12/22/07

Dear Friends,

This is so hard for me to write, but I wanted to let those who knew her know, our precious Patches went to the Rainbow Bridge on Thursday.  She was diagnosed two years ago with congestive heart failure, which we have been keeping under control with changes in meds, but finally this week, her 15 year old body gave out and Earl and I had to face the horrible knowledge that it was truly "time".  We held her and told her how very much we loved her as she slipped away.
 

 
 

Patches came into the safety of BHRA in July 2001, a rescue from a puppy mill, a pathetic little 40 pound gal that clearly spent her entire life (8 years at that point) in a cage, delivering litter after litter, her front shoulders and legs disfigured from so many years of cramped quarters, her "ninnies" almost touching the ground, her teeth all but ground to nubs from chewing on cage wire.  When Earl and I got her to foster, she had so obviously never even been inside a house, and was completely unsocial zed and scared of everything.  She would take off and hide in the back corner of our yard and we would have to go get her and bring her in on a leash, shivering.   It took us a couple of months before she would accept that she could indeed enjoy the warmth and comfort of a home, and a couch and her own bed, and meals that would come regularly, and lots of cookies.  Every day, little tiny achievements would happen--the first time she came up to us willingly, the first time she wagged her tail, the first time she figured out what to do with a toy....and the day we figured out she was truly the alpha, queen of the roost in this household.  We adopted her (miserable foster failures that we are) in September 2001, and have enjoyed every single day since then in her presence.  Patches was one of those hounds that just was never trouble.  She had a very easygoing manner, didn't ask for much, but demanded what she learned was her right--belly rubs galore.  She got along with every single dog that came through here, and everyone she met.  She would entertain herself by the hour, rolling around on her back, bicycling those stubby little legs in the air and making crazy sounds that we came to call "her fits".  Earlier on, Patches attended a bash, and several local dog events down here, always strutting her stuff in her floral hats like the Queen she knew she was.  She was even on the cover of the annual magazine on one of our local animal rescue organizations in Mobile!  Over the years her gorgeous markings faded to gray, her muzzle bleached out but her eyes retained their twinkle and her face a sort of smile.  So if you saw a shooting star in the sky Thursday, it was our "Puppy Girl" going to meet her predecessor siblings at the Bridge.
 

 
 

Our 19 year old kitty, Panther, who was really the alpha around here, passed away Monday, so this past week was very very hard for Earl and I and our other hounds.  Rest well babies.....our hearts are heavy and our lives have a big hole right now.