This weekend brave Louie the Boxer lost his fight against kidney failure.... Poor Louie had been battling this crippling condition for so long, and as many of you know, he was given three months to live late last summer; it was expected he would have passed by November. Knowing this, his mum Deanna dedicated herself to providing him with lots of time, love and care. Sad beyond words, she booked herself a cruise for January to ease the grief she knew she would be feeling at his passing. However, at Christmas this brave little soldier was still hanging in there, and so she contacted me at the Ranch and asked if we could board him and sister Sophie because if he was going to die anywhere other than home, she wanted him to be comfortable, surrounded by love, and to have had a blast during his final days.....and to eat the kind of food he had only dreamed of while on his special kidney diet for the last few years. Of course we said yes, although I will not deny that it was extremely hard sometimes coming down for the early morning let out not knowing if Louie would still be with us. And yet, he flourished! It was almost impossible to believe how sick he was when we saw him chasing butterflies and wrestling with sister Sophie. He would scarf back his food with alacrity, and snore like a pig at the end of the days frolics. Louie acted like a dog without a care in the world and yet he knew his days were numbered, I have no doubt of that. He got up every morning, sniffed the air, even when it was freezing cold, and you could actually see him working out what was on his to do list that day....Hmmmm, catch me a squirrel, run my sister ragged around the meadow, dig a hole big enough to fall into, run along the tree trunk and eat me a biiiiiiiigggg steak supper! This last time he stayed, which was last week, he definitely had slowed down, and his mum warned us that the end was near. He made the best of every moment though, right up until the day before he went home, when he was struggling to keep up with the others, and would follow me around the meadow walking slowly, still enjoying every moment but yet pacing himself. He would perk up a little for the evening playtime when it was somewhat cooler and would climb up into my lap folded up like a napkin, grumbling at anyone who tried to take his spot. Normally we dont allow such behavior here at the ranch but you know what?.... We make exceptions in cases like this. Dear Louie died in the arms of his loving mum, having spent his last days running in the meadow in the sunshine with his darling Sophie and knowing without a shadow of a doubt that he was cherished. Ask any dog to describe his perfect final days and hell pretty much ask for that. God bless you Deanna and Sophie, and thankyou from all of us here at DD for honoring us with the opportunity of taking care of sweet Louie during his final months, it was a wonderful experience that we would not have missed for all the world. Nighty night big man, With love from Aunty Pen, Uncle Pete, Jake, Kirsten, Marilyn and Sam and all the DD family who loved you on this page. X
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 02:29:50 +0000
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