Abbie

This is my first post and a hard one to write. It has been a rough couple of weeks for both Keith and myself and Keith thought it might help to write this. So, I guess I will give it a try. I got Abbie a little over 11 years ago at the local farm and feed store. She was a lab mix, with what I don't know. Some thought she might be greyhound,border collie or blue heeler. I never really cared because she was just a great dog. I got her after another dog had passed away and my mom thought I should get another dog. It seems like we looked at quite a few puppies but for some reason none of them went home with me. On the day I got Abbie, we were going to look at a couple of litters and decided to check at the feed store first. I saw Abbie and I picked her up and she put her little arms around my neck and clung for dear life. That pretty much summarizes our life together.I was asked many times if Abbie was an abused rescue dog because she was always a little timid and shy. A lot of people may not have put up with it but I like to think that maybe I understood it a bit better because I can be the same way. She was never mean or aggressive but when she would first meet somebody for the first time, it would have to be Abbie that made the first move. Especially when she was a puppy she had separation anxiety. I will never forget coming home after being at work and opening the door to find a room full of stuffing because she ate my couch. She also would like to "read" books, catalogs and magazines while I was away. I also had to make a emergency trip to the vets because she was having a panic attack over what we never did figure out. Up until Keith came ito our lives, my mom was the only other person she could stay with otherwise she would have a panic attack. Abbie loved to fetch. It really didn't matter what is was, a stick, ball or her "monkey" (a stuffed squeeky toy) as long as she could run and get it. We would have to make her stop because as my dad would say "you're going to blow a gasket." She really liked to swim and would spend hours retrieving sticks from a lake or river. She was a great camping companion and we had a lot of fun camping together just the two of us. She also got to go to the Oregon coast a couple of times and loved to run on the beach and chase seagulls.

I was a little worried about Abbie when we got Clem. I wasn't sure how she would react because she was so use to having me all to herself. I shouldn't have worried though. She took over the role of being Clem's mom. Clementine would copy anything that Abbie was doing it didn't matter what it was. It was really fun to watch and would make us laugh. They always slept together cuddled up to each other. I know that loosing Abbie has been really hard on Clem too and I think that some credit has to go to Abbie for Clem being such a good dog.

I took Abbie to the vet because she had been drinking a lot of water and urinating a lot too. Her appetite wasn't very good either so I thought I had better get her checked out. I was worried that she had diabetes or something. What we found out was that she had too much calcium in the blood and after futher examination they found a large tumor. She had cancer. I was devastated to say the least. The vet gave 6-9 months. She was gone in less than 2 weeks. I miss her so much. After I took her to the vet she went down hill fast. Her back end started to give out on her and she could only take a couple of steps at a time. She refused to eat. It didn't matter what we tried, wet dog food, left over roast or raw steak, she wouldn't eat it. It was a very hard decision but in the end I had to love her enough to let her go. I think it was the hardest thing I have ever done or been through. It has been said to me that dogs are just a heartache waiting to happen. In some ways I do agree, but if asked the question would I do it over again knowing how it would end? I would say yes, a thousand times yes. Where else do you find such unconditional love, devotion and loyality all for a few pats on the head a few bites of food?