Shelby Crossed the Bridge

I have always loved animals. I got the gene from my Grandma Kemper who pretty much made friends with anything that had four legs and she could just "talk" to them. No one else in my family got the blessed gene and I know if you don't have it, it can be a bit misunderstood. But when I got out on my own I wanted a dog. And I'm guessing much to the sighs from those without the gene, I got myself a puppy and 14 years later, she is laying at my feet and we are mourning the loss of her dog sister together.

Thirteen years ago my husband, sister and I were running errands and I ran into PetSmart for dog food. It was adoption day and several rescues and shelters were there. I wandered around looking at them. Sad little eyes begging you to take them home. In a big crate toward the back of the group was a little yellow lab and a Pointer puppy. I don't know why, but I couldn't leave that store without her that day. So off I went with dog food, another crate, a collar, leash and a puppy. Happy as could be we loaded all of us into my husband's Camaro (yes it all fit but barely!) and with my poor sister squished in the back we headed home.

She was adorable and I was in love and my Katie girl had a playmate. She had a rocky go at first, surviving Parvo but was pretty healthy after that.

Shelby turned into a long legged deer of a dog with a tail that swept up. She loved to point birds and rabbits and would try to catch flies that made their way into the house. All you had to do is ask, "Shelby! Where's the birds?" and she would instantly go into hunt mode looking this way and that.

Birds!

Rabbits!

Birds!

She didn't like the cold and loved a good sunbeam. She could amazingly wriggle her 65lb body under my bed for a nap or just to hide. She was great with my kids and they loved her to pieces. She didn't mind the foster dogs we had in and out of our house over the years. She was picky about her food and her treats and loved a good chewy bone. When we took her on walks, she had to be in front, leading the way. She had super soft ears that she could shake so stinkin fast they made a flapping sound on her head and oh my that whip of a tail! And she HATED cameras. All I had to do was bring the case out of my room and off she would go to hide, usually under the bed.  She did not like having her picture taken at all!

Because of Shelby, I got involved with PointerRescue.Org in 2005. Working with these dogs has been so rewarding. They are more than just hunting dogs, they are wonderful family members. High energy, yes. But they are also major couch potatoes! Please check out their website at www.pointerrescue.org.

All was well with Shelby until the first part of April. It seems overnight she developed a large mass on one of her hind legs. It was ugly and she couldn't leave it alone. I wasn't sure if it was there because she was licking (which she has been known to do) or if it was actually a mass so our vet put her on some meds and we headed home for some observation. Because the good Lord built her with a long neck and even longer legs, she could get to the sore regardless of what I put on her head or over the leg. She was Houdini! I was beside myself trying to get this thing healed up so we could get back to normal. It wasn't happening so back to the vet we went. Her doc and I decided to take the mass off and had pathology done. She felt it was just inflammation. It wasn't attached to anything (bone) and felt very smooth. In the back of my mind I had a bad feeling and it was confirmed through pathology. She had a very aggressive mass cell tumor. Her mitotic index, how fast her cells were changing, was 26 (anything over 5 is not good) so our vet felt it had spread already and only gave her a couple of months at most.  I was sad. Very sad. Two weeks post surgery, I was walking her in to have her sutures removed when I saw another growth on her leg. And found two more as I sat with her in the exam room.  It was spreading fast. The growths kept coming and she became increasingly uncomfortable.  I was getting up every hour or two at night to take her out to potty or she couldn't hold it. We were both exhausted.

Yesterday when I woke up, my Katie girl and Shelby were laying back to back, leaning on each other sleeping. They loved each other but never slept anywhere near the other. I just felt something was up. She wasn't feeling very good at all and Katie just stayed with her all day. I knew it was time for her to be in a happier place. It broke my heart but I owed her.  She crossed the bridge with me by her side.

This has been an experience for our family. My son is old enough to understand what happened to a certain extent and asks some pretty tough questions I have to find the right answers for. They see me grieve and I have tried to explain to them my sadness. We have a wonderful dog sitter who has been taking care of the girls when we are gone for a couple of years now. Not only does she nanny pets but is also a counselor and gave me some great ideas on what to do to help the kids (and me). At her urging I made a picture book of photos of the dogs over the years so they could look at them whenever they wanted. And she also recommended a book called Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant that is really wonderful. My son especially has enjoyed looking at the photo book and I think Rylant's book gave him some of the answers his little mind needed.

I owe a big thank you to our dog sitter, Miss Lynn. You know I love ya. And to our veterinarian, Dr. Cindy, at Chisholm Trail Vet Clinic who has been wonderful through all of this, thank you bunches.

Love my girls..... and I miss my dog.


This is a poem that gets passed around in the rescue that we all use to help us get through the loss of our dogs. And I love it.

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together.....
-Author Unknown