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.

Sheba

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Say hello to Sheba – one of our former pets, and one of my favorites. Sheba came from a neighbor when we lived in Corpus Christi, TX.

Who could not fall in love with those beautiful blue eyes?

My neighbor had a gorgeous Golden Retriever. Goldie slipped out one night and came home after a midnight rendezvous with a Chinese Shar-Pei. The result of this unplanned romance was 12 puppies. Our neighbor begged people to please take a puppy. They were all adorable, loveable and needed a home. Most of the puppies had short black hair while a few had long golden hair. They all had loose skin common in the Shar-Pei breed. Our neighbor was able to place all the puppies in new homes.

Sheba was a great retriever. We could play catch for hours. She enjoyed chasing a ball, she loved going on walks and she napped in my lap in the evening.

I tied her leash to my belt while we were outside doing chores so she would not run off. When I worked on my woodworking projects, she was either tethered to me or on a pet long-line in the back yard. After a while I became confident she would stick by my side so I allowed her to roam freely – off leash. She was pretty good about sticking close by. When she got out of my sight, I would call her name. She would come running – most of the time.

Our last house in Corpus Christi had a fenced yard. Sheba finally had a yard to freely roam and explore. She would follow me, step for step, as I mowed the yard. She remembered being by my side when she was younger.

Sheba was excited to see me. This is the face I will always remember as Sheba greeted me when I came home from work. Sadly, Sheba crossed the rainbow bridge at a young age after a short illness.

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

Patches

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Say hello to Patches our Calico cat. She has been with us since April 1998 and is the senior member of our fur babies. Like most cats, she is curious…

September 1999

and likes any kind of box.

April 2005

She loves naps…

September 2012

and loves clothes baskets especially if they have freshly dried clothes in them.

January 2013

If she cannot find a box, she will sometimes wear a hat.

October 2013

She is a faithful guard cat who protects our RV when we are away…

October 2013

and will let MeiLing join her in a sunny spot on the RV’s dash-board.

January 2014

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

Tuesday Pet Share

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I’ve taken the liberty to include some of our favorite pets we’ve worked with. Well, they may not actually be pets, but they found their way into our hearts.  During the summer of 2012, Carol and I parked our RV at Windy Valley Llama in Blue Ridge, GA.  We enjoyed our stay there, worked with some fantastic folks and fell in love with some beautiful llamas.

Say hello to Sushi. She was born on May 6, 2012 and Carol was there to help bring her into the world. That was one of the perks of working at Windy Valley Llamas.

Here is Sushi with Dee, her mama a few hours later.

Click here for the rest of the story about that eventful day.

We left Windy Valley in September, 2012. You can see that Sushi grew up a bit. It was hard for Carol and I to say good-bye.

We went back to Windy Valley Llamas in December 2013 for a short visit. Sushi remembered Carol. For that story click here.

It has been 2 1/2 years since we spent that wonderful summer there. We think of the llamas and share stories about our time at Windy Valley Llama often. Pam and Jerry Fink, owners of Windy Valley Llamas are great people to know. If you ever travel to Blue Ridge, Georgia, please stop by Windy Valley Llama. You will be treated like family.

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

Tuesday’s Post on Wednesday

I was so bummed about world news yesterday, that I just did not post. Today you are getting yesterdays post a day late.

Last week I connected with a Weekly Pet Share Event. You met Cody, our Golden Retriever. Today you will meet MeiLing. She is our newest pet.

She is not very modest when she sleeps. MeiLing is a Chinese Crested (powder puff) who adopted us in October 2012 when we were in Pipe Creek, TX. (Pipe Creek is just a short trip Northwest of San Antonio, TX.)

She and Cody (aka Big Dog) get along just fine. MeiLing’s small size does not keep her from taunting Cody.

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