Last picture taken of Kelly

MY FRIEND KELLY

The sun continues to rise and fall each day, but I don't see it. The weather is changing, but I don't feel it. A part of my heart has died. I've lost my best friend. Her name is Kelly.

Kelly was born on April 8, 1985. It was a cold and snowy spring day. She was special from the first. She picked me as well as my picking her. She climbed out of the puppy pen twice trying to convince me that she was the one.

Kelly went to her first fun match at the age of 9 weeks. She ended up going Best of Breed Puppy and placing in the group over older puppies. Then at her first show at 6 months she won the puppy class and went Reserve Winners Bitch. That was the first of her 19 Reserves.

She finished her Canadian Championship in 7 shows. During this time she also was winning in the U.S. She ended up with 12 points including a major.  We never did get the second major. It didn't matter. In my eyes she was a champion and more.

She earned her CDs and CDXs in straight shows. Sometimes in the obedience ring she acted pretty silly, but she did what I asked of her. My favorite story recalls the show where she was competing for her second leg in Open. During her heeling pattern (Open is all off-leash), the judge called for a "slow". I glanced down at Kelly and she's in perfect heel position, but she's scooting her behind on the mat. As I started to laugh, I quickly glanced at the judge who was also laughing. She choked out a "halt" and I stopped walking. When I stopped, Kelly had stopped, still in heel position with a beautiful straight sit. She was looking up at me waiting for my next command. I completely lost it there in the ring. I looked at the judge and she's laughing so hard tears are running down her face. One of my friends in the stands literally fell out of her chair with laughter. Once we got it out of our systems and wiped our eyes, the judge came over to me and told me that she didn't know how to score Kelly's heeling since Kelly was never out of heel position. That set us off laughing again. Kelly was looking up at me and smiling the whole time. How I miss that smile!

Kelly became deathly ill just shy of her 5th birthday. She was on Tri-meth Sulfa drugs for an infection. My veterinarian feels that she had a reaction to the drugs which caused her immune system to crash. Her platelet count went from a normal 350,000 to around 2000. I wasn't even able to cut her nails for fear of her bleeding to death. It was touch and go for 6 weeks. My life went on hold while I nursed her back to health. She was so sick I had to feed her with a 60 c.c. syringe to get food down her. Most of the time, the food didn't stay down long. She was such a strong dog mentally and she really put up a fight to live. Finally she was well again, but that illness took a big toll on her. Her face turned gray almost overnight. She was never quite the same dog as she was prior to her illness. She seemed a little more frail. Before her illness, she had earned 10 titles and had one litter. When the danger of her bleeding to death passed, I had her spayed and retired her.

She enjoyed her retirement playing the "queen" with the other dogs. She taught all her grandkids and great-grandkids how to play with her toys. Sometimes I'd find her standing over the whelping box, dropping tennis balls to the puppies inside. She didn't understand that 2 week old puppies weren't ready yet to play with her.

We were close before her illness, but afterwards we were even closer. She went with me practically everywhere. Her favorite trip was to the pet store to buy dog food. As I pushed the cart down the aisle, she'd be behind me, trotting merrily along, smiling and wagging her tail. She'd check every bin, but was too well mannered to take anything. The employees greeted her by name and always gave her small treats.

When she turned 8, I consulted with my vet about showing her in Veterans. He gave us the go ahead and Kelly took it from there. At her first show as a veteran, she won Best of Opposite Sex in Veterans Sweeps, placed in the regular veterans class and in Veterans Obedience. (no butt scooting this time) At her second show she won the veterans class again and then placed in obedience at another show. She had always loved to show and she was no different as a veteran. She smiled the whole time and her tail never stopped wagging. In October of 1993, I noticed Kelly started to pick at her food. This was very unusual for her. I took her to the vet and after blood tests, discovered she was in the beginning stages of kidney failure. I was devastated. After fighting off her previous illness, I wasn't sure we were ready for another. We changed her to a prescription food and changed her lifestyle. I learned very quickly about chronic kidney failure and how insidious it was. Remarkably, she seemed to do very well considering the horrible disease. She stayed happy and relatively healthy. Looking at her, you wouldn't have known she was sick. She continued to rule the roost with the other dogs. We stabilized her kidney function with the help of the prescription food and she stayed stable for almost 18 months.

Her kidney function tests started to elevate in early 1995. This showed that her actual kidney function was starting to weaken. I once again focused solely on Kelly and her health. I had her blood checked monthly to determine her levels. She continued to be happy and enjoyed her short walks each day.

Finally, just after Labor Day, she quit eating again. She had been having skin problems due to the kidney failure. Her kidney function tests showed another drop and I asked my vet if maybe it was time. I didn't want her to suffer. My vet felt that Kelly hadn't reached the end yet. She was still smiling and showing interest in everything around her. We changed her to another prescription food and she seemed to perk up. My vet did tell me that his prognosis wasn't very good. He felt that she had less than a year to live. I tried to brace myself.

On September 28 I underwent surgery to remove a screw in my foot that had been placed there 7 months before. I had broken my ankle and foot 14 months before and the foot hadn't healed. Since I wasn't sure how long I would be gone that day, I had someone come over to take care of the dogs. Kelly's kidney problems caused her to have to urinate more often. When I got home later that day and fed the dogs, Kelly refused to eat. She just looked at her dish and walked away. She was pretty listless the rest of the night. She would eat a little bread out of my hand, but that was all.

The next day, Kelly again refused to eat and hardly had anything to drink. She basically laid in a corner most of the day and kept to herself. I called my vet and made an appointment for later that day when someone could help me bring her in. I was on crutches and in a cast. I knew I couldn't handle her by myself. I knew in my heart that the time had come. I spent the day sitting on the floor with her. I held her most of the day and cried. She licked the tears from my face. She was only 10 years old. It was too soon to say good-bye!!

The vet examined her and agreed that her time had come. I held her and told her I loved her and thanked her for being my dog. She died peacefully in my arms. Too soon - much too soon. I sat on the floor with her for awhile, my tears wetting her beautiful coat. I looked up at my vet and he had tears in his eyes too. My vet said that she was a good, brave dog. Most dogs wouldn't have lived almost 2 years as sick as she was. It showed she had a lot of courage.

Back home I look for her smiling face, but its not there. The other dogs help me to cope with my grief, but I feel numb. I pet them and play with them and I feel better. They are a part of her.

Three weeks later the gray, blustery day, matches my mood. The pain in my foot tells me my numbness is wearing off. Kelly made a lot of friends during her lifetime. Their cards and letters help. I smile once in awhile when I think of her. The tears don't come quite as often. I catch myself still looking for her sometimes. A part of my heart is missing. I'll miss her forever. Sleep well my beloved Kelly. My friend.

Can Ch UCDX Woodhaven Amber Silk CD WC CGC TDI Can CDX WC
April 8, 1985 - September 29, 1995

© 1995 - LRM