by mike cormack
through all the good and bad times,through thick and thin,she was there.rescued from an animal shelter at age one,it was later discovered she had respiratory distemper.by then i was way too attached to just give up on her.the vet and i went through a regimin of 1 shot of a powerful antibiotic for ten days.after the initial first series were given,3 days later the symptoms returned.my vet informed me that only 10 more could be given, otherwise a severe kidney problem could result.a miracle occurred.she survived.God had answered my prayers.He knew we were meant to be together for the ride.11 more years passed.all through it she was there for me, even when no one else was.the symptoms never returned.distemper of this nature is 95% fatal.i always referred to her as my "miracle dog".towards the end of her life, a new battle appeared on the scene that she was now to old to defeat.sept.the 27th,a massive non-maligent tumor was discovered growing in her abdomen.apparently, it had been growing there for sometime,perhaps years,without ever being discovered.the last few weeks,she become extremely affectionate.always wanting to be petted on, and loved on.of course,i complied,not knowing what she already knew.....she was dying.the beginning of the end came on the morning of 9/27.she would not get up to go outside.she was constantly vomiting.she had dried vomit stuck to her chest were she was too weak to even get up any more.we took her to the vet only to discover a huge tumor in the abdomen.he opened her up the next morning only to give me the bad news....the tumor was too involved with major organs to attempt surgery.all the time prior to that day she never complained.she never whined or moaned in pain.she never yelped or cried out although she had to have been in agony.she just wanted me and my love,and to give me love in return.all she could do was look at me with her big brown eyes as if to tell me it was time.time to move on,i'm finally hurting too much.i miss her terribly.i can't stop the pain of losing her.but i know i will eventually see her again.my little sheltie girl,and her constant companion for 6 years,knows this too.pray for me and my family.pray for the pain to go away.i hurt worse than words can describe.----mike