For The Love of Jenny Sue

Yesterday was a day that no pet parent wants to do. A day that had laughter but lots of tears. Please bare with me because I don't know if this will be a short post or a long one. 

On December 29th 2016, hubby and I took Jenny Sue to the vet and when we left she was wrapped in a her blanket that said "I love mommy, I love daddy" her body had no life left in it. 

We set our beautiful baby girl free. 

Free from pain, free from diabetes 

In my mind, She has regained her eyesight and her hearing.

She is free. 

For the last 8 months, Jenny's health has deteriorated. We knew what was happening but we wanted just a little longer with her. She was having good days and bad days. Her bad days started outnumbering her good. 

On good days she was able to go out to potty, eat her meals and give awesome kisses. On her bad days, she would shake , stand for 10-30 minutes in one spot staring off into space. I would put her outside and tap her sides to give her the cue to go potty. She would just stand there for the longest time and then make her way to the door. She would come in and potty in the floor. 

She started getting lost in her own yard. So many times I would have to go out to the farthest part of our yard and pick her up to bring her in. Sometimes she would get lost in the house. It was hard to watch but we wanted to hold her a little longer. 

When she was having a good day , it would make our heart soar. She had a lot of spunk for being blind and deaf. A couple of weeks ago she got a hold of a chicken bone. I reached down to take that chicken bone away and she tried to tear me up. She knew it was me, she didn't care. She wanted that chicken bone and made it quiet clear that she was willing to fight for it. She lost that battle because she didn't need a chicken bone. 

The next morning I got up and she had pooped in my shoe. That was her way of telling me she didn't appreciate the fact I took something away from her that she really wanted. When she was 3 years old and a strange dog came in our yard. She was the only fur baby at the time and she was daddy's baby girl through and through. We brought the dog in and called the number on the tag. The owner was at work but said he would be there as soon as he could get here. Hubby picked this pup up and started loving on it. If looks could have killed, he wouldn't be here today. She did not like the fact that her daddy was loving on a strange dog. She ignored him the rest of the night. She wouldn't look at him when he talked to her. He kept telling her she was the only baby in his life. Didn't matter. She was mad at him. 

The next morning he got up and made his usual walk to the bathroom. As soon as he took a step, he felt the ooze of something. He hopped on the other foot and felt the same ooze on that foot. He was screaming and cussing so loud that he woke me up. When I turned on the light, there was a minefield of shit in the exact same path as he took every morning. No matter where he stepped there was a small turd. We still to this day say that she did it on purpose. When he seen her he told her he could wring her neck. She let out a sound that sounded exactly like HA! She went in the bedroom and jumped on the bed with me and let out a sound of relief. 

You didn't want to make her mad. You would get shit in your shoes or in your pathway. I can tell stories about when she would get mad and she would let you know it too. You never left a RC or a beer sitting around. She liked both. She would knock whatever you had over and start lapping it faster than you could get to her. She always waited until you were not near your drink. So many people have lost their drinks while at our house. She was the party animal. 

We referred to her as the italiano pup. She loved spaghetti, lasagna, anything with a tomato base. I think she watched Lady and the Tramp too much because her favorite scene was the spaghetti scene. 

She was the best wabbit wangler you ever would see. She grew up through puppyhood with a rabbit named Prince. He loved to stay in the backyard during the day and he would come in at night. I would open the door and tell her to go get Prince in and she would find him and they would do their chase all threw the yard and he would come in then go straight to his cage. He wouldn't come in unless he seen her coming out to get him. He would sit in the yard looking toward the house and wait. They had a game they played. Sometimes Prince would chase her into the house. They were best of friends. 

When Carma came into the family , Jenny accepted her. They had a love of orange sherbert ice cream and that was their treat once a week. They had to share the same sherbert. They wouldn't eat one by themselves. Jenny Sue adored ice cream. The family trips to Sonic was the highlight of the month for her. Unfortunately, we had to stop that last year when the ice cream would cause her terrible diarrhea. She was never satisfied with just a tablespoon of ice cream. She would fight you over your ice cream. 

She was a talker. She would make sounds that almost everyone understood. We understood everything she said. She would tell you she loved you, she tell you no and she tell you she was hungry. 

When she lost her sight , we didn't treat her no different. We continued to play the games she loved and she continued to play them. Her ears became her eyes. She could play fetch like a dog with full eye sight. She could swim, go for walks without a leash, find her toys and anything a dog with sight could do. She was amazing. 

She knew how to make the faces that would melt your heart and get what she wanted. When she was young, her spots formed a bunny head between her eyes. I always said she was meant to be ours. She was also the favorite grand dog. She had a t shirt that said "Favorite grandchild".  She would give you a hug and just mold her body into yours. She was perfect. 

She traveled everywhere with us. She was welcomed in everyone's home and we were not allowed to leave her at home. She was loved by many. Sometimes I think we were only invited because of her. 

  

We never imagined all the love that one teeny tiny pup who was born in a no kill shelter could give. Nor did we ever think of all the memories and moments that she would give. She was a good puppy. Never was a bit of trouble. She was sassy and had a ton of spunk. She is what we needed. She was perfect. 

It really was hard watching her grow so old in the last few months. Just looking at photos of her from last year versus what she looked like yesterday was a real eye opener. We couldn't fill her up. She was always hungry, yet she was losing weight everyday. She was a walking skeleton. The vet always told me that when she stopped eating is when it would be the end. We didn't want it to get to that point. It didn't stop us from wanting to hold her a little longer. 

We rearranged our lives because of her. We know longer traveled as a family because one of us had to stay with her. We didn't want to stress her out by letting someone else take care of her. We adjusted our budget in order to add her needs like certain foods, medicines, eye drops, needles for insulin, and special treats.  That is what you do for your family members. 

When she first came home with us on Jan. 1 2003, she had a special stuffed animal. We always called this stuffed toy "mama dog". She had to have mama dog with her to sleep. When she got older, she would hunch mama dog. She was not spayed because she started having seizures and our vet said we should wait. We waited and waited and then we decided not to put her through the surgery. You can have a unspayed female without "accidental" pregnancies. Its called a watchful eye. 

Friday was a good day for her. No accidents, felt good and was full of love and kisses. She kissed me all the way to the vet's office. She kissed us both while in the office. She also peed on the floor, cut a terrible smelling fart and shit on the floor. She kept me busy cleaning up after her. She had a good day and it was a good day to travel. 

She is free. No more bad days. She was a good girl. She was perfect. 

We held her a little longer but we knew we needed to let her go. 

She is buried with her mama dog and wearing her "favorite grandchild" shirt

We couldn't be selfish any longer. 

So tonight when you look in the sky and see that star shining bright,just know that is our Jenny Sue. She shared love and joy with everyone she met. 

I love you, Dammit Jenny Sue. 

You will always be our baby girl. 

Love you to the moon and back, Mama