Forty degrees, gray, and raining. Not the Christmas in Seward we’d hoped for. Between here and Anchorage it’s another story, biblical inches of snow with howling wind, not expected to clear until tomorrow, so we’re staying put down here, even though a simple walk down the beach this morning was thwarted by ice. Even The Dog was doing The Penguin walk.
Inside, we enjoyed a more traditional Christmas, a tree with a modest apron of modest gifts and a not-too-spicy Alaskan shrimp cocktail
I got a super comfy acrylic knit hat, cycling accouterments, a gift card to spin classes (have I mentioned I’m leading another bike tour in Alaska in ’17?), a coffee mug to remind me I’m the youngest of three children, a bottle of my favorite wine from Chateau St. Jean, Cinq Cepages (thank you Sistah!), and a box of Queen Anne cherries, these last two ostensibly to share with Happy Wife. Emphasis on ostensibly. She got slippers, a dress (one she likes!), a pastry piping bag with an assortment of tips, a recipe hook, and shoes (she needs).
Almost forgot, I also got a bottle of wicked good gin. We arrived at Our Nest Friday night to find the gin bottle nearly empty. Sensing my lament, and to lift my spirits (ha ha) HW said, “You want one of your gifts early?”
“Under the circumstances I’m hardly feeling cheery right now, Dear.”
Voila – Lament Crusher!
Dear Rob, I came across your website while tidying up some old emails. You may not remember me, but I travelled with Jim Gordon nursing puppy Rufus on my knee to deliver him to you in Taos and then a few days later we saw you and Rufus in Santa Fe.
I have been enjoying reading about your life. It is so wonderful to see such a happily married couple who love life and their dogs so much. I haven’t been fortunate to find someone as you two have, however for the last 12 years I had my dog Ella Fitzgerald Scott with me. Sadly she went to heaven on 30 Dec 2016 aged 12 years 4 months and 16 days. She was a beautiful Sheltie, my best friend, – sweet, adorable, beautiful and loved everyone. I miss her so much.
In the last couple of week she had a couple of times when she was panting heavily and coughing badly and fairly frequently. Last Sunday she was like that and her tongue would look almost purple but then returned to pink. She was okay on Mon & Tues but still panting more than usual and coughing. We went to the Vet on Wednesday (when they opened after Christmas) and he said with the heart murmur some blood was going into the lungs and she couldn’t clear the fluid. He gave her tablets but on Thurs night she was quite bad, panting and coughing a lot and very uncomfortable. I sat up with her most of the night. Holding her in my arms kept her a little more upright and relieved the coughing. We went to the vet on Fri morning and he gave her medication to clear the fluid but he said if it didn’t work then I would have to make the decision. I waited for about an hour just in case but she responded well and her oxygen levels returned to normal. He told me to come back at 4pm to take her home. However when I returned and they brought her out to me, she started panting heavily again and she took a turn for the worse. The vet came out and said there was nothing more to do, she had just had another dose of medication but it didn’t work. I said she couldn’t go through another night like the previous one. He said the time had come which I knew. She got worse again within 10 mins and so she left me and went to heaven. I spent about an hour there patting her, she looked like she was in a peaceful sleep. She had been to the park on Tues and Thurs. She didn’t do much walking so we sat at the picnic tables so she could just rest and enjoy being there. So glad she had that day to enjoy. A friend recently told me of the loss of her dog and cat and she used Angel’s Ashes to look after them. I have arranged for them to pick up Ella and bring her ashes back to me. I have spent the last 12 years going to the Park every weekend. Now I don’t know what to do with myself. There will be no more welcome home for me at the end of the day. Ella had a wonderful life though. I suppose I will now be free to do other things but I would so much rather have her here. I know I will get better each day but for now I am sad.
I can see how much you love your dogs so I know you will understand.
With Best Regards from Helen in Adelaide, South Australia.
Helen,
Nancy here. My heart goes out to you. Rod and I have lost 3 furry members of our family in about 4 years. Each one broke our hearts like your Ella. She will always be your best friend.