My little Misty… She was a very kind, gentle, Husky mix – who was my “runner.”. I have her birthday as October, 2003 – although I wasn’t real sure since she came from the shelter. She took an agility class once… since she was such a fast runner (I even had to put a GPS on her collar so when she “broke out” I would be able to track her!!) but because she had hip dysplasia pretty significantly – we didn’t continue with agility as she would come back from class very sore. So her job was to keep calmness in my house of “boys” – Baby Jake, Sir Lukas and Courageous Kaiden – and to guard the front and the side of the house (Jake had the back and other side!!)!

This past Monday (July 31, 2017)… she had trouble getting up and appeared to be in some pain when helped up. She stopped eating Tuesday night… which truly wasn’t like her (she was as focused on food as Sir Lukas is… and so you know what that is like!!). I ended up taking her to MedVet on Thursday afternoon (August 3, 2017) as she still just wasn’t right… and still hadn’t eaten. Did blood work (had it done just two weeks earlier at my vets) and there were significant changes that looked like it could be issues with her kidneys. Recommended an ultrasound – which we had done Friday afternoon. The results showed that there were not any major significant issues with her kidneys but there was fluid in the abdomen. They drew some fluid out and determined it was coming from the GI tract. Felt confident that there was a GI perforation. Exploratory surgery would be needed to find it and repair it. The GI perforation – they felt – most likely happened as a result of being on Carprofen (Rimadyl) for some time due to her issues with her hip and shoulder… we would have blood work done to make sure the liver+ were not being impacted – but a GI perforation?? Who would know…

She was nearly 14 years old… and I was concerned that she would not make it through the procedure or the recovery process. Also was going to be an issue controlling her pain… since she was so sensitive to drugs (i.e. tramadol, gabepenten, etc.) for her hip and shoulder. So the decision was made to let her move on…

I was able to take “the boys” to MedVet… visit her one more time and we all were present when she passed. Jake and Lukas were close… but gave her space; Kaiden laid down facing her… nose to nose… and pawed at her face. Very touching… When she passed… I was confident they knew it by the way they acted. I have never done this before… taking the other dogs. I think if at all possible – I will do that every time. It felt very right.

For me… it has been a very rough year for my pups. My Shadow passed – a beautiful black German Shepherd – and a very kind leader of her family of pups – a little over a year ago at the age of 16. Then there was Micah in early June… and now Misty – who was nearly 14 years old. I am very tired…

Misty girl… join your buddies/your family over the Rainbow Bridge – Michael; Kelly; Rocky; Shadow; and Micah – run free little girl – without your GPS!! We’ll meet once again! I miss you so… we all miss you so! I miss you all!