Hi friends. It has been a tough week. My sweet Ginger passed away, kind of unexpectedly, on Tuesday. I am still in shock. I knew she would never last forever but I thought I at least had a year or two left with her. This is a long post to tribute my little angel, so bear with me please!
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| I will miss this view so much |
My little fluffball entered my life on November 18, 2009. In October of that year, I was a sad and depressed 30 year old girl who had just seen her second boyfriend in a years time move to DC without me. I was slowly accepting that I may be alone and childless forever, aka suffering from depression. My friend M'liss reached out to me that she knew of a fully trained Maltese with papers that needed a home. After some back and forth, I picked up Prissy on that November day. Yes, her real name was Prissy and I couldn't bear to have us rhyme, so Ginger she became.
She was covered in bruises and fleas; she had no papers and was not trained. She was, quite literally, a hot mess. I brought her home and bathed her in Dawn. She was feral and scared shitless of me. I took her to pee without a leash like a dummy and she ran away; I finally had to throw a blanket over her to catch her.
We went to the vet the next day and she was diagnosed as having skin infections, a UTI and was deaf by trauma. I wondered what the hell I got myself into. $550 later, we had a collar and leash and went home to bond. The first two weeks were hell, potty training an abused dog whose age is unknown is a beast. I tried to kennel train her and she cried all night. She was moved to my bed so I could get some rest and she never slept a night without me after that, when I was in town. We bonded and walked and loved, she gave me a purpose in life.
She was with me through my move to Texas, my fight with depression, my move back to New Orleans, the breakup that led to this blog, and the shitty house I lived in after that breakup.
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| This was a photography class practice shoot, I am so thankful for it now. |
Ginger was a finicky pup, but she loved me with all her heart. But her heart couldn't take it all. She had her old lady tests at our last vet visit in November and was fine except for a light heart murmur. The vet said she should have a few good years left in her.
She started coughing and wheezing on this past Saturday. She didn't eat dinner on Sunday. She was a little lethargic and more cuddly, but I thought this was her just being a drama queen, as my vet in Austin used to call her. On Tuesday, I came home from work and she hadn't touched her water all day. I syringed water in her mouth and tried to feed her some people food but she was not having it. I called the emergency vet, the very one we went to our first full day together, and they said to bring her in.
I brought her in and she was so nervous. They took her back without me, which I hated, as our regular vet doesn't do that. I was watching the other fur baby parents trudge in with their ailing cats and dogs knowing we would all walk out together. But we didn't.
The vet called me in and explained that when he went to examine her, she went into cardiac arrest and they could not revive her. She had a ton of fluid in her lungs and her weak heart could not take the stress of that in addition to a vet she didn't know, without her momma by her side. I immediately broke into tears. They brought her to me and I could not believe it, she looked so alive, more alive than when we entered.
There is no unconditional love like the love from a pet and I know now that I have truly lived having this experience in my life. She was my baby; she got me (almost) through my 30's and was my partner in so many crimes of the heart. I thank all of you for reading this and double thank those who reached out to me when it happened. There is no feeling in the world like having people love and appreciate you, especially in times of trouble. Time will heal as it always does.
I hope you all have an amazing weekend and hug your fur babies for me extra tight. See you soon with some food, but it is busy time with Hogs for the Cause next weekend and DG stuff this weekend and plus, I am sad, so I may not be around for a week.
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| Our last photo together about an hour before she died. |
Happy Cooking!
Missy
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