Pepper is gone

Our dog Pepper died Friday night. We're still weepy and feeling lost. She would have been 9 in January. After fighting Ehrlichia and meningitis, then dealing with thyroid disease, we figured she was OK and had a few good years left in her. She's been fine and feisty and playful all along. But Friday night she suddenly laid down on the floor and had a seizure. This was about 7:00 pm.

We rushed her to the emergency pet clinic and they took her right in. Her heartrate was only 30 beats a minute, about 1/4 of what it should be. She crashed and they revived her, but EKG's interpreted by the people doctor said 3 of the 4 chambers of her heart just weren't functioning. She was in a coma and even a pacemaker might not be enough to save her. While we went in to see her, she died in our arms. It was 9:30 pm, so in the space of 2-1/2 hours she was gone. Here is a picture of her after we first got her.

At least Pepper didn't suffer a long time. I only hope that when my time comes, I will go as quickly. We've buried her in the back yard, in her favorite spot where she used to sun herself. We kept a candle burning for her all night. We don't know how to live without her. We're weepy and weak and lost. I'm going to miss her every day forever. It is a comfort that we still have Taffy, her little brother. He seems lost too.

Some friends on the Welsh Terrier mailing list sent us some old photos we'd circulated on the list from years ago. Thank goodness they still had them, I'd lost them when my computer crashed a long time ago. It was an unexpected gift to get them again from our friends. One of them sent a beautiful quote about animals that I'll share with you because it sums up perfectly how I feel about it.

"...For the animal shall not be measured by the man. In a world older and more complex than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not bretheren, they are not underlings, they are nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth..."