Grief Support≡
Memorials≡
Boutique≡
Our Brodie boy...
by Robin & Gene Burdick
Our boy Brodie 1988-2003
We adopted our little guy in January 1990 from a local rescue group. He was about 1.5yrs old at the time. Brodie was a beautiful black & tan cocker. He loved is new home with us and brought us much joy & unconditional love. He loved to chase birds & squirrels in the yard. He loved to jump off the back of the couch, he once jumped into a lake to chase ducks after I let go of his leash. He came out very wet & dirty, but happy.
After about a year, we adopted a female cocker Shelby to keep him company. They grew to love each other and spend 9 wonderful years together as mates. Both were fixed so no puppies, but Brodie was always trying anyway!
We had to let Shelby go in October 2000 as she had a tumor on her liver and was declining rapidly. Brodie grieved just like we did. He was so miserable we got another female cocker Maisy a week later. They grew to love each other quickly and the 4 of us had a wonderful life together.
About a year ago, Brodie got sick. We took him in for many tests and found he had liver disease. He could no longer eat real dog food and we had to make him chicken & rice & veggies. He was a trooper and kept on going as long as he could. Last December we decided to get another Cocker and this time got a puppy. We named him Rufus and when we brought him home, Brodie decided he was going to teach this new kid what was right and what was wrong. The 3 of them quickly bonded and had some great fun together.
Brodie continued to decline and lost his hearing. He lost weight, his coat was thinning and no longer the beautiful coat it used to be. On Wednesday 6/25/03 we came home from work and he was in bad shape. Hed been vomiting up his food and was very listless and not breathing well. We rushed him to the emergency vet and she said his liver & white blood counts were quite elevated. She gave him fluids as he was dehydrated and an injection of antibiotics. We took him home and watched him closely all night. He had uncontrollable diarrhea and was a sick little guy. He did not improve much the next day and we took him to our vet on Thursday 6/26/03.
The vet said there was really not much hope. His heartbeat was very erratic and if they gave him more fluids and steroids, he might make it another few days. We knew right then it was not fair to him. He couldnt even make it up the small step into the house on his own. We decided we needed to let go and asked the vet to give him the injection.
I held him in my arms and Gene stood in front of him. He went very quickly and peacefully. We gave him one last kiss and left. I wanted to scream, PLEASE bring him back to us, but I knew it could not be done. We miss him so much, its unbearable at times. Maisy & Rufus are also sad and know something isnt right.
Thank you Brodie for 13 wonderful years of love & kisses. You were the best and our first child. We love you forever and know we will see you again. We know you are happy now and you & Shelby are together again.
Comments would be appreciated by the
author, Robin & Gene Burdic
321-784-1468 Tech Support
