Sleep wasn’t about to happen last nite & the words just kept appearing in front of my eyeballs. So, with the gospel music blaring, I thought about how many soldiers made up our #lovearmy this past week. Wow.

What happened:

Beau, my 10 year old catahoula mix & oldest of my pack started acting a little different, but there were no solid “symptoms” that brought us to a vet. But I had a bad feeling. Turned out his condition was rare & came on fast & furious. The seizures he had were not of the epilepsy variety. Rather, they were caused by either fluid on the brain or inflammation of the brain; a condition with no options for treatment in a 10 year old dog. (But I loved all the suggested treatment paths by dog loving friends; my favorite being the homemade marijuana oil.) Violent & horrible to watch. No worries, I will spare you the details.

I had 8 more days with him after the first one. On the last day he had several, which is more than anyone should ever have to endure in a lifetime. He didn’t know who I was for a couple of weeks & was confused & afraid & tired most of the time, refusing to come out of the safety of his crate most days. If you are interested in seeing some of what we were dealing with, I have posted videos here & here of what would happen between seizures.

I have lovingly built the richest empire of a network when it comes to dog stuff. Man, I’m so lucky, especially at times like this. I want to share our experiences with you & some links in case you need to call on any of these people in the future. There are also several angels I need to acknowledge & virtually hug today…

Here goes!

Jen jumped in her car at midnite 2 Fridays ago to drive us to the emergency room after Beau’s first seizure. Thankful too for Sunset Blvd. Animal Clinic’s new 24-hour care program. Ironically, the owner, Dr. Young, was Beau’s first veterinarian after me & Maya adopted him. Then she was back at my house last night texting from the parking lot, “Not stalking you. Just here if you guys need company.”

Dr. Huddleston from Westheimer Bellaire is the vet who saved my foster Joe’s life from distemper. I brought Beau to see him & he knew right away what was going on. He offered a referral for extensive testing, but was frank with me about how stressful running them would be & likely inconclusive due to the very clear textbook symptoms Beau displayed. He was available by cell phone the entire week & I absolutely friggin’ adore him.

Mattison is my voice of reason in life & in business. She was a major league Beau fan. (OK, the truth is she sees the rest of my pack as “patients at the asylum”…with Beau as their warden, I suppose! LOL.) Went out of her way to see him last week & give him some sweet goodbye messages to take with him on his way.

Regina watched my dogs when I went out of town a few weeks ago & told me about a slight change in his personality then. She paid her respects this week too. Positively one of my favorite people on the planet.

Biological & soul sista Dawn insisted on bringing my 2 young nieces on Saturday after Pocketshots to say goodbye. I was tired & frustrated & maybe not so nice. Maybe. 😉 But she loves my pretty & unpretty parts just the same… & basically just ignored my inability to be grateful at that moment. This morning I received this photo from my 3 gypsy girls with a note:

“Soleil, Emonni & I said a prayer for you & Beau-Beau this morning. We lit Lavender incense to honor his peacefulness and loving requests for relaxing belly rubs. We told him we’re happy he’s healthy now & enjoying “alone time” with Maya once again. We asked him to bring you peace while he watches over you with Maya… We love you Rob.”

The rest of my pack were beyond patient & sweet. Each went right into their crate every time I asked while Beau had the run of the house. One of the symptoms of this disorder is aggression, so risks of harm to all needed to be minimized.

My parents may not understand my strange dogsworldlife completely, but their support & love means everything to me. In the good times & the bad. Forever.

Catherine from Paws Memorial was an angel in Maya’s passing & again with Beau. Their personal service & careful protocols & sweet extras are beyond a godsend for a grieving pet parent. By the time I got home yesterday, she had already sent this photo of Beau’s paws/tail artwork as a keepsake for us.

By & By Memorials by the same rad company who makes Fetching Tags created Maya’s special box for her ashes. They will create another original for Beau.

Teresa runs a very busy rescue & a business, but she drops everything when I need her, for realz. She was the first one I called 3ish years ago after realizing Beau had eaten a coffee soaked dish towel & only thrown up 1/2 of it. There were complications after the obstruction surgery & he stayed in the hospital 5 more days refusing to eat just to make matters worse. The surgeon discharged his depressed little butt in hopes he would eat at home. Teresa came right over & rubbed stinky tripe on his gums to stimulate his wanting to eat again & he had a full meal of chicken after that. Yesterday she drove us to Paws Memorial & was there every step of the way for which I am totally grateful.

Dr. Moore with Foster Creek Veterinary is Teresa’s badass vet out in Richmond & met us to end Beau’s suffering outside on the Paws Memorial property. It was a beautiful & peaceful place under a patch of trees. He is a genuine & very kind man who loves animals bigtime.

Ria Loves Beau. I love Ria.

All the love & support from clients & friends & family lifted me up yesterday. We are surely ONE.

The day after his first seizure I reached out to Kira of Intuitive Pet Care to see if she could have a little chat with my boy. OK, that’s not true. It was more of a hysterical text message asking “if he was going to fucking die?!”

She told me that Beau wasn’t responding with a definitive yes or no, but she felt a sense of overwhelming peace with him. He told her that he was pleased with the work he had done here in this lifetime. In hindsight, she likely knew the truth then, but gave me just enough information to take with me over the next few days as it all played out.

Last nite Kira sent this to me. Her gifts continuously stop me in my tracks. Luckily for us she writes daily on her facebook page. A stunning reflection, yet again, of the perfection of a dog’s love:

“His belly was a source of calm for you. A source for gathering your thoughts and feeling like everything really is ok. His gift to you as he leaves is peace. He is giving you a sense of peace you have never felt before because it is in his spirit that you can feel the FULL extent of the peace he instilled in your life when he was alive. As he walks into his spirit you walk into an even more peaceful existence.

It is in his transition to spirit that a chapter of your life is complete. Leaving his body marks the beginning of a new dawn. Another sign you are moving towards a more peaceful way of life. It is a rebirth of habits, a celebration of memories, a death of resistance, and a reunion of souls. The love you shared together is now part of the love you bare to the world. It is greater, more powerful, and a love forever transformed.”

Just so you know, here is one side of Beau’s tag. It’s a personalized Fetching Tag made 10 years ago & he lived up to greeting everyone on his back for belly rubs all the years since.

Guess it’s time to design the next memorial tattoo. Here’s a peek at Maya’s on my arm…with LOLA’s puppy paws.

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xo