The Arrival and Departure of Wiggles

As Carl was getting ready to leave on a 2 week trip, we were asked to take a hospice girl for Lab Rescue, named Wiggles. 

At almost 15 years old, Wiggles was being returned to the rescue because her owners are going to the UK to take a clock repair class - That by the way is offered throughout the year. But the bottom line is they didn't want to take her with them, or wait to take the course. You just can't make this up. And yes, I'm afraid I'm totally judging. 

~Introducing Wiggles~

The owners were insistent about returning Wiggles to the rescue, and so she was taken to a temporary foster home until arrangements could be made to bring her to my side of the Potomac. I received the below text from her temporary foster home that broke all of our hearts for Wiggles. 

Needless to say, Wiggles didn't do so well in her new surroundings. She wasn't eating, hardly getting up from her bed, and seemed totally disconnected. Again, our hearts all broke for her, because all that Wiggles had known for so many years was gone. The temporary foster home did all they could to reassure her, and it worked. After a few days, she began eating again, and getting up and exploring. It was a relief! But we did worry that at almost 15 years old, how she'd handle yet another change. 

~A new collar and new start for Wiggles~

We soon found out. On August 22nd, I met Wiggles for the first time. She was exactly what I thought she would be. Gentle, sweet, endearing, and in need of reassurance. Our first few days didn't go so well -- She was fine with all our dogs, but the change in her surroundings really did leave her unsure. 

~Meeting Wiggles~

I didn't know what Wiggles story was going to be. I'd agreed to take her with the plan that she was going to remain with us for the rest of her life. It was what all of us involved in this chapter thought too. But with 'healthy enough' test results, the rescues medical coordinator made Wiggles available for adoption. 

~At the vet with Wiggles~

Given her age, I never thought someone would be interested in adopting Wiggles. And it had been my plan to keep her. But with a lot going on peripherally, I never got the chance to say I'd wanted her to stay. 

But stay, Wiggles did not. Surprisingly someone wanted to adopt this almost 15 year old girl. A retired gentleman, who lost his wife about 2 years ago, and his 16 year old Lab just a few weeks ago wanted to. Try as hard as I could to talk him out of Wiggles, he was determined to come and meet her. His grandson stays with him on weekends, and he wanted to come too.  And so we met them last Saturday. 

Of course I liked Retired man. He said more than once that he wanted someone to keep him company and to care for, and that's exactly what Wiggles needed too. I couldn't deny it, they were meant to be together. And so Wiggles was adopted. They are a perfect match -- and it was a perfect way and day to celebrate Wiggles on her 15th birthday. 🎈

Twenty One Days

It has already been twenty one days since Todd left us. I'm still having those moments where I feel a wave of grief over his loss. I think that the hardest part has been that he was gone so quickly and so unexpectedly. Our 13 years together was over before I knew it. But isn't that what we always say? 

~Todd's first day with us 6-24-2011~

However, my heart and soul are full of gratitude that we were lucky enough to have Todd as part of our lives. Thank you all for sharing his loss with me. Your comments, e-mails, cards, flowers and even homemade peach jam from a local friend all lifted my heart and spirits in so many ways. 

And a very special thank you, to you blogging friends for letting me share Todd's antics with you too! What a fun and spirted character Todd was - Todd with his big personality brought us so much joy and laughter!! He was truly the star of our household. He was everything and so much more that I wanted in a dog when we decided on a puppy that was not going to be a Golden Retriever. And maybe, just maybe, I'll do it again with another terrier. It's way too quiet at our house, and I'm sure the 3 neighbors we have miss Todd's barking too. We'll see what the cosmos has in store. 

~Todd - 2016~

Carl was out of town when we lost Todd, and that left me as single-dog-Mom for 2 weeks. Taking care of everything at home and getting to work, was, well, a lot of work. It was good to be busy and was even therapeutic. But at the end of those first days, when the day was over, and we'd all go to bed, in the quiet moments of course I'd think of Todd and how much I loved and missed him. I'll always miss him.

So, it's now twenty-one days since Todd left and life is somehow settling into a new routine without him. But his spirit lives on in all the memories he left us with. He'll always be part of this place I call Golden Pines. Which in this moment, lets me know that we're going to be okay. ❤

~Our happy place and last fun trip - Tennessee - August 2024~

Tucked into a card from a friend. 

A Heartbreaking Loss in August

It has been over a month since I last posted. August was so many things on so many levels of busy to relaxing and recharging. So, of course there is a lot of news that I want to tell you about. But first I want to tell you the sad and heartbreaking news that we lost Todd on Friday. I am devastated and so many other things. 

Todd's loss came totally unexpected, and has been consuming and overwhelming for me. Carl is out of town, so it has also been a lonely and sad time. I will tell you more about what happened in another post, but for now I'll tell you that it began with an infected lump, that quickly turned into sepsis - Something I had no idea could occur in as short as 6 hours. 

With time by myself, I can't help but reflect on our 13 years together, and looking at so many of Todd's photos and "remembering when...." We had fun together. We had so many more good days than not so good ones. Todd's big personality and fun spirit filled every corner of our home with smiles, joy, laughter, eye rolls and headshaking too -- Yes, of course there was a bit of frustration at times when his feistiness and that terrier independence and stubbornness would prevail over what I'd asked of him. But it was who he was, and he was truly the star of our household.  I'm already missing all his Scottie antics and so much more ... Like the sound of him running through the house, the barking (and barking) at everything that he felt was important enough to warrant his attention. I'm going to miss the noises he'd make when I'd give him a massage, his sleeping next to me, being under my feet at the computer, the look in his eyes that truly was a window to his strong heart and soul ...  seeing and watching his unbridled enthusiasm and joy and his smile ... so many things that I cannot possibly list .... So many moments that are now memories and are a part of me, and Todd too. 💔

The Final Report is in

THE FINAL PATHOLOGY REPORT for Noodle has been returned -- I'll begin with saying that just prior to the surgery to amputate his leg, an oncologist looked at Noodle's x-rays and suggested that the cancer may be in his knee joint, and was not osteosarcoma (bone cancer) like we had thought. This gave us something to hope for. 

And those hopes were raised when the preliminary biopsy report made no mention of bone cancer, but  instead, mentioned synovial cell sarcoma -- I'd never heard of it, so I looked it up. 

**Synovial cell sarcoma, also known as joint cancer, is a soft tissue cancer that affects a dog's joints. The best treatment for synovial cell sarcoma in dogs is amputation of the affected limb. The surgery must be wide and deep to remove all of the tumor tissue, and a large margin of healthy tissue should be removed around the visible mass. In some cases, amputation may be the only way to be curative.

With that, all we could do was wait for the final report. And the final report confirmed what we were all hoping for, that Noodle's cancer was confined to his knee joint - With clear and extended margins from the amputation with no signs that it metastasized, and no signs of osteosarcoma, we are confident that Noodle's surgery has been curative. 

It was truly the best news. I cannot express the relief and gratitude I am feeling - That feeling of gratitude also extends to the rescue for their deciding to do the amputation surgery when we were so unsure of what the outcome would be. It has, without a doubt, given Noodle a bright future.