Life without Spinster and Q

It's been a week since we said goodbye to Spinnaker.  We were very lucky to have touched based months ago with a DR who comes to the house.  It was important to me to have Spinnaker put down at home, with all of the animals around, and I never really knew how I would handle the kids being there.  I thought I would have them go out and play, but all wanted to be there.

Reichen didn't leave my side all afternoon once we brought Spinnaker to her little pallate near the fire place.  He comforted me as much as he comforted Spinnaker.  The picture that Steve posted of her there in the end looks so good, her little mind seemed so with it but she had long lost the use of her back legs, her front legs resembled a tri pod as she stood in those final days, and she literally fell on her face several times and that is when I knew.  I possibly selfishly kept her a live longer than I should have, but she was the first time I have ever had to make such a call or decision and it was very difficult.  Last Christmas (2007) I thought it would be our last year with both Spinnaker and Sandy.  Spinnaker due to her age, Sandy due to the fact that she was diagnosed with Spindle Cell Sarcoma.  I felt so lucky to have them both this past Christmas, and my goal was to get Spinnaker thru till Christmas and Sandy is appearing 100% cancer free after the very aggressive removal of tissue around her growth when diagnosed. From what I have found out on the internet is amazing Sandy is alive.  Spinny has had a wonderful life, and it was time.

Our DR was amazing!!!  I had never met her before, we had spoken about 6 times on the phone over the months as I kept her updated on Spinnaker's condition.  She was so patient with us, and was here a good two hours.  She gave Spinnaker something to literally make her sleep, her little head fell asleep in my clutched hands.  We stayed like that for about 15 minutes when she gave her the final meds.  I didn't even know Spinnaker had passed, she had to tell me, it was so peaceful.

The hard part was watching Steve load Spinnaker into Tristin's (vet) SUV.  She took her to the gal who creamated her for us.  We put a towel over her from our Hash House Harrier running days.  It was a towel used when I got my naming in the Hash...in true Hash House Harrier manner I kissed her before we closed the trunk and said, "ON-ON Spinnaker".  Reichen approached her with a Star Wars drawing he had done to be cremated with her and the vet tucked it under her paw.

Steve had surpirsed me with a CD that he made of songs that had reminded me of Spinnaker over the years, and when he came in the house an hour before the vet arrived he put it in the player and it really did mean the world to me.

Q...was so unplanned...named after James Bonds techy butler...

I had called our local SPCA about two weeks before Spinnaker's death just to inquire about a dog that I knew had been there awhile it ended up she had been adopted out and I was really wanting to hang up that phone quickly before some bait was thrown my way....:)

So Melinda (the SPCA director) said, "are you wanting another dog Neve"?  Quickly I said, "No"!!!!!!!!!  Our plans are to go around the World in 7 years and we came to a plan and a  commitment 20 months ago when we decided to do this that all of our animals will probably have gone to heaven by this point and that we could not ruin our plans by adding to the family with pets.

She then proceeded and said she had the "perfect dog for us!!!!".  A male yellow lab who is about 10 years old...and did I mention he is deaf....100% deaf!!!!  The chances of him being around in 7 years I think as not an option.  I didn't even have to see him, I told her we would take him.  He walks funny (bad hips), is all scared up from a life that we will never know he had (he was found a stray).  He is a perfect "old shoe"...he just lays around, wags his tail and eats like a champ.  He literally sleeps ON the kids, lets them build forts around him...and he is perfect.  He sat beside Spinnaker in her final moments.