Aunt Jazz is at Rainbow Bridge
They joy they give us and the pain we feel when they are gone. If I had to weigh them right now I would say the pain is too great to bear. And if I am feeling this way what must my dear friend and her husband be feeling? I want to be strong for them but everytime we talk we just end up crying even harder. They have no children and their dogs are their life. Bob loved Jazz so much and poured his heart into her training for search and rescue. That is why she was always asked for specifically when emergency personnel in our area needed a dog to help find someone.
I know in my heart that the joy they give outweighs the pain but at this moment my heart is breaking. I do not know the exact details of what happened yet since we can't talk without breaking down but I do know that Kathi and Bob were with her in the end. I believe they found too much Cancer and it was spread and so the decision to put her out of her misery was made. They only gave her a few short weeks if they wanted to prolong it.
I tell my son that every living thing has a time to be born and a time to die. Sometimes I just don't understand why the time to die is so soon. :confused:
Thank you for your words of sympathy and support!
Kathi and I were finally able to talk through our tears. On Sunday morning a little after midnight, they got a call that Jazz's liver had quit functioning. They immediately went to the hospital and found that she was bleeding from the nose and her stomach was very distended. They also found her rolled over with the vet technician rubbing her belly. She loved belly rubs.
When Jazz saw and heard Kathi and Bob, she got up and greeted them as though nothing was wrong, her tail wagging. They took her outside and she did her business and then they took her back inside. Jazz was her old self again for a short period of time. I guess this is normal when they are near the end. She fell asleep and they made the decision to euthanize her at that point since her liver was shutdown and she was bleeding from the nose.
She was such a great girl. She gave her mom and dad the greatest gift of getting to see her as her old self again, even if it was for only a short period of time. It was a gift I know they will cherish forever.
Bob is taking this very hard. He has also lost about 10 pounds in a month (since Jazz got sick). They have been training Blaze (Dixie's natural brother and Jazz's family brother) in SAR work also but he is no where near as good as Jazz was. She was a natural. Anyway, Kathi tells me he wants to quit the team now that he doesn't have Jazz. I think this will pass but please pray that it passes quickly.
Kathi and I also have another concern. Dixie looks like a twin to her Aunt Jazz - minus the difference in age. It is going to be hard on Bob to see her. The resemblence of the two of them was remarkable. Here is the picture at the birthday party. What do you think? Should I keep her away for a while or let him see her?
Jazz is at the bottom and Dixie is third from the bottom. This picture was taken in January. The one above posted in memory of Jazz was taken when Dixie was only about a year old. Goldens usually are lighter when they are pups and grow into their adult color by the age of two.
http://www.photogra.com/galleries/35...0224193236.jpg
Final update. :( Aunt Jazz will rest forever in her favorite spot on earth.
Kathi and Bob have had Aunt Jazz cremated and are going to spread her ashes on Lake Latonka. They have a cottage up North of Pittsburgh and Jazzy would spend hours laying on the dock by the lake. She would drop a tennis ball in the water and watch it hit the side of the dock and then she would jump in and cool off. Then it was back to laying on the dock watching the tennis ball hit the side of the dock again. She was a talented tennis ball nut and could actually put 3 in her mouth with no trouble and 4 if she concentrated.
They will be taking her there for the last time and spreading her ashes over the lake at her favorite spot.
Blaze is mopping a lot and can't figure out where his sister has gone. He sniffs for her all the time. Today will be his first day at home by himself since he was born.
Bob is still not ready to see Dixie since she reminds him too much of Jazz. I told Kathi she will need to bring the boy down to my house so he can play with his blood sister and nephew.
