by Diane Miller
October 29,2003 is a day I'll never forget. My sweet Boxer girl Audee became ill on Sunday Oct.26. I contacted my vet and given the description of her symptoms over the phone to him he suspected she was having kidney failure or had suffered a stroke. First thing the next morning I took her to my veterianrian. She was so severly anemic she was borderline transfusion. The doctor immediately admitted her for therapy to stabilize her and get her red blood cell pack count up so they could do additional tests to pinpoint why she became so anemic so fast.
Her stool told the story of where the bleeding out was occurring. Now, once we could stabilize her we could determine if she was suffering from intestinal ulcers or possibly a tumor. Her pack cell count came up some overnight with treatment but not enough to be in safe territory. I called twice a day to check on her progress.
On Wednesday Oct. 29 I called in the morning and she was still the same. She didn't get worse and she didn't improve any either except that she had vomited that morning. At the same time I also had a 17 year old cat that had reached the time where old age made it necessary to put her down. With my boxer girl in the hospital I was now faced with with the decision and the agony of euthanizing my beloved lifelong fur partner Tara who was a part of my life since she was two months old. I took Tara to the vet and I also wanted to see Audee. She was still very weak and did not stand up upon seeing me. They asked if I wanted to take her for a little walk since she was due to go outside for a potty break anyways and I said yes. When we came back into the building Audee collapsed on the floor. I told the vet tech to go get the doctor right now. We got her back into her crate with fresh bedding and I talked to her some more and petted her. I then went back out to the waiting area to deal with the emotions of losing my cat that afternoon and I also wanted to talk to the doctor some more about Audee. Just then the doctor came running out of the kennel area and told me that Audee had stopped breathing and asked if I wanted her resusitated. I was shocked and went numb. I quickly thought things through in a matter of 2 seconds, she was I guess 12 to 13 years old (we adopted her so we didn't know her true age)and her condition wasn't improving. Given the circumstances I came to the conclusion that she wasn't going to pull out of this amenia and that she was bleeding out pretty bad internally. I then looked up at the doctor and said "No,let her go." Stunned, I was faced with the death of my two precious fur babies within minutes of each other. I can't even begin to explain the agony and grief that overwhelms me. I have been crying a river of tears since that day and try to find comforting answers in the decisions I had to make so quickly that afternoon.
A little Bio: I adopted Tara in October of 1986 as a companion for my other adopted cat Kiri. They were the best of friends. Tara was alway raising cane and getting into things when she was younger. She had an insatiable curiosity even into her old age. At night she always laid by my right side or above my right shoulder and purred me to sleep. She had been through alot with me, moving to new residences 5 times, 2 marriages and one child. She and my son got along great. It always amazed my husband how she let that little kid pack her around the house or let him pile his blankets on her and take it all in stride.
Tara, I'll always love you and remember you. Whoever said black cats are bad luck didn't know what they were saying. I feel very lucky and fortunate to have shared our lives together.
Audee my Boxer girl came into our lives when we adopted her in November of 1998. She was abandoned by her previous owners when they moved. After the usual scuffles with new aqaintances she soon became fast friends with my two other dogs Deuce and Lacy. Deuce and Audee were inseperable. They were a perfect match since they were both brindle boxers except Audee had more flash. She loved going for long walks and taking rides with Deuce in the back of my husband's truck around the neighborhood. Audee adored being outside when the weather was nice and loved to show it by rolling around in the grass. She was who I affectionatly called my "Garden Girl" because wherever I went when I was gardening she was right there by my side. She always came into my son's room to lie down when he was a baby and I was feeding him and every night she would come into his room and lie on the floor while I read him a bedtime story.
Audee, sweetheart, my grief runs deep with your sudden and unexpected departure. I am grateful that one of my co-workers told me about you and that we shared these last 5 years together. You were such a sweet girl and to this day we all can't believe that someone abandoned you. Audee, you will always hold a special place in my heart and soul and I will greatly miss your bubbly and loyal personality.
Both of my girls are at a wonderful place called Rainbow Bridge. May their day be filled with warm sunshine, fun times and happiness. Good-Bye my very much loved fur babies, I will look forward to meeting both of you at Rainbow Bridge someday.