Goodbye, Aby
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:08 am
Aby, my 12 year old very special Shetland Sheepdog, who has been with me through so many life changes since my teenage years, passed over the bridge on Sunday evening. She had been hospitalized due to difficulty breathing and was on Oxygen support, though true to her nature she did not want anything around her head. I'm told she happily chewed her O2 line holding it with her paws spread like a hand as she was know for at home, and so she was moved up to an oxygen "hood" which she tolerated slightly better, and was able to rest. The doctors were unsure wether she had pneumonia or lung cancer, but there is no good treatment for lung cancer. So we treated it as if it were pneumonia, with aggressive antibiotics, but Aby declined very quickly. Within 24 hours she was struggling to breath, and we were scheduled to transfer to the specialist on Monday to biopsy for cancer. Aby waited until I was able to come onto my shift, I hugged her and petted her and 5 minutes later she stopped breathing. It was very quick.
Aby, I will miss my Abycadabra so much. You were so special to me, always a well behaved tolerant dog, even as a wild puppy. I remember how easy you were to house train, and how you were always following me no matter where we went you would never venture too far without waiting to be sure I was coming too. How you paced behind me in classic sheepdog herding style. I remember how you irritated Biff in your puppy days, and how you got so excited to see me when I came home from Africa, that you broke your leg. I remember how you wouldn't leave that little "ouch" cast on how I had to sit with you at 6 months to keep you calm and off your leg. I remember long walks around the lake in PA, and chasing birds and squirrels, how from the beginning I could walk you off lead and you would listen and stay within 6 feet on a walk. I remember how you played with your puppies and kept everyone in line rounding them all up with a squeaky toy to bring them back inside. I remember how you would sleep under Archer's crib when he was a baby, and guard with your sheepdog stare. How you tolerated the tail tugs and ear pulls and being used as a toddler walker, and how you tolerated all the new "big" dogs, and still stayed matriarch of the house. How you played with the other puppies and then pretended not to when we noticed. I remember how you rolled your eyes when Drake came home from the hospital, and you clearly thought "another one!" But you guarded him too. And tolerated his fur pulling and ear pulling, though you were getting older and less quick to hide. I remember how you loved to lay in the shade outside the house and watch the birds, and how you would run miles with the "big dogs" and ride on the 4-wheeler back home if you got too tired. I remember how you taught our oldest GSP's and lab to play retrieve. And your vendetta with Katie, and how you were always trying to steal "the good people food." I remember how you would sleep on the stack of floor pillows like the "Princess and the Pea" and any dirty clothes on the floor were obviously left there as a bed.
I will always love you Aby. You were with me for many of the best years of my life, and I am glad that you did not suffer long. I only wish I could have given you half of what you gave to me. I will look for you in Heaven, when I get there, because "If dogs don't go to heaven, then I want to go were they went!"
Chase the birds and squirrels in heaven and lie in the warm sun. Peace be with you, Aby. I love you.
from laurie
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/15987204@N04/2409227694/" title="Aby in the snow by extrafoxinsox, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3196/240 ... 1071ed.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Aby in the snow"></a>
Aby, I will miss my Abycadabra so much. You were so special to me, always a well behaved tolerant dog, even as a wild puppy. I remember how easy you were to house train, and how you were always following me no matter where we went you would never venture too far without waiting to be sure I was coming too. How you paced behind me in classic sheepdog herding style. I remember how you irritated Biff in your puppy days, and how you got so excited to see me when I came home from Africa, that you broke your leg. I remember how you wouldn't leave that little "ouch" cast on how I had to sit with you at 6 months to keep you calm and off your leg. I remember long walks around the lake in PA, and chasing birds and squirrels, how from the beginning I could walk you off lead and you would listen and stay within 6 feet on a walk. I remember how you played with your puppies and kept everyone in line rounding them all up with a squeaky toy to bring them back inside. I remember how you would sleep under Archer's crib when he was a baby, and guard with your sheepdog stare. How you tolerated the tail tugs and ear pulls and being used as a toddler walker, and how you tolerated all the new "big" dogs, and still stayed matriarch of the house. How you played with the other puppies and then pretended not to when we noticed. I remember how you rolled your eyes when Drake came home from the hospital, and you clearly thought "another one!" But you guarded him too. And tolerated his fur pulling and ear pulling, though you were getting older and less quick to hide. I remember how you loved to lay in the shade outside the house and watch the birds, and how you would run miles with the "big dogs" and ride on the 4-wheeler back home if you got too tired. I remember how you taught our oldest GSP's and lab to play retrieve. And your vendetta with Katie, and how you were always trying to steal "the good people food." I remember how you would sleep on the stack of floor pillows like the "Princess and the Pea" and any dirty clothes on the floor were obviously left there as a bed.
I will always love you Aby. You were with me for many of the best years of my life, and I am glad that you did not suffer long. I only wish I could have given you half of what you gave to me. I will look for you in Heaven, when I get there, because "If dogs don't go to heaven, then I want to go were they went!"
Chase the birds and squirrels in heaven and lie in the warm sun. Peace be with you, Aby. I love you.
from laurie
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/15987204@N04/2409227694/" title="Aby in the snow by extrafoxinsox, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3196/240 ... 1071ed.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Aby in the snow"></a>