When we adopted Sally's mother, Toho, she was pregnant. At first we were
worried and dismayed, as we hated the thought of having to give away so
many puppies. But as all 10 were born, we fell in love and forgot about
imagining the future pain of loss. Sally was our instant love, a bright,
precocious, active little spotted critter. She was first out of the womb,
and first out of the birthing box. She grew into a beautiful big dog,
being half Lab and half Blue Heeler. Her connection with us developed
into a deeply emotional and spiritual bond. She was highly telepathic,
incredibly intelligent and immensely loyal.
The past couple of years had brought many ills, including an intense
worsening of her arthritis and an onset of Cushing's Disease. Sally was
a very strong being, and she shouldered it all well. Despite discomfort,
she seemed to relish being on this earth, and being an important part
of our family. Over the past week, her condition began to worsen. She
could no longer get up on her own, or really stand much on her own, and
the Cushing's was pumping too many steroids into her body. On Sunday,
she let us know it was time. We held her in our arms at the vet's, and
she looked deeply into our eyes as they administered the medication. She
died peacefully. We are all grieving, but focusing on
the wonderful memories.
Laurie McManis
