CoCo (Cosmo Comet) 12/28/89-5/4/04

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So very sorry for the loss of your beautiful Scarlet.

You gave her a lifetime of love in a very short time

:bighug

 

Nancy...Mom to Sid (Peteles Tiger), Kibo (112 Carlota Galgos) and Joshi.  Missing Casey, Gomer, Mona, Penelope, BillieJean, Bandit, Nixon (Starz Sammie),  Ruby (Watch Me Dash) Nigel (Nigel), and especially little Mario, waiting at the Bridge.

 

 

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We all wanted there to be a happy ending to Scarlett's story, but maybe there is. If there is an afterlife, maybe her spirit has found a way to that of her first adopter's. All our sympathies on your loss.

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Ellen, with brindle Milo and the blonde ballerina, Gelsey

remembering Eve, Baz, Scout, Romie, Nutmeg, and Jeter

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Guest OPointyDog

I'm so sorry you couldn't have her in your life for longer - what a beautiful girl and she looked so happy! You gave her a wonderful gift at the end of her life and she was loved.

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What a sweet, sweet girl. I'm so sorry you didn't have more time to spend together, but she was happy and loved in her last weeks. Godspeed, Scarlett.

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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My sympathies for your loss. What a sweet face she had! She was lucky to have you, although I'm sorry your time together was so short. Rest well, Scarlett.

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Rachel with littermates Doolin and Willa, boss cat Tootie, and feline squatters Crumpet and Fezziwig.
Missing gentlemen kitties MudHenry, and Richard and our beautiful, feisty, silly
 Sweep:heart

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