Dog-Gone - Loo-C-Loo

So where does one start about a family's love for a dog, a great husky-lab mix with piercing blue eyes that melted everyone's heart when meeting her? I'm not exactly sure, but I do know that it was time to "let her go" this afternoon after she'd been going "downhill" for the past several months, most notably the last few weeks. She was just two days shy of her 12th birthday, and "we"really wanted to get her there, but fate intervenes, and she is in a much better place than being in pain and agony that the family has witnessed for awhile now.

She was such a gentle soul, hardly barked (she was a one-WOOF wonder), and very regal in stature. She was attentive and "gracious" to Ryan while he recovered from his cancer experiences and recent tongue surgeries, but never begged or bugged us (well...she did like to go in and out of the sliding glass doors a lot in the dining room!). But overall, she was the greatest companion and friend a human could ask for...and the best part, she was a rescue and our home was her final home.

The house is eerily quiet as I write this, (along shedding tears of sadness and gratefulness), and I already know I'm not going to like the quiet...as our family has had one or two dogs galavanting all over our homes for the past 30 years. "Mi casa, su casa" was our motto for all of them, including precious Loo-C-Loo.

Interestingly, my wonderful vet, Dr. James Pelura of Davidsonville Veterinary Clinic actually "bought" us an additional week with our beloved pup last week. You see, Loo was seemingly in a lot of pain, so he prescribed an anti-inflammatory. He said she will perk up immediately, and she did, much to our delight. In addition, "The Best Daughter" was home for a longer spell (working for a client in Maryland), and was able to spend a lot of time with her while she was home. It was truly a gift, and we will cherish those times for sure. But the "magic pills" did not last long, and she fell deeper in despair in the last few days.

Dr. Pelura mentioned to me at our last visit that it's unfortunate that, "dogs don't talk to tell us how they feel or what hurts." I struggle to believe that statement because I believe dogs (and other animals too) certainly tell us...we just have to pay close attention and tune into them for the answers. Loo-C quit licking our hands because it may have been painful for her to do so; she did not look us in the eyes any longer because she did not want us to see her hurt and she protected us from her pain; and lastly, she simply could not keep up the "facade" that everything was okay with her because she hurt all over (it took her two minutes to try and lie down this morning).

But through the last 12 years with her, we are incredibly blessed and thankful that she was our dog; and as the saying goes: "Who rescued who?" I think she rescued us!

I would also like to take a few moments to SHOUT OUT THANKS to several folks that took care of her in our absence: Jasmine Knox; Grace and Lianne MacMillan; Michelle Frank; Linda Duret; Susie Stevenson and Carrie Casto and her family. She was loved and well-taken care of and that's all my family could ask of them while we were away.

BSoleille! The bright side of the wonderful privilege of sharing our lives with Loo-C-Loo Tomoff!

Terri

My photo today was taken by Olivia Tomoff (AKA "The Best Daughter") this past Friday; her best (recent) day following the prescribed meds.