June 2016

My theme song is dedicated to my sweet dog Q. E.

My Girl by the Temptations

Well, I have not had the energy to post on my blog lately. We have been busy with lots to share but it has been a difficult month for us. One of the deal-breakers I had in moving to Ecuador was that we bring our 3 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels to Ecuador. For the past 3 years, they have adjusted well and our little pet family thrived. However, on May 13th I had to say my final goodbye to “My Girl” Q.E. (Queen Elizabeth). She was 12 years old and we had many good and bad times together. She died of congestive heart failure and could hardly breathe. I looked at her chest x-ray and her heart was so large it covered her whole chest. We had a wonderful vet and he tried giving her treating her with medication and was hopeful. But when I got her home she had trouble standing up. I held her all morning and saw her struggling to take a breath. So my last gift to her was to say goodbye and one of the hardest things I have ever done.  I had my face directly into hers and sang our little theme song “My Girl” as she peacefully drifted to eternal sleep. Our theme song started when she was attacked by pit bulls and nearly died. Her wounds were so bad that they could not be closed. So she came home with a drain and I had to irrigate her open wound with warm water for 20 minutes 3 times a day. So I would place her in the bathtub and use a gentle spray nozzle to irrigate the water therapy. I had a kitchen timer set and I would sing to her “My Girl” which stuck and I would sing a song to her for the rest of her life.

The Rainbow Bridge Poem 

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water, and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in a joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….     Author unknown…

My Girl is buried in our front yard near our swing and the view of Mama Cotacachi Volcano. So forever loved and never forgotten. Why can I not stop crying?