The Eliot thread

First of all the good news: We ended up deciding upon the name Eliot (as in George Eliot). Like I said, she's a retriever/terrier mix. She's only 10 months old and 22 lbs. She probably won't get much bigger. She definitely sheds like a retriever, but we gave her a bath and a brushing first thing yesterday. I got soaked. She rolled in the grass afterwards. She has one ear that stands up and one that flops down. She's like a baby in that she likes to put new things in her mouth, but other than that she's perfectly behaved. The shelter told us that she was still learning housebreaking, but so far, she's been perfectly housebroken. She learned what was hers immediately in the house, including us - she's a serious cuddler which was what won us over in the first place. She's very interested in other people, dogs, places, but seems to ignore cats so far. She doesn't bark at all, in fact Corey and I wondered if she could bark at all until we heard one or two small ones.

The bad news: The shelter told us that she had a cold, but had finished her meds. She still had a runny nose. She got a hacking cough. Corey and I were up all night with her. I slept on the couch with her. I don't think any of us got more than a couple hours of sleep last night. We took her to the vet early this morning. Nice man. He's 80-90% certain that it's distemper and says that there's only maybe a 50% chance that she'll live. He said that since we've only had her for ONE DAY, that it would be reasonable for us to take her back and get a new dog. Corey and I won't do that though. We're already in love with THIS dog and we're gonna give her a few days and see how she does, there's always that 50% chance. She's in very good spirits, she's still eating, and doesn't have any problems except the cough and runny nose. At the very least, it'll be a few days filled with all the love and attention that one little dog could receive from two humans. Needless to say, I've been heartbroken and crying, but I'm trying to stay strong for her.

#84 I know, right? My robos looked identical to me at first. Pushkin has a notch in one ear that I could distinguish if I looked very closely. But now it's much easier to tell them apart since Tolstoy has gotten chubbier than Pushkin.
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read Yesterday, 5:21pm (top)Message 91: Jodyreadseverything
#90 - how awful for you and for poor little Eliot. I hope she gets better very quickly.

You ought to let the shelter know what is wrong, in case they have any other sick dogs or any that have been kept close to Eliot.

I understand why you want to keep her, I fell in love with her a bit just reading your good news description.

Please let us know how she is, lots of updates on her until she is in the clear.
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read Yesterday, 5:35pm (top)Message 92: Estrellita228

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Thanks Jody.

We called the shelter today as soon as they opened and let them know. She was kept in a cage with two other dogs. I'm hoping that no other dogs get this. All of the dogs there get vaccinated, of course. I'm just thankful we were able to catch it as quickly as we did. She still doesn't have enough symptoms to know for sure, and there's no definitive test. So it's wait and see for now.

She hasn't been in contact with any other dogs and I've been good about picking up her poops. So it's a few days to know, a few weeks to recover, and a few months I think before she'd be safe to interact with other dogs. It's a really scary thing, but I'm still hoping the best for her.

At first, we were thinking of adopting two dogs. I'm very glad that we didn't because we live in an apartment and it would have been hard to quarantine her.
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read Yesterday, 5:58pm (top)Message 93: Booksloth
I just got alerted to this post by Jody (thanks J). That is so heartbreaking! Of course you won't take your new baby back to the shelter. It only takes a matter of moments for most of us to fall irrevocably in love. I'm sure your vet gave you the 'right' advice if you were the kind of people who, confronted with a sick puppy, could think with your heads and not your hearts. You've done all the right things so far and all you can do now is follow your vet's instructions to the letter and hope. If all the good wishes from people here can can cure her I'm sure she will be dancing around in no time.

I would certainly keep the shelter informed but if you ask for your money back (and I'm sure that's the last thing you're worried about) you'll feel bad about taking it from a charity and I doubt that you'd want to get another dog from them if the worst came to the worst. I guess it would be a case of putting it down to experience but I so hope it won't come to that. I know everyone who reads this will be thinking about you and your baby. And even the best vets can occasioanlly get it wrong so I'm hoping that is the case here. I suppose it still could be just kennel cough or a cold, or even something brought on by the stress of moving? All my fingers are crossed anyway.
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read Yesterday, 6:41pm (top)Message 94: Estrellita228

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No, I won't ask for our money back. ADL is still a good organization and I believe in donating to them. It's a no-kill shelter. www.adltexas.org I found my baby's picture there first. Her name there was Silk. I got there and looked at every other dog first. I think I wanted to take like 30 dogs home with me of all shapes and sizes. But we took her and her cagemate out and she immediately came up to us and cuddled. So we knew that she was the one. Her cagemate barked at her and she still remained cool and calm.

I can't imagine getting another dog right away. This was my first dog of my own. Just last week, my parents put down our family dog of 14 years. She was a German Shepherd/Lab mix so she lived a long and full life. We've had her since I was in high school and she was also a rescue dog.

Oh, and I forgot to mention. As soon as we got home from the vet, she went poop outside. She got much praise for that. But then we noticed that she had worms. So we immediately took her and the sample back to the vet. She got a pill for that as well.

So right now, she had a cough suppressant so she can sleep. We'll give that to her at night so she can sleep, but try not to give to her during the day so she can bring stuff up. She's on prednizone which I'm familiar with because my father has been taking that for awhile now. It's a steroid. And she's on an antibiotic.

So I hope our little girl can fight through this. She's busy right now being a curious and happy puppy.
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read Today, 8:11am (top)Message 95: Booksloth
Reading between the lines, she sounds a little better today, am I right? I'm glued to this page looking out for news of her. Best wishes to you all.
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read Today, 9:02am (top)Message 96: maggie1944
I am somewhat dismayed that the shelter could have given you a dog that potentially has distemper and worms. It may be a "good" shelter but that is really wrong, they should have treated the dog and been positive she was 100% healthy before putting her up for adoption. If they can not afford to treat dogs well they need to get out of the business. I know fund raising is not easy but it can be done and a reputable shelter would not give you a dog that has worms, much less possibly distemper. (sorry if my rant is a little over the top but I do feel passionately about adequate care for homeless domestic animals)

I hope you are able to nurse your puppy to health and that she has a long and happy life with you.
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read Today, 9:18am (top)Message 97: Booksloth
I was thinking the same thing, to be honest. If that's the best they can do they should stick to raising money for some other shelter that can provide adequate care. I certainly wouldn't go back there for a second puppy anyway.
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read Today, 11:36am (top)Message 98: Estrellita228

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I know, I was shocked and dismayed each time too. My only consolation was that all of the dogs are vaccinated. Either she got it before her vaccination or it just didn't take. She only had the very early symptoms and it's hard to diagnose. What I don't understand is that they gave her one course of antibiotics for her "cold" and then stopped when she still had symptoms. As far as the worms - she's been on heartguard and that takes care of all internal parasites EXCEPT tapeworms which is what she has. Our vet reassured us that it's very common, she could've gotten it from eating a flea, and it only took a one time dose of a pill. I'm not much of a believer, but I like to think that maybe we were meant to find her, take her home, pay close attention to her needs, and give her the best treatment and loving that we can. I'm happy for her because a)she was taken home from the shelter (not just that shelter, but any shelter I think is a pretty stressful life for a dog and b)she went to a home where the people would put her needs above their own when she is so sick.

But yes, I was pretty angry with the shelter yesterday. Or maybe I was just angry at life for the nasty cards dealt to this sweet little pup. But mostly I was so sad for her. I choked up again when I read all of your kind words, but it made us feel a bit better.

So enough ranting, and more about her...

So I thought that she would sleep through last night because of her meds. But she had a long nap yesterday (I let her sleep because she hadn't slept the night before). Surprisingly, she wasn't interested in sleeping in our room at first and made it pretty clear that she was content in the living room. So at 2 AM, I woke up and found that she was awake. I was worried that the rodents running on their wheels were making too much noise for her. Plus, it bothered me that I couldn't hear her and keep track of how well she was sleeping through the night. So she came into the bedroom. She fluffed her doggy bed, but then I guess she decided if she was gonna be in the bedroom, then she was gonna be in the bed. She hopped up (I'm still impressed that she can make that jump) and curled up next to Corey for the rest of the night.

Corey got up this morning with her at 6 AM. She went to the bathroom outside. So ta da! She's made it through a whole night without going outside! Then she came back to bed and slept with me until I got up at 9. I gave her her meds and her breakfast and new water. She has this habit of hiding her favorite squeaky toy, but this morning for the first time she did that a bit with her food and started leaving little piles of it around the house. So I've been following her around and asking, "What was that? That better be dog food you're eating!" Oh well, at least she cleans up after herself. Today's my first day alone with her.

Health update: It might be my wishful thinking, but she seems a bit better from the meds. Her nose isn't as crusty and hot as it was. Still a bit runny, still a bit dry though. When her cough suppressant wears off, she coughs a bit, especially if she's been excited. But she's not coughing for hours on end like the first night. So she's not cured yet, but at least she hasn't gotten worse yet. She's still eating and drinking water. No vomiting or diarrhea. No worms in her last poop. She's not bouncing off the walls active, but she's not blah either. It's hard right now to balance her getting an appropriate amount of exercise and not over-tiring her. She seems pretty happy and she's still adorable.

The vet said that he'd see her in a few days. So I'm holding my breath. I feel like if she makes it through the next couple of days and things stay the same or get better, then there's hope for her yet.

Hey guys, I reposted this thread here because I totally didn't mean to commandeer the dog name thread. I'll put updates here from now on. And I'll bug Corey to get those pics on the computer today. :)

Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!

My favorite:



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oh how beautiful! She looks so sweet! Sending you the best of luck and good health thoughts.

Well, we had a little setback last night. She spent most of the night coughing. But today was her follow-up with the vet. He said that she's not where he'd like her to be yet, but she has improved a little. Unless she gets puny, we're not going to be more aggressive with the treatment and he'll see her again in a couple weeks.

Estrellita, I'm late coming to this, but you, Corey and especially Eliot have my very best wishes. I hope Eliot recovers completely. She looks so beautiful, it's no wonder you fell in love with her! What a darling. How lucky she is to have such a loving family. I hope she had a good night last night.

Eliot says hi to everybody and thanks you for you nice comments.

Vet called us this morning. He had talked Eliot's case over with a vet friend. He's gonna try a new medicine with her to try to cover all of our bases.

Fun Eliot Fact: Eliot is the first dog I've met who doesn't wolf down her milkbone immediately. I break it in half for her. She eats the first half and hides the second. Yesterday, she took it under the bed. I looked under the bed and she was snuffling around in a nylon bag. I didn't know what she was up to, so I pulled out the nylon bag and looked inside. Her milkbone was at the bottom, still intact. I guess she knew that I had found her hiding spot, because she ate it then. Today, she stuffed it into the corner of her doggy bed. Literally, I watched her try to stuff it in there. I guess it wouldn't go in far enough. So she picked it up, hopped up on the couch, and put it on the corner of the pillow. She just now ate it, so it was "hidden" for about five hours.

Before we got her, I was reading about games you can play with your dogs. One of them was to hide food and treats around a room and let the dog find them. Well, I think that Eliot's the hider and I'm the hidee. She's hidden her food, treats, and toys.

I'm glad that she seems a bit brighter and the vet is working on getting her back to health.

I hope that things are still going well though since it has been a couple of days since you posted.

Those pictures of her are great, she's so beautiful.

Eliot is beautiful and we love hearing about her.

I haven't been on for awhile and just got updated on the Eliot-situation. OMgoodness...My heart goes out to you. First of all I believe that she will pull through. Her little heart is all light and happy sincce you adopted her, she will use every bit of strength to fight this. She sure is a cutie. Also wanted to let you know that my dog Toto who is a Cairn Terrier/Poodle X hides his treats the same way Eliot does. He actually will try to bury it in the carpet. Once he has dug his little make believe hole, he gingerly places his treat in the hole, and then with his nose he attempt to "cover it up". When Toto doesn't feel well he doesn't have much interest in hiding his treats, so that too has to be a good sign that she is feeling well enough to hide her milkbone. Your little one is in our prayers...

Pep does a similar thing...she doesn't dig but she will put a treat in a blanket then push it over her treat with her nose.

Is there any more news on Eliot?

#12 - Scottie does the same thing when she buries something. She can bury something in full view in the middle of the carpet and think she has done a good job.

The one time she came close to burying something in the garden it was because I dug the hole. I was planting a big Cordeline plane and dug a two foot square hole. I had just finished digging when she very proudly dropped in the worlds smallest milkbone and sat there looking at me, very happy, waiting for me to cover it up. She was a bit surprised when I took it back out and put a plant there instead. I could tell she was thinking it was a waste of a good burying hole.

13:lol, That is so cute. I love it when Pepper gets the "look how smart I am" look. I bet Scottie really thought you were nuts.

Hey guys, I wish I had a better update...

Eliot scared me yesterday when her back leg started twitching. I tried to get her up and she would only stand on three legs. I called Corey and he came home. The vet managed to squeeze us in yesterday. He said that she's improved otherwise. Her tremors weren't typical of distemper tremors and might just be muscular in nature. At first he was hesitant to change her meds. An anti-inflammatory would react badly with her steroid. Muscle relaxants would make her drowsy. But her leg never stopped twitching, and she was constantly readjusting herself in bed last night so none of us got any sleep. Corey and Eliot have remained brave, but I've been freaking out. She still very happy and puppy-like, but it's breaking my heart to see her stumble down the steps. I'm very scared because I don't know what exactly is going on. Corey called the vet this morning and the vet prescribed a muscle relaxant. Eliot will get her first one later on tonight.

Poor Eliot. I hope she is feeling better.

Let us know how the muscle relaxer works. :(

The muscle relaxer didn't work. We ended up taking her to an emergency clinic last night because she was getting worse. They gave her some shots to help with the inflammation. I thought for sure that she was so drugged that she would pass out and sleep, but she was up all night again because of the focal seizures. We're going to try to get her into the vet today. I don't know if she's going to make it through this this time.

*hug*

I'm so sorry Estrellita, I hope that Eliot comes through okay.

Also I hope you have pet insurance, but if you don't then you ought to contact the shelter and tell them that they should help you out with the vets bills.

I know that the trouble started as soon as you got her home, and insurance companies here won't insure without a clean bill of health from a vet first, so I have been worried about that for you.

I'm so upset for you and for Eliot. Poor girl. I will be thinking about you, as I'm sure everyone else will be too.

I'm so sorry Estrellita. *hugs* and a scratch and pet for Eliot.

Estrellita -- hugs to both you and Eliot!

Hey guys, thanks for the hugs. Corey, Eliot, and I have really needed them these past couple of days.

The vet squeezed us in this morning even though they were booked solid. They've been *really* accommodating about taking us in without an appointment and they've been nothing but sweet about it. We think that little Eliot is their most troubled puppy under their care. We met Dr. Liz today (the vet is run by a husband and wife team). She gave us a Valium prescription to help reduce Eliot's swelling and took her off the muscle relaxant. Eliot is also no longer taking the steroid. She's been weaned off it since steroids can impair the immune system, but they were vital at first.

All of the doctors that we've seen in the past couple of days have commented on what a sweet puppy she is and have encouraged us to keep fighting. I think that they see how loved and lovable she is and that if she has a chance at a long and happy life then we should all still try for that. So it's a wait and see situation right now. The vet said that if she continues to get worse we might have to start think about putting her down, but we haven't reached that point yet according to her.

This is a puppy who was chasing a frisbee on Sunday. We've seen her get so much worse in the past couple of days. She just had another attack. I guess I should tell myself that she hasn't gotten worse and that she needs time to improve. But it's really hard to be patient with this part. She doesn't deserve a struggle like this.

Oh, and Jody, she came with a 30 day insurance. That'll be running out soon. We don't mind footing the bill. We'd do anything for our baby if it meant that she'd be happy and healthy.

Poor girl though, it's not fair. I'm glad you have some cover but it seems so unfair that you have to pay. Vets bills can be so expensive and some people perhaps wouldn't or couldn't pay them. She's lucky to have two people so determined to keep her healthy and happy.

I so hope she gets better. She won't even understand what's happening to her but she sounds like she is being so good. *more hugs*

I'm getting all teary at work now. Oh well I hope this new plan works out!

*hug hug hugs*

hugs for you all!

We keep fingers and paws crossed for Eliot and hope she will recover.

*passes tissues around*
I think about your family and Eliot a lot. I hope all goes well and I'm glad such a caring and generous family is fighting for her. Hugs to you.

Oh yes, kudos to your vets. it's nice to know that they truly care about the animals they treat.

I really hope Eliot is doing better, I've been praying. Extra luvin from Toto too. I know you're very busy when you get a second give us an update.

Please check out that insurance! If she's been covered up to now the company should accept her for renewal despite having had all these problems. Don't let it lapse! I know the money is the least of your worries right now and of course you would rather give up eating than not pay her bills but that shouldn't be necessary and your bank accounts shouldn't have to suffer too. With luck, she may be around for many years yet so do keep that insurance up if you possibly can!

Anyway - on more important matters. I 'lost' you for a little while back there and I'm so glad Eliot now has her own thread. You are all going through a terrible time and she is so lucky to have you. I'll keep checking back now I've found you again. Good luck with the fight. If healing wishes count for anything you have mine.

Hey guys, I'm doing my best to keep up with the updates. I'm just exhausted emotionally and physically right now. Thanks for all of your concern, it's really appreciated and it helps a lot to be able to talk about this.

Eliot is now taking a phenylbarbitol along with the diazepam (valium). Corey called her the Kurt Cobain of puppies. I think that these drugs are mainly to prevent her from having full blown seizures. As it is now, her back legs still twitch constantly. On the plus side, she seems to be a bit calmer about it and seems to be able to get some rest occasionally. However, she still has attacks when the spasms get considerably worse. She'll lie down, get up, find a new spot, lie down, repeat. Sometimes I think she's trying to find a "comfortable" position that'll make the spasms stop and sometimes I think it's so she can be alone. If petting her for eight hours a day made her feel better, I'd be doing it. But I feel helpless because I can't do anything to make her feel better. At night, she'll cry. Sometimes it's one quick whine and sometimes it's almost as if she's whining under her breath. But before this past week, I never ever heard her complain about anything.

The other part is that she can't use her back legs very well. So we'll pick her up to get her up or down from the bed and we'll carry her up and down the steps or the slope to the field. She's still completely housebroken and has yet to have an accident. But it's hard for her to squat and if she's having an attack I have to wait to take her outside.

Despite all of this, the vet is surprised with how plucky she is for a dog with distemper this advanced. She still pounces on imaginary things in the field during her evening walk and she still loves her squeaky toy (although no more fetch). She still gets super excited whenever there's the promise of food or when Corey comes home. Yes, she'll have to drag herself across the room with her front legs, but she'll do it with her tail wagging and a smile on her face. How the heck can you not give a dog like that a chance?

I love her more with every message! I do so hope your posts are read by the many people I have met (a number of them breeders/showers who should know better) who swear that vaccinations are no longer necessary these days and are just an excuse for vets to make money. If they had any idea of the horror you and your poor baby are going through they just might change their minds - at least, I hope so.

My heart goes out to you all. I'm so happy that despite of her pain she still is leading a happy life with you, for that I'm so thankful for people like you two. You remind me of how good people can be and the amount of love we have to share with others be it human or animal.

Eesh Booksloth, I've never heard that and I can't even fathom that logic. An ounce of prevention... Paying for the vaccination is sooo much cheaper than paying for all of the vet visits and the meds. And after reviewing our insurance policy, I've found that it doesn't cover distemper. It's expensive to treat and our vet told us from the beginning it was up to us as to what lengths we were willing to go to, especially given the success rate. But thankfully, I've found this vet and the meds to be reasonably priced. I was a bit scarred years ago when I took my mouse to the vet for some Ivermectin to treat mites. The vet bill ended up to be 200+ dollars, which I was not expecting. I broke down in tears, but partly because I had been told by my allergist that day that I had to get rid of my mice because I was severely allergic to them (along with a million other things). I knew that there were such things as mouse rescues, but I highly doubted the chance of them being adopted (let alone being taken care of well). I'm happy to say that I still have Fluff, who is now going on 3.25 years and has exceeded his life expectancy of 2 years. I think that the oldest mouse on record is 4 years. Maybe he'll make it. ;-D

Anyways Mandy, it's sooo easy to share love with Eliot when she shares so much love with us. She loves loves loves her daddy and misses him very much when he goes to work. He comes home for lunch everyday at 11. Today after her walk, we laid down on the floor with her and she laid her head down on his arm. I think it was very hard for him to leave her. And everyday when he leaves after lunch, she lays down by the door to wait for him. Yesterday he came home and found us both sleeping by the door. During one of her attacks, she went over to his nightstand and sniffed. I pulled down his baseball cap. She enjoyed sniffing it and chewing the brim and it seemed to distract her. Corey said that we could get her a bunch of them and she could "distress" them and American Eagle could sell them for twice as much money. Today, at his suggestion, I've been wearing one of his dirty shirts. She seems much happier when we're both home, but we think at least she likes being able to smell him. Maybe Corey should stop bathing, what do you guys think?

You have certainly got some lucky animals! The mouse story is absolutely incredible!

I think (or hope anyway) that most people have the sense to have those puppy vacs done but there is quite a trend over here among a certain type of breeder who believe boosters are a waste of money (not any breeder I've ever bought from, I hesitate to add). There are some wonderful breeders/owners around, don't get me wrong, but there are also some who seem to think it's them against the vets. Maybe I should feel sorry for them - I guess they've had a bad experience sometime - me, I couldn't live without my wonderful vet and I'd rather pay any amount than risk my dogs' health. I'm so sorry to hear you won't be covered by the insurance - I'm going to be checking insurances very carefully from now on - I'm amazed they won't cover something so important.

Eliot's been quiet since lunch. So time for Mommy to have some lunch and whee time for lots of posting. Aw, Eliot came over to beg. Hm, she'll get a biscuit in a bit. I swear, I'm such a pushover these days. What, you want steak? Of course, sweetie! *Anything* you want!

Anyways, my advice is that if you get a new pet, visit the vet right away. Get all your paperwork filled out and establish a relationship. You don't want to wait until an emergency and then be unpleasantly surprised. I've had that one bad experience with a vet, but vets have been like family these days to me.

I'm guessing the reason that the insurance doesn't cover distemper is because it's a free insurance from the shelter that's supposed to cover only common problems that might crop up with a newly adopted dog. So thank god that distemper isn't considered common. But yes, I would hope that a regular paid insurance policy would cover it.

It's better to be safe than sorry. You never know what might happen. I think that this whole experience is making me super sensitive to stories about sick puppies. I read an article in Reader's Digest (my mom got me a subscription) about a German Shepherd who needed stomach surgery and the surgeon was so touched because the dog wagged her tail at him despite the pain she was in and he knew that he shouldn't give up on her. I started freakin' bawling. I mean I've had some boyfriends who turned into big babies when they got a cold and here Eliot is staying so sweet and brave and her problems are so much larger. Must go pet puppy now!

Give her a hug from me and a big lick from Skeelo. Couldn't agree more about the whole vet thing.

hgtfviu8u88Ii(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((8I

I just hit "post a message" and Pepper came running over to me jumped up next to me and laid on my lap (which of course was being used by my laptop) So the above is Pepper's message. I think she is saying "Hang in there Eliot!*hug*"

Now i don't remember what I was going to say.

Oh, Estrellita, my family's heart goes out to you and Corey and Eliot. We lost two puppies a year apart, and those were some of the darkest days we ever lived through. We had a terrible experience with one vet, who didn't seem to care when she misdiagnosed my sweet puppy Honey, and cared even less when the puppy died 14 hours after that vet saw her. That kind of indifference horrifies me -- though, in all fairness, I have had some pediatricians who were just as cold-blooded and indifferent to children's suffering as that vet.

Anyway, I'm sure you know that however things turn out, you and your husband have given Eliot all the love she needed. One of my favorite authors once said that heaven is the place where everything we ever suffered is made up to us. If that is so (and it would be lovely to think so), then whatever happens, your Eliot will be cherished - either here on earth, by you and Corey, or in heaven, where she will wait patiently until you can all be together again.

My daughters and my son and I are sending lots of good wishes your way. We're pulling for Eliot to pull through, and for you all to have the happy ending you so richly deserve.

You are making the world a better place by being in it.

Corey and I had to put Eliot down yesterday. She was getting worse and we didn't want her to suffer. I hope that we made the right decision. I hope that she was happy. I miss her more than words can say. I love her so very much. Thank you all for your support. I'm so sorry.

"One of my favorite authors once said that heaven is the place where everything we ever suffered is made up to us." = great quote.

I sincerely can see Elliott in doggie heaven, free from suffering. So sorry for your pain.

That is a very hard choice to make. Please remember that in her short life she was able to meet you and love and be loved. Despite her pain she was happy to be with you two, which I think is all that a dog needs in order to have had a fulfilling life. She was fulfilled and now she no longer suffers.

*BIG BEAR HUG*

Estrellita, I've been thinking about you and your husband and Eliot and wishing for the best. I'm so sorry it had to come to this.

Eliot was incredibly lucky to have had you two as such wonderful owners. You gave her so much love. I'm positive you made the only choice possible, the best one for Eliot. I'm so very sorry for your loss.

With all the love you gave her, you know deep down inside it was the right decision. It's so hard to do but it is the last truly loving thing any of us can do for our dogs. She was so lucky to have you. I do know what you're going through now and my heart aches for you.

My heart aches for you and your husband. But I know this as surely as I know my own name -- you gave Eliot all the love and happiness she needed. You were there for her, as a loving and adoring family, so she had that blessed experience of being wanted, of being loved, of being cherished. You gave her what she needed most. No words can comfort you right now, but if you feel the need to talk, please email me. We lost two beloved puppies when they were very young, and I do understand, a little, of what you're feeling.

I'm so sorry Estrellita -- you did everything to make sure Eliot's days were happy. Take comfort in that.

I am very sorry Estrellita.
May Eliot live on in our hearts...

As I wipe the tears from my eyes, I am thankful that Eliot was with such good people and found love.

Estrellita --I can't begin to tell you how sad I am for you and your family. Eliot was a wonderful little dog who was so happy to have you as her family, and in the end she looked to you for comfort and you calmed her. What you experienced with her was singular and can not be experienced ever again. Maybe this quote by Kahlil Gibran will help in the days ahead
"When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight" Eliot is running and playing at the Bridge and one day will bound into your arms again.

R.I.P.Eliot from Toto and L J

((((((((((Estrellita!)))))))))))

I've been a bit hit and miss getting on here and I didn't know. This is such an awful, sad thing. I'm so shocked and upset for you and for poor brave Eliot. I'm sure you did the very best you could and made a tough choice for a good reason but I so wish things could have been happier for you all.

I'm failry new to the group and have been slowly reading some of the older threads and I found this one and went throught two months worth of emotion in a few short minutes. I'm so sorry Estrellita, and so proud of you at the same time for doing your very best when it came to Eliot. I just wanted to share with you something a friend of mine wrote when another friend was in the position of making the same decision that you made with Eliot. And it was the right decision. Maybe these words will give you some comfort because I'm sure that even though it has been 5 or 6 weeks, that you are probably still hurting very much.

"I would much rather have to euthanize one of my beloved animals in a moment of peace -- *I* am the one gifted with the sense of the future, time is a human construct, and I do see this as one of the responsibilities I have towards my four-legged companions -- than let it happen in a moment of crisis, when all they seek is relief from the agony. "

Many hugs!

Those words are very comforting to me, phlegmmy. It has been awhile since I have had to euthanize a pet but the pain never goes away.