May 20th, 2007
encounter with life
I almost posted these photos a couple of weeks ago right after they were taken. However, before I had a chance to do so, some events began to unfold and I decided to just stow them away for awhile. Now, circumstances have changed and I can write about them and also about some of what’s been going on in our lives over the past couple of weeks.
First, the photos.
A couple of weekends ago, while hiking at the Ferguson Forestry Centre at Kemptville, we met up with a pair of Airedales. They were hilariously funny fellows. We saw them freezing at a Tee-junction in the trail up ahead of us as they saw us come into view (see above).
A few seconds later, they came bounding towards us. However, they came to a halt in front of us as Sabrina went into “protection mode” — stepping ahead of us a little while tensing and puffing herself up, including her tail which she holds like a banner above her back, so that she looks about twice her normal size.
The Airedales were a little nonplussed by her actions and appearance, especially her cold, hard gaze, and both became wussy. In fact, one of the dogs turned its head off to the side and wouldn’t meet Sabrina’s eyes. A few seconds later, the Airedales’ parents came into view and the “kids” were off and running. Sabrina relaxed back into her casual strolling mode and we continued on our way.
I always get a small charge out of seeing her make that quick transition into protection mode as I know she learned that from our previous Rough Collie. Maggie was the kindest and most placid of dogs, but if she felt we were in any danger, she would stand tall and puff her long coat up so that she looked like a magnificent lion of a dog. One day, when Sabrina was still a pup, we had a chance encounter with our neighbour’s rambunctious Yellow Lab, Devon. He raced up, intending to give us one of his exhuberant and rather painful body-checks, but Maggie stepped ahead, going into protection mode. Devon stopped dead in his tracks and hung his head, not wanting to have to face Maggie’s cold stare. Sabrina took it all in and stepped forward to stand beside Maggie, all puffed up and looking twice her puppy size.
The pair of them made a great team until Maggie passed away in October 2003. I have a nice photo of Maggie taken just a couple of days before she passed on. I consider it something of a gift as she had very nearly died a few days before – of something that seemed like a stroke. She had a few more decent days after that, and I took this photo. She didn’t usually like being photographed, but on this rare occasion, she gave me a great look that captured all of that unique intelligence she possessed. She was a wonderful dog and we miss her greatly.
So, on to the events of the past couple of weeks.
The day after the above photos were taken, we realized that Sabrina wasn’t feeling well. She had completely lost her appetite, and when I went to go for a walk around the farm on Sunday afternoon, she went out with me, but then wanted to turn back to the house after just a few minutes of walking. On Monday morning, I took her to our local vet clinic to have her checked out. I won’t go into all that transpired between then and now, but suffice to say that this has been a very stressful couple of weeks. Sabrina spent an entire week on IV at two vet clinics, had xrays and ultrasounds and then emergency surgery and a liver biopsy, and returned home with a long incision with 34 staples in her abdomen. Very fortunately, due to the miracle of modern veterinary medicine, she’s feeling much better now. Her appetite is once again pretty good, and her sense of humor has returned — she began wagging her tail at our usual inside jokes a couple of days ago. As of yesterday, she’s back to playfully yanking at the legs of Don’s jeans as he puts them on in the morning (her favourite trick). She has to take things easy for a few weeks, but she’s already looking out across the trails here at home wanting to go for longer walks. The liver biopsy came back negative for cancer on Friday, so we breathed a collective sigh of relief. It looks like all will be okay.
Through all of the above, the three of us have been quite stressed. For my own part, my heart hasn’t really been in anything here at the farm for the past couple of weeks. Our dogs have always been a very large part of our lives – they’re more than just companions – more like closest friends, blood-brothers, or however you want to try to describe the connection that exists between us.
May 20th, 2007 at 10:58 am
That’s a tremendous summary of what’s been going on, and I’m certainly happy to hear about the results of the biopsy. That Sabrina is up to playing her old tricks is just great.
Those of us who have beloved companions (and I suspect that’s a lot of us), know that an emergency of this sort is simply terrifying. I’m so pleased that this worked out well for you and Don and Sabrina.
May 20th, 2007 at 11:12 am
I am happy to hear that Sabrina is improving. Our last dog developed ascites with liver failure at the age of 9. It was heartbreaking to put him down. My dog is more of a friend than most people I am acquainted with. Best wishes for her full recovery!
May 20th, 2007 at 11:27 am
I’m glad Sabrina is on the mend. The stress of dealing with a beloved animal companion’s illness can be debilitating and self-fueling. It’s great to hear she is on the road to recovery.
May 20th, 2007 at 11:29 am
I’ve been wondering how Sabrina’s been, and I am so glad and relieved to hear that she is recovering. Our furry friends do become a deep and heartfelt part of our lives. We look out for them, and they look out for us. Quite a sweet and remarkable arrangement for our species and theirs.
May 20th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Thanks, everyone! Yes, we’re certainly relieved and it’s great to have Sabrina back home with us and, apparently, on the mend. She’s been looking considerably better in the last day or so, so I’m feeling much more confident that she’ll be back to her old, healthy self very soon.
May 20th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Bev, Oh bruuther. This undoes me. I’m still grieving the loss of our dogs after 2 years. Yes, I think I know what your struggle has been the last couple weeks. It’s a testimonial to your strength that you were able to post at all. Sabrina is such a sweetheart. And that picture of Maggie – oh my gosh – well, you can just see the depth of her character.
May your dearest friend continue to regain health and my you have the comfort and joy of watching her bouncing back to her wonderful self.
BTW – What a great series of photos. I’ll be sharing this one with hubby too – though he’ll get teary over such a beautiful stalwart dog having serious health issues.
May 20th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Good to hear that Sabrina is recovering — sounds like she has a bit of pluck! Quite a picture of Maggie too, very expressive and soulful.
May 20th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
The airdales are cute, but that photo of Maggie is almost supernatural. What a great looking dog, with obvious intelligence – no, wisdom – I’d say.
May 20th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
A bit of a surprise to hear you, of all people, talking about an “encounter with life”! But I’m glad things are turning out O.K.
May 20th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Cathy – I was thinking of you and your dogs when I was considering what to write this week. Most of us have been through some very sad times when we’ve lost our dogs, cats and other companions. In 1994, we had two sable collies diagnosed with a very aggressive form of lymphosarcoma within weeks of each other, and they both died just a few weeks apart. It was one of the most difficult times in my life, partly because I (and the oncologist vet that took our case) couldn’t understand how such a thing could happen, but mainly because it was just too much to lose two of my closest friends in such a brief period of time. Anyhow, I’m relieved that things seem to be going okay for Sabrina. Hopefully, she’ll be back out hiking with us very soon! And yes, Maggie was a very special dog. We got her as a 3 year old dog a few months after we lost our two collies in 1994, and she and I spent that autumn and the following summer paddling around dozens of lakes and rivers here in eastern Ontario. She was my constant companion for 10 wonderful years.
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Rory – Yes, Sabrina does have a bit of pluck — and luck, too, I think. The vet said that, with the kind of blood counts she had, she should have been much sicker looking than she was when I brought her in to the clinic. I think all of the hiking that we do probably has a lot to do with her overall health and endurance.
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kenju – I’d definitely describe Maggie as possessing a kind of wisdom – I always thought of her as being something of a canine sage. She was very special.
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Dave – I guess I’m always encountering life, but this time it was the kind of “life” that reminds you of the fragility of our existence. Thanks, I’m hoping everything will be okay and back to normal very soon. It’s been a long couple of weeks for all of us.
May 20th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
I am so very glad to hear Sabrina is on the mend. The hardest part about having pets is when it comes time to say goodbye to them. I hope you have many more years together.
May 20th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Just needed to say – Sabrina is lucky to have you caring for her. And I was right – Keith got choked up. He misses our dogs so much. Please give Sabrina a kiss for me. My favorite place is right between their eyes. You kiss and sniff at the same time :0)
May 20th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Bev,
I had wanted to ask after your comments at my blog, but didn’t because I think I understand how hard it is to write about something until it’s resolved for the better.
I’m glad to read that your Sabrina is on the mend and will be off on the trail with you before long. Good dog, she is.
May 20th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
I have read all through the comments, Bev, but no-one asked… what was the diagnosis? Am I missing something that everyone else understands, or am I just morbidly curious? Was it something connected with the liver, or a blood infection? Was she given antibiotics, or was a lump or blockage removed?
I’m very glad you’ve still got Sabrina, but I am curious about what really happened!
May 21st, 2007 at 2:07 am
Hi Bev! Just wanted to say I’m glad you dog is recovering! Wishing you all wellness!
May 21st, 2007 at 8:08 am
pablo – thanks – yes, saying “goodbye” is really difficult. We’ve almost always had two dogs in our family over the years, so that adds up to quite a few goodbyes by the time one gets to our age. It’s heartbreaking. I hope Sabrina will enjoy a few more years with us before we reach that time.
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Cathy – Done! Sabrina has been getting plenty of kisses over the past couple of weeks – but then, she always gets quite a few (and gives quite a few herself!).
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Laura – Yes, I find it difficult to talk or write about these kinds of situations until I know more about the outcome. I’ve been through such a number of events where the outcome was cancer, that I find it difficult to talk about any illness until cancer is ruled out. Now that Sabrina is feeling better, her appetite seems to have taken off and she’s hungry all the time. This morning, I said the word “hiking” and she gave me the “let’s go” look, but we’ll have to be patient and delay any trips for a few more weeks (I think the vet said probably 3 to 4 weeks).
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Aleta – It’s a pretty long and convoluted story, so I’ll leave much of it for now and tell you more about it next time I see you. Suffice to say that it was a systemic infection that caused the liver and spleen to become enlarged and, from what I understand, they were releasing toxins. And yes, she did receive antibiotics – she was treated with IV fluids for a week, along with a couple of kinds of antibiotics (IV and then oral), and a medication for liver support. Fortunately, our regular vet clinic was really on top of things and did blood tests right at the start when I brought Sabrina in – she didn’t look sick and had no fever, but her blood counts and liver enzyme values were way out of wack. Pretty scary that she could have been so sick without showing much in the way of outward symptoms.
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celeste – thanks! A wish for wellness for all of us is most welcome. Don, Sabrina and I have now all had to have surgery over the past 12 months. It’s said that good things come in 3’s, but it sometimes seems like bad things come in 3’s too! (-:
May 21st, 2007 at 9:38 am
Bev, I just wanted to add my own best wishes for Sabrina’s continued good health. I hope she has a long, full life. And you, too.
May 21st, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Mark – Thanks. We’re hoping everything is going to be okay. The vet is going to do some more blood tests at the end of the week, so I guess we’ll see how everything is. So far, so good!
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Good to hear that Sabrina is doing better. What a beautiful and loyal dog she is!
May 23rd, 2007 at 5:19 am
am – Thanks! We think Sabrina is pretty special – and yes, very beautiful and loyal.