Waiting at the Rainbow Bridge
sue.t wrote: I'm wondering if we should also have a sticky that lets us post obituaries & pics of our dearly departed pets? Maybe a "Rainbow Bridge" sticky? It would be sad and happy. It is very sad...
Forum Discussion
This is a thread I wish none of us ever had to post on.
Teddy Bear
3/27/09 to 7/29/09
In 1999, we adopted 2 brothers, born on 3/27/99. They were the light of our lives, spirited and with awesome personalities. Bailey was the comic while Teddy played the role of straight man of the duo.
In late 2004 we learned Teddy was diabetic. Those first few months were difficult b/c his glucose wouldn't regulate, but on 1/05 vetsulin was introduced to the US market; Teddy was the first in our area to use it and it worked like a charm holding his blood sugar at perfect levels. The following month we noticed Teddy's vision seemed "off". A visit to our vet confirmed that due to those 3 months of glucose highs/lows Teddy had developed diabetic cataracts and an immediate lens replacement was necessary to save his vision. The operation went smoothly and once again Teddy overcame this hurdle.
In Nov. 06 we lost Bailey suddenly to IMHA, a disease we'd never heard of before and one that strikes the immune system. We worried how Teddy would react since they had been together all of their lives, but our little soldier managed.
From 1/08 to 4/08 Teddy began having health problems, and after running many tests our vet could find no cause. In late April as I was petting Teddy I felt 2 small lumps under his jaw; which we learned a few days later were symptoms of lymphoma. We began chemo within days and hoped we'd be one of the lucky ones who gets the gift of a long remission; unfortunately Teddy had "t" cell which is more aggressive and the remission was short lived. For 15 months we tried various protocols, which gave us more time with our boy. Thru it all our little soldier took the many clinic visits and meds in stride.
We had a trip planned, which meant spending a month in Florida. Teddy was doing well and both our internist and local vet saw no reason to cancel, so on July 3rd we left on vacation. For the first 3 weeks of the trip Teddy did well and unless we told somebody Teddy had an illness they'd never have guessed it by watching him. During that last week we could feel his lymph nodes beginning to get larger, then late on 7/28 we began seeing a decline; deciding to be cautious we headed home the following morning. Midway home, during a potty break, his rear legs gave out from under him. As we got off of I-10 in Mobile, which is 8 hours from home, we had a blow out. While we waited for mobile repair service to come our Teddy's breathing became labored and within minutes he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Based on what we've learned afterwards, the cancer had entered his blood stream.
Our schnauzer mafia has lost their "don" and our doggie choir has lost their lead voice. He was such a brave little guy who fought and overcame so much but his little body couldn't beat that cancer. Needless to say we are broken hearted. RIP little Teddy Bear, and tell Bailey we miss him too.....until we see you again, we love you!
Teddy Bear
3/27/09 to 7/29/09
In 1999, we adopted 2 brothers, born on 3/27/99. They were the light of our lives, spirited and with awesome personalities. Bailey was the comic while Teddy played the role of straight man of the duo.
In late 2004 we learned Teddy was diabetic. Those first few months were difficult b/c his glucose wouldn't regulate, but on 1/05 vetsulin was introduced to the US market; Teddy was the first in our area to use it and it worked like a charm holding his blood sugar at perfect levels. The following month we noticed Teddy's vision seemed "off". A visit to our vet confirmed that due to those 3 months of glucose highs/lows Teddy had developed diabetic cataracts and an immediate lens replacement was necessary to save his vision. The operation went smoothly and once again Teddy overcame this hurdle.
In Nov. 06 we lost Bailey suddenly to IMHA, a disease we'd never heard of before and one that strikes the immune system. We worried how Teddy would react since they had been together all of their lives, but our little soldier managed.
From 1/08 to 4/08 Teddy began having health problems, and after running many tests our vet could find no cause. In late April as I was petting Teddy I felt 2 small lumps under his jaw; which we learned a few days later were symptoms of lymphoma. We began chemo within days and hoped we'd be one of the lucky ones who gets the gift of a long remission; unfortunately Teddy had "t" cell which is more aggressive and the remission was short lived. For 15 months we tried various protocols, which gave us more time with our boy. Thru it all our little soldier took the many clinic visits and meds in stride.
We had a trip planned, which meant spending a month in Florida. Teddy was doing well and both our internist and local vet saw no reason to cancel, so on July 3rd we left on vacation. For the first 3 weeks of the trip Teddy did well and unless we told somebody Teddy had an illness they'd never have guessed it by watching him. During that last week we could feel his lymph nodes beginning to get larger, then late on 7/28 we began seeing a decline; deciding to be cautious we headed home the following morning. Midway home, during a potty break, his rear legs gave out from under him. As we got off of I-10 in Mobile, which is 8 hours from home, we had a blow out. While we waited for mobile repair service to come our Teddy's breathing became labored and within minutes he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Based on what we've learned afterwards, the cancer had entered his blood stream.
Our schnauzer mafia has lost their "don" and our doggie choir has lost their lead voice. He was such a brave little guy who fought and overcame so much but his little body couldn't beat that cancer. Needless to say we are broken hearted. RIP little Teddy Bear, and tell Bailey we miss him too.....until we see you again, we love you!
