Rachel gets restless at times. She'll go from one place to another, and lay down for a moment or two, then move around, over and over. She doesn't really seem to spend much more time sleeping, though. Maybe a little, but not too much. She still bounds around the house when excited, which is often! She's become very bossy about getting biscuits. She's always been one to tell me when she wants one, but now she's eating a jar of them in a couple of days. I can't help but give in to her. I'm watching her weight and diet as much as I can, but I want her to be happy, too!
Here is a picture of Rachel taken in March '99 by my son. I was out of the house, and Rachel disappeared, and here is where he found her! Her bed is right there next to the basket, as you can see. She's always liked sleeping or resting in enclosed little spaces! Isn't she precious?
Rachel went to the photography studio this summer, and here are some of the pictures that were taken. It was pretty hard to get a nearly blind and deaf dog to pose, so the photographer had quite a job, but she did well!
Early 2000: My sweet Rachel has changed so much this past year. In the latter part of 1999, I made the decision, with the help of my vet, to put her on a medication called Clomicalm. She was so hyper that she was constantly hurting herself, though she really didn't act like she was being hurt. I know she had to be, though. She would jump at me dozens of times a day, with such force that she would fall over backwards afterwards. She would do this on the staircase, even, and then go rolling down the stairs. I tried to be alert for when she was doing it, but it was not always easy. The reason she would leap at me was to get a treat, whether or not I had one! I've never been in the habit of carrying treats up and down the stairs! She was getting plenty of treats a day, but I can't even begin to count how many times she'd leap up and mouth our hands looking for another one. If we were holding any object, it would get mouthed. She was so restless, we could not relax around her. She would pace around the room unrelentingly until we'd about go crazy. She did this at night, too. The Clomicalm made a world of difference in her. The very first day after giving it to her, she was so calm that I didn't think it was the same dog!
She's not really on the clomicalm right now, however. The vet doesn't think it is what made her lose a lot of weight, but I was still worried. She's like skin and bones now. We've had $150 worth of tests run, and nothing is wrong with her. She is very healthy for a dog of her age! She eats plenty during the day, and potties plenty of times, so I know she is eating well enough. She ALWAYS has food available to her. As a matter of fact, she has dishes of food on both floors of the house, and jars of biscuits in four different rooms! After two months on the clomicalm, she is still much calmer than she was in early November. It is now mid-February, and she's been off it nearly a month. She has her days that she makes me wonder if I shouldn't put her back on it, but still she's better than she was.
March 25th, 2000:
Yesterday was one of the saddest days of my life. My precious, Pawfect Girl was put to sleep. It was such a difficult decision to make. It was nearly a year in the making, but even now, I ache that I had to make it. I miss her so. I know that if there really is a Rainbow Bridge, my darling girl is there. I hope so much to be reunited with her some day. My home feels so empty without her, and my heart aches. I miss petting her silky head, and her adorable face. I miss that happily wagging tail, and the way her fur was wavy after a bath.
About a year ago, Rachel started doing her business on our deck. It's a full storey off the ground, and I understood that she must be a little frightened of going down the stairs outside, though she used them inside all the time. Whenever possible, we took her down to the yard ourselves. Later in the year, I purchased a tie out chain, though it isn't really a chain, but a vinyl cord. I placed it in the front yard, where she did not have to go up and down stairs. However, by this time, she'd got to the point where she did not want to go on the grass at all. She would do her business on the driveway, or worse, in the garage. Throughout the winter, she acted odder and odder about her potty business. She never needed to go out during the night, no matter how many hours we slept. She was always in my room with me, with the door shut, and I am a light sleeper. She was rarely anxious to go out in the morning, even at the end. She never once made a mess in our bedroom.
This past month or so, Rachel got to the point where no matter how long she was outside, she might or might not do her business. She could be out a full three hours and not go, but make a mess inside within minutes of being brought in. But not always! Sometimes she would come in from outside, and walk around the house for an hour or more before she did anything. I didn't know what to do. She never went in our bedroom, during the day or night. Or the kitchen. But she went in almost every other room of the house. Even right beside her food and water dishes. She must have been very confused. I just don't know how to explain it. She also, the past few months, would run around while she was pottying. Drop a lump here, then run in a circle, and sometimes drop more lumps as she ran. Then she was running over the lumps, smashing them into the floor/deck etc. She required almost daily baths. I didn't know how to intervene with her business. Sometimes, as I mentioned before, she could be outside for an hour or more without pottying, or before she'd finally go. I could not drop everything and watch her. :( When left at home, sometimes even for only an hour or two, (she was always in the laundry room when we were gone), she would do her business, then leap in it over and over. What a mess that was. It would take an hour or more to fully clean the cement floor, as you can imagine.
She did not seem to be unhappy, or in any pain. She didn't always seem happy, of course. She had many times where she seemed confused. She didn't seem to want to be cuddled or petted as much. She always wanted her biscuits, so we gave her handfuls of them throughout the day. If she wanted them, she got them. If that was the way she wanted me to show her my love, then she got it! I very much missed snuggling with my darling. Occasionally she would allow it. She was definitely unhappy to be getting so many baths. She never liked baths, but tolerated them well most of her life. It turned into almost torture for her, and me as well. Here was my sweet smelling dog, that only needed occasional baths, and now needing them almost daily, and often smelling like she needed another one soon after the first, from walking through her puddles and other messes.
The last few days of her life, she became increasingly restless again, and I had to give her the clomicalm to settle her down so that any of us could sleep.
I decided that Rachel's last day would be a memorable one for her. I didn't want her to be stressed out by going to the vet, which upsets her. Her vet that she'd gone to for 8 years would not do a housecall. I was so disappointed. So, I called the vet that treats my parrots. The only reason he was not Rachel's vet, was because she had been going to her vet for 4 years already, and they were fantastic with her. I saw no reason to change! Even though Rachel did not know him, I knew him to be a very kind and caring man. His name is Dr. Dan Bowen, and if you are in the Omaha area, I highly recommend him for all your pets. His clinic is called Companion Animal Hospital.
We scheduled Dr. Bowen's visit for 3:00 in the afternoon. That day, my son and I spent taking turns, and sometimes both of us together giving her all the love we could possibly show her in such a short time. She got so many treats that she got to where she would take one in her mouth, and just hold it there for awhile, but not eat it. She was so precious! We took a lot of pictures, and I will put some of them up on her site tomorrow night. Some of them were from the regular camera, so they will have to be developed and scanned first. We took her outside, and walked her around the yard, and petted her, and loved on her. When she wanted to take a nap, I let her take one for awhile, but I cuddled her while she slept.
Dr. Bowen and technician were wonderful. They spent a few minutes
petting her and talking to her and us. Then we discussed how best to do
it. It didn't go really well. I opted to hold her, and I had her
cuddled in my arms, and was talking to her when he gave her the shot.
She jumped, and I guess the needle moved enough so that she didn't get
it where it was supposed to go. So, she got a little agitated, as she
does when she gets shots, and a couple of minutes later was trying to
get out of my arms. :( I got a few extra minutes to tell her how much
I loved her, but it was worse for her, because she had to get the shot
again. The second time, the tech held her, and I had my hands on her,
petting her and continuing to tell her what a wonderful girl she is.
This time it went in properly, and everything happened so quickly. As soon as the injection was through, I
snatched her up into my arms and kept telling her I loved her. It was
so hard. I held her for quite awhile after she was gone. Doctor Bowen
and the tech went to visit the birdies before they left. Simon would
have been very upset had they not. Simon had sat down here during the
whole event, on one of the play cages. He seemed to understand
something was going on, and stayed there, sitting quietly, where normally he would have
been flying over to Dr. Bowen and loudly talking or whistling. As soon as it was all over, and my son and I were somewhat calm, Simon did fly over to Dr. Bowen and talk to him.
I laid Rachel down on her bed, which we'd brought downstairs to the
playroom, while we waited for Tully's to arrive. Tully's is a local kennel that does cremations. I sat down there most
of the time with her, and petted her beautiful silky head. It was
almost as hard to have the Tully representative take her away as it was
to have her receive the injection. :(
I ordered a beautiful ceramic box for Rachel. She will continue to sleep next to my bed every night, as she has done for 14 years. I think that is the way she would want it. I know it is the way I want it! The box is pictured on one of her memorial pages.
Rachel's Memorial awards and Rainbow Bridge Webrings have their own Special page. Updated on June 2nd with pictures of some memorials I have at home to remember her.
Please continue to visit Rachel's Pawfect Pages in the future. While my precious darling is no longer with me, her memory will live on in these pages. When I can do so, I will get more of her photographs scanned and placed on this page, as well as more stories of her life.
Here are some photos I took with the digital camera on her last day.
It is now 2007. Seven long years without my precious girl. There is not a day goes by that I do not think of her, and miss her dearly. Her bed still lies beside mine, and her ceramic box sits upon my dresser. Rachel, you will always be in my heart. I hope you are truly at the Rainbow Bridge, having a wonderful time. You are my Pawfect Girl!
New, added as of April 2001, a photo of Rachel made into a jigsaw puzzle! Since this page is so large, I added it to her another one of her pages. Don't miss it!
My pet pages would not be complete without telling you about the dogs I had when I was a child.
Click on the little picture of the two to hear all about them. Also on their page is a wonderful poem about dogs, that you won't want to miss!
