Roller Coaster Up
October 2nd. Maggie slept with me last night for the first time in four or five nights. In fact she’d gone up to bed before I started working on last night’s blog entry. Was wonderful to have her there. I cherish those nights. Usually we are joined at the hip — Maggie lying perpendicular to […]
Roller Coaster Down
October 1st — Tonight is a low point on the roller coaster ride. The journey, living through this, is getting harder. If that’s possible. Today was the worst day so far for Maggie and I only hope it is the worst day she ever has. She was still bright and cheerful but obviously in some pain as […]
‘Animal Companion’ vs. ‘Pet’
Terms are important. Words have an energy. It took me awhile to understand and believe that because I heard for so long ‘it’s only a word’ but I now truly believe differently. Words do impact us and they can hurt. I struggled with the words I would use in my blog. And will continue to […]
Denial — A Stage of Grief
One of the stages of grief is Denial. Think I’ve been there a lot lately. Up to Sunday night (Sept 26), Maggie has been displaying no symptoms. In fact she’s been running around like a puppy. Sleeping like a log. Eating well for the most part. Bright, alert, energetic. Just being Maggie. Sunday morning she’d […]
The Holistic Path
I firmly believe in ‘integrative’ medicine. There is a time and place for ‘holistic’ and for ‘traditional’, ‘conventional’ medicine, whatever terms we decide to use. That is the practice I use in my own life and for my animal companions. I spend far more time with my Naturopath — Dr. Sandra Miranda, my chiropractor — Dr. John Noble, […]
Which Path to Take on the Loss of a Pet Journey
Friday, September 10 Continued. It was important to me that I made the right decision on what to do — nothing, amputation, chemo, other avenues – for the right reason. I wanted to make the decision on what was best for Maggie and not what was right for me or because of what I felt other […]
The Grieving Roller Coaster Ride
Be prepared for the roller coaster ride this journey will take you on. Feeling ecstatic one moment and then overwhelmed with sadness the next. Laughing out loud and then sobbing uncontrollably. There is such joy when I’m watching Maggie and Tara play, when Maggie’s chasing after a squirrel with the utmost intent, when she’s totally […]
To Blog??? About the Loss of a Pet?
Saturday, September 11, 2010 Dragged myself out of bed and drove into Toronto for the Movers and Shakers conference. It took all my resolve to get there. I’d signed up for the conference because they were giving advice on book publishing, key ideas for workshops and public speaking, marketing, developing and delivering a compelling message, communicating effectively […]
Confirmation — the Loss of a Pet Journey
Friday, September 10, 2010 Another day from hell. In the morning I got the call confirming that Maggie Soo has osteosarcoma. The lab reports were back and there was no doubt that’s what the tumour was. The vet was very kind and once again gave me my options — nothing, amputation, chemo, or a combination of amputation […]
First Weekend in the Loss of a Pet Journey
September 7, 2010. This was one of the worst weekends I have ever spent in my entire life. The only good thing was that Maggie Soo was not in a lot of pain from the biopsy and the painkillers seemed to be working well for her. We spent most of Saturday and Sunday being quiet. I cried most […]