Dharma
1/16/12:

Hi Marjean~~ Hope all is well with you. I'm afraid I have some very sad news from here. Our sweet little Dharma became suddenly ill last Wednesday evening. She started vomiting after eating her dinner, and continued to vomit through the night. I took her to the vet on Thursday, and they tried to do bloodwork, but couldn't draw blood from her veins. They gave her a shot for the nausea, and hydrated her, and said if she wasn't eating and better on Friday to bring her back. The vomiting stopped, but she wouldn't eat, which was very unusual for her (I boiled chicken for her, and she didn't want that either). So we took her back to the vet Friday morning. They were able to get blood this time, and the results showed her liver functions were way too high. They recommended we take her to Northeast Pa. Referral Hospital for an abdominal ultra sound, which we did immediately. They did x-rays, bloodwork, ultra sound, etc., which showed her liver was very enlarged. They thought it was a liver infection, and began treating her for that. They recommended they keep her to give her antibiotics, keep her hydrated, etc., And they wanted to do another liver function test in 48 hours. Friday evening, the doctor sounded cautiously optomistic that she would be okay. But unfortunately our little girl didn't improve. They did another blood test Sunday morning, and found she was getting worse. The doctor called us Sunday morning to tell us the next step would be biopsies and possibly exploratory surgery in her abdominal area...and there was no assurance she would come through this. Her treatment was also being hampered somewhat by her heart. Our vet had told us before that he detected a heart murmur, and that was causing her to retain fluids in her treatment now. We told the doctor we would get back to her shortly...Dave and I needed to discuss where to go from here. We both agreed that we didn't want to put Dharma through any more poking, prodding and testing. She was too good a girl to have to go through any pain now. We told the doctor we would be there shortly, and wanted to be with Dharma while she was euthanized. Dharma went to sleep very peacefully, with us right there with her. Dave and I are, of course, very upset at losing our sweet girl, and I know you are also. But we're trying to hold on to the fact that she always had a wonderful life, and was always with people who loved her and took very good care of her. So I'm so sorry to be sending you this sad news. I didn't want to call you, because I knew I wouldn't be able to talk to you right now. I'll be in touch sometime soon, and maybe we can get together for lunch... Take care... Joanne

Jake
Jake came into our rescue at 11 years old after his owner moved and couldn't take him along. Shortly after rescue it was discovered that he had bone cancer. His foster family just loved him and provided a wonderful home for him until he crossed the rainbow bridge. Thanks to Tricia and her family for loving Jake!

Tank
5/23/11: We just learned that Tank crossed the rainbow bridge after getting sick. He was a great dog and he gave his family and his foster family a lot of joy in the short time he touched their lives. Thank you to the Wilton family for giving him such a great home!

Maggie Sue

Skylar