Patches At The Rainbow Bridge

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I introduced you to Patches on a post February 17, 2015. I certainly never expected to be writing this post three weeks later. This past Saturday, March 7th, we took Patches to the vet for her last visit. I will warn you now, that this is not going to be a pretty post. I will understand if you choose to not read the rest of it.

In October 2014, Patches had her annual physical. Other than the vet treating her for eczema, she was fine. Shortly after that post in February, Patches began to develop difficulty in eating. She was already missing most of her teeth due to an infection we discovered four years ago. Apparently, in the last few weeks she lost all but two teeth. For the last two weeks we tried a variety of things to get her to eat but nothing worked. We took her to a local vet who prescribed an oral pain medication and appetite stimulants. Patches improved for a short while, then she regressed to a point where she would not eat anything at all. She even refused to be hand fed. We knew it was time.

We already had an appointment for Patches on March 7th, but that was for a followup on her previous appointment. Instead of a followup, we chose to do the humane thing and help her meet up with Buddy, Sheba, and many of our other pets at the Rainbow Bridge. It was a sad to say  good-bye to our faithful Patches, and it was even more difficult as we held her in our arms as she took her last breath. We stayed with her for a while as we shed tears of sorry over her.

We talked about how I resisted Carol bring her into our home in April 1998. We laughed at the funny things we recalled especially Patches climbing into suit cases as we packed for various trips; then cried a bit more. We discussed how to deal with her body. In our house in Corpus Christi, we had a special spot for our pets in our rose garden in back yard near our deck.  Sheba and Buddy are buried there along with a few kittens who just could not muster the strength to continue. (Carol fostered stray kittens for a short time.)

We decided we would bury Patches at Adobe Pet Cemetery in Amarillo. Eventually the waves of grief left us momentarily so we could leave the vet’s office. We contacted the pet cemetery to make arrangements.

The owners called us Sunday after church to let us know that they had her remains and would have her grave ready for us to view on  Monday.

Monday morning, we drove out to the cemetery to meet with the owner and to see where they placed her. We are pleased with our decision and are pleased with what they have done with her site. Next week, we will make a final trip to the cemetery to place a permanent marker that I will make for her.

RIP Sweet Patches 4/24/98 – 3/7/15
You brought us joy.

Many people cannot understand our grieving over the loss of a pet. We love our pets and consider them an extension of our family. To lose a pet is to lose a family member. That is why we grieve. We will be leaving a part of our hearts in Amarillo, TX when we leave at the end of March. Our journey goes on. We leave with the memories of our Patches.

If you’ve never heard of the Rainbow Bridge, it certainly helps pet owners deal with the grief associated with pet loss.

So long sweet Patches. The grief will go away, but our memories of you will remain forever.

Thanks for stopping by, y’all come back now.