Those of you who see my blog
know that I usually only post my cards on it, but I hope that you will indulge
me and appreciate that I am posting this picture of my beloved Maggie as a way
to heal the hurt and remember the time that we did have with this very special
dog.
Beagles have always been my
choice for a pet, friend and companion.
I’ve had a beagle in my life since I was 14 years old. The above beagle came into our lives as a
puppy of 6 weeks and just this past Thursday, we had to say good-bye to a very
special friend. Maggie went by many
names: Maggie-Girl, Maggie Mae, and my
husband’s name for her, Bug! Maggie was
one of the smartest beagles I had ever had the pleasure of sharing my life
with, she was a pure joy to have as part of our lives. She was a diva, an excellent rabbit hunter
and never had a problem getting along with other dogs (although she would
rather that they just leave her alone).
She even taught our other Beagle, Tucker how to hunt rabbits and they
made a great team.
Maggie was just 11 years old
when we lost her to the horrible disease of Kidney disease. I never knew that by just getting your dog
tested for Lymes disease can help in determine if your dog has kidney disease. Maggie didn’t have Lymes but she must have
had the bacteria that caused kidney disease.
The bacterial also causes poor teeth and excessive shedding which Maggie
also had. We had her to a local vet who never tested her for Lymes or even
suggested that we test her. I was so
disappointed in this vet that I went to another vet in another city and found
it was too late. If had I had went to a
better vet back in December (when I took her to the local vet) we might have
had a chance in stopping this awful disease.
You can be sure that Teddy will be tested just shortly when he goes to
his new vet. We figured out that all our
local vet was doing was treating the symptoms that WE told him about, he really
didn’t check Maggie apparently. In
December, we had Maggie to the local vet because “she just wasn’t
herself.” I suggested that perhaps it
was her teeth, so what does the vet do?!
He supposedly pulled 4 teeth, sent her home with pain meds and that was
it. Fast forward to February 25, Maggie
is more ill and can’t keep food down, we again took her to the local vet who
only prescribed anti-nauseous medication; and he never did any tests he did
take an x-ray of her stomach. By the
following Sunday, Maggie was now so week that we had to either carry her or
help her walk. We decided that we needed
to find out WHAT WAS WRONG! We made an
emergency visit to the new vet thirty minutes away on a Sunday (I knew it would
be expensive but I didn’t care), she took blood, checked Maggie over and then came
back with verdict that I didn’t want to hear. Kidney disease and it was severe
enough that all we could do was make Maggie comfortable, there was no help or
cure. I told this vet what the local vet
had done, the new vet couldn’t even find where any teeth had been pulled! Maggie only made it four more days. My husband and myself were devastated, we
blamed ourselves of not knowing what to do; although we did take her to the vet
and trusted him to know how to treat her.
So have your pets checked for
Lymes, its not that expensive and you’ll be so glad that you did if you find
out that they have kidney disease. I
wish I had.
In closing, I just want to
say: “I love you Maggie, and I’ll never
forget you, you were one in a million.”
As always, take care,
Cindy
2 comments:
Hi Cindy,
I read your story about Maggie and I feel so bad about you "baby" Irritated that the original vet didn't get it right, what a shame. I hope you get through the saddness of losing a great pet. I love our dog so much so I understand the love people have for their pets.
Diana from WI
Thanks so much Diana for your kind words. The hurt has eased but just re-reading my post brought tears to my eyes again. Our special dogs in out life mean so much to us, because they are special. Thanks again, have a good day.
Cindy
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