Sunday, July 6, 2008

Fannie Girl We Miss You





It has been too hard to post, hence the no posting since April. We lost our beloved Pem, Fannie, on May 25,2008. I am copying an email that I sent out about her here, as I can't really write anything more. Her presence is greatly missed in our house. The house is much quieter and not quite as hairy.

I think this is one of the hardest things that I have had to write. We lost our dear sweet Fannie girl on Sunday morning after rushing her to the emergency vet clinic. She was 15 years old and the corgi that got us into this crazy corgi thing. When she came home as a puppy, within a week she had parvo and proved she was a fighter. This last battle proved a little too much and I think she knew that the Cardis would take care of us and it was time for her to take care of Toby at the bridge. I am fighting back tears as I write this and Carleen and I are taking turns having our moments.

Saturday morning while Carleen was feeding them, Fannie collapsed while eating her breakfast. Carleen yelled for me and it appeared that Fannie was having a seizure or passed out. It was different than you would think of a seizure, but still seizure like. It didn't last long and she came of of it fine. We called our vet when they opened and got her in to see Dr. Nicki.

At the clinic, Fannie was pretty much her usual self. Trying to get behind the front counter for extra attention, treats, anything she could smuggle or con someone out of. Dr. Nicki took a look at her and didn't find anything unusual. We talked about it and decided that if she had an episode again we would run bloodwork then (her next bloodwork was due in July). Dr. Nicki said her heart and lungs sounded good and just to keep an eye on her. As most of you know, seizures are hard to diagnose and unpredictable. Looking back, she probably had time to recover from the episode and nothing was notable to find.

The rest of the day, we ran some errands and Fannie rested at home. That evening when we went to feed them, Fannie did the same thing that she did that morning. It didn't last as long and she seemed ok after coming out of it. She was a little clingy and following us around the house, but that is nothing out of the ordinary for her. That night, I slept on the floor until about 1:30 am with her, just to keep an eye on her. Once she settled in for a good night night, I went to bed.

Carleen got up at 5:15 am Sunday and woke me up, with Fannie in her arms. Fannie was panting heavily and couldn't/wouldn't walk. We decided to take her to the emergency clinic. Once we got there, the vet tech had to take her back for the Dr. to look at her, because the Dr. was in a diffcult surgery. They got our permission to run bloodwork and a cathader on her. When the bloodwork came back, the tech relayed that there was a kidney number that was off slightly, but they felt the problem was with her heart. That is all the tech could tell us at that time, because the Dr. was still in surgery.

They ended up calling the day Dr. in, since the surgery was proving difficult. Once the Dr. got there, he explained that Fannie had an arrythmia and her heart was not functioning properly. When we fed her, she would get excited and that was too much for her heart to take, which explained the "passing out" activity. There really wasn't anything we could do for her. He said we could take her home and spend more time with her, but that he really didn't know how much time she had and she would probably have a heart attack at home.

We didn't want her to suffer anymore. She gave us the "look" and her paws were getting cold. She was working so hard to try to get oxygen thru her little body. We decided to help her cross to the bridge. She laid her head on my shoulder, snuggled in and went peacefully. She did get one last one in on Carleen. As Carleen went to hug her, the corgi hair flew and Carleen literally choked on a mouthful of fur.

Fannie girl, we will miss you greatly. You showed us what living with a corgi "bitch" was all about and how you have to be smarter than the corgi. You showed us that barking is great fun, well at least for you! You showed that you had an instinct for someone that needed special attention even thought you were never certified for therapy. You patiently put up with someone getting the bright idea for Halloween costumes, hats, etc. You raised 3 Cardigan puppies after they came to live with us and showed them the ropes. You even taught Jetson how to raid the bathroom trash and drag it in the hall in just the past week. You taught Ella how to control the boys. You taught Higgins that living here was safe, fun, and just the place for him.

Goodbye sweet Fannie, give Toby hugs and kisses from us at the bridge. The house seems so quiet with you gone. And not having a sable Pem in a sea of blue merle and brindle is a strange sight for us. We miss you so much. Run with Toby and show him you are still boss.

Katrina, Carleen, and now the Cardis 3

all content, including pictures, videos, and text property of blog owner. please do not use for your own purposes. contact me if you have any questions