Emily Hoop-Russeth, Golden Retriever, died at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 14 at the Atlantic Street Veterinary Hospital. She had a very bad epileptic seizure at home in the middle of the night. We took her to the hospital where she lived for about 14 hours more. I visited her about 8 hours before she died. We saw her after she died. Very peaceful.

She is survived by her cat Comet, her owners Kathy Russeth and Kerry Hoop, her friend Doug Fowley and his border collie Katie.

Emily came to us as a rescue dog in 2002. Her owners had dumped her in the night box at the Union City Pound. To say she had been poorly cared for would be an understatement. She was rescued by the Golden Retriever Rescue League. After a bath, vet visit and food, I was designated as her foster mom. Despite the mistreatment, she was loveable and sweet.

I even got her a dog handicap ramp so she could get in and out of my car. Yes, they have them.

Emily's favorite pastimes were eating (first on every Golden's list), sleeping, searching for cat poop (we live on five acres so she had lots to find), taking a sunbath in the backyard, following her owners around, eating watermelon, and chewing the fuzz off tennis balls. She would get it stuck in her teeth and need a good flossing. You can't let a girl go out in public with yellow gunk between her teeth.
She greeted each day with joy and enthusiasm. Emily devoted her life to pleasing the people closest to her. She understood when people were upset and always managed to find a way to reach out to them. To the end she was kind and loving to everyone. All she asked in return was a chance to do all her favorite things. It was very easy to love her.

She developed epilepsy about 10 months after she was rescued. She had a neurologist named Dr. Kortz (really good looking) who said the only way to be sure it was epilepsy was to do a CAT scan, ultrasound of her belly and spinal tap. Well, when you love a dog this much you just have to do it. The diagnosis was epilepsy. Note: they don't charge any less for these procedures for dogs. She endured a lot with the epilepsy. We searched for the right medication, and thought we had found it when she died. She never barked or complained the entire time. She also never lost her appetite. She took her pills with Breyers natural French Vanilla ice cream and had clover honey on her kibble. She deserved it all.

Her death leaves a hole in everyone's heart, but we know that she at least had a wonderful last few years. She will be missed. Her wonderful fluffy body was cremated. Her ashes have come back to the country where she lived out her days. Scattering will take place at a later date.